Wealth and Wisdom

People who know me well are familiar with my views on college. I am a huge believer in obtaining your education, and have seen first hand the impact this can have on your career or your business. I’ve earned two bachelors of science degrees working full time with a young family, and my wife has earned her bachelors of science in business while being a full time mother. I’m not bragging, I’m just making it clear how much I believe in college education!

I also am not a big fan of the traditional college experience. When you look at the cost it is hard to justify. This is both for adults going back to school and for our children. If you follow the traditional college path the costs are staggering, and the traditional college lifestyle is not what most of us are looking for. Colleges are infamous for their party lifestyles and for indoctrinating our children in belief systems that often run contrary to ours.

You gain little by going to an elite school

While studies have shown that an ivy league education will result in higher lifetime earnings alternative research disputes these findings.

Researchers Alan Krueger and Stacy Berg Dale questioned whether it was the school or the student that created the improved earnings. What they found was that it was the smarter, harder working, and better motivated students that got accepted to elite schools. When compared to similar students who chose to attend state schools there was minimal difference in earnings.

In other words, that elite education just costs you more with no gain in results (private colleges cost an average of 2.3 times the cost of state colleges).

Why you need a degree

Most of us realize the profound impact education has on our careers. In fact, this is the number one reason adults go back to college. How much of an impact does your education have on your career?

Having a Bachelor’s degree makes you three times more likely to keep your job while earning you 230% more money. Add to this the (often) better working environment and you have a pretty compelling case.

Then reality sets in

Earning your traditional college degree is expensive and hard:

• The average in state (public) degree will set you back $57,332. That comes up to $14,333 per year. Ouch!
• Time requirements: 4-5 hours per week per credit. Even if you go part time it will take up 24-30 hours per week.
• Lack of flexibility: traditional college requires you to go to class at their convenience. If you work full time this can create problems.
• The time it takes to earn your degree: traditional college (part time) will typically take you eight years to earn your degree. At that rate your be retired when…

We needed to find a better way

These were all challenges I faced as I was nearing the end of my military career. I knew I needed to earn my degree, but there was no way I could go the traditional route.

Along the way we ran into a lot of scams. I’m sure you’ve seen them – send us a check and we’ll sell you a diploma. Right…Let me see, you will sell me a PhD based on life experience…

We also ran into a lot of legitimate schools that were not friendly to adult learners. Some required you to spend time on campus (one required three weeks each summer). Others required you to take their classes which were expensive. Others just cost too much money.

It took a lot of research, and I made some mistakes, but I eventually found a way to earn my degree quicker, easier, and for much less money. As I earned a second degree – and helped my wife and friends earn their degrees – we fine tuned our process, tools, and tricks.

It wasn’t until a friend asked “how do you do it…”

Except for helping a few friends and family, we pretty much kept this to ourselves. It wasn’t that we were trying to keep it a secret, it was just that we didn’t think anyone else would be interested.

Then we started our son on our program. He was 15 and wanted to get a jump on his college. His plan was to earn his bachelors in business by the time he was 17, and then go to Texas A&M for his MBA.

Several friends saw what we were doing and started asking question. It quickly became apparent that no one was aware that there were better ways to earn your degree.

We created Education 2.0

For the last few months we’ve been putting all that we knew into a system. After two rounds of beta testing we are finally ready to role out our program.

Our goal was to make it easy to earn a four year degree:

• Accredited: you need a real degree that will be accepted by employers and colleges.
• Fast: you don’t have years to waste.  4+ years is way to long for most adults.
• Flexible: earn your degree on your own schedule working around work, family, and your personal life.
• Affordable: you should be able to earn your degree without taking out a second mortgage!
• Easy: we supply the roadmaps, tools, tricks, and techniques. All you have to do is study and earn your degree.

As a bonus to our Wealth and Wisdom readers, for the next two weeks we are offering 50% discount. Just type “wealthandwisdombonus” (without the parentheses) into the discount box at checkout!

So many of us stumble through life without really taking the time to think. I’m not talking about “should I eat steak or chicken tonight.” I’m talking about looking closely at issues and beliefs, reviewing the facts, possibly using a decision making tool (pro/con list, decision matrix, decision tree, etc), and thinking about all consequences (both good and bad). I’m also talking about events in life. Do you seriously think through the situation or do you just wing it?

In fact, a lot of us live our lives on autopilot. Our beliefs were given to us by parents, teachers, preachers, gurus, etc….How often do we take the time to examine those beliefs.

I’m not saying we throw out our beliefs. Many are good, like coping strategies for dealing with difficult people. Others are limiting or self-destructive.

The problem is that many of those beliefs and responses have never been examined. You see it all the time in politic – on both sides of the issue – where people get worked up into a fervor but can’t truly explain why they feel that way. If you ask a few basic questions their case falls to pieces.

This also happens with religious beliefs. When you try to discuss someones beliefs to better understand them, often they don’t have a reason why. In fact, they often haven’t even completely read the bible.

Key areas to question

• Political: No, I’m not going to tell you that your beliefs are wrong. I’m suggesting that you take a few minutes and truly think out your political beliefs. Look at the opposing view and understand it. Think your views through and try to see the unintended consequences. Then develop your own political belief system.
• Religious: Don’t worry, I’m not trying to convert you. What I want is for you to understand your religion. Read your bible (or other holy book) cover to cover. Learn about other religions. Learn how the religions are different.
• Habits: Why do you do things the way you do? Sometimes it makes sense. For example, I sing (in my head) happy birthday twice when I wash my hands. Why? Because it makes sure I clean them enough to kill any bacteria. Other habits don’t make as much sense (ie…late night binge eating, smoking, etc…). As you find habits that don’t support the life you want to lead examine them, discover the base reason you do it that way, look at the consequences, and develop good habits to replace them.
• Business: Ahh, there are so many things to examine in your business. It doesn’t matter if you are the employee or the employer. Examining your business is always a good idea. One place to start is to look at your daily tasks. How much do they contribute to your results? Who do they benefit? Can they be done more efficiently? Should I eliminate or delegate them? What should I be doing? How do you deal with and treat your coworkers / employees? How do you treat your customers?
• Relationships: Sometimes this can be as simple as asking the questions “am I being a true friend?” Sometimes it can be as painful as “can we make this work?” Look at your family, friends, and acquaintances. How do you interact? What your your beliefs about the person? How do you treat them? How do they treat you? What can you do to better deal with them?

Where do I start

1. Question authority. I’m not talking about revolution. I’m talking about thinking about what you are told to do and ask questions. Ask “why” often and persistently (and politely) expect a real answer. So if a politician says we need to _______, ask them “why” and keep asking until you get a real answer. If your boss asks you to stay late ask “why?” If you spouse wants a new car ask “why?” Notice a trend here?
2. The key questions are usually who, what, when, where, and why!
3. Don’t just automatically do things. Take a moment and say “why do I do this?” Often it makes sense (brushing your teeth is a good example). Other times it doesn’t (reaching for that bowl of ice cream at 10pm).
4. Start learning better thinking skills. This can be as simple as a pro/con list. It can be a book or a class on strategic thinking or game theory. You can watch people who do think and emulate them.
5. Keep thinking, learning, and practicing.