I have spotted successful leaders and politicians who are celebrated without degree (e.g. Wiston Churchill, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Jacob Zuma and many more) . Some are of the opinion that they became rich out of luck , while others are of the opinion that they became successful because they have great mentors. My question:
Do you think success require higher formal education?
Can someone with the zeal to succeed get to the top without University degree?
It's possible, why not.
See:
http://time.com/money/5013563/15-super-successful-people-who-never-graduated-college/
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/leader-360003-2016-12-28
https://smartandrelentless.com/100-ultra-successful-people-who-did-not-get-a-college-degree/
Dear Modestus,
"Does success require higher formal education?" -- You ask.
You point to some examples -- Winston Churchill, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Jacob Zuma, and so forth -- where that was not the case.
We all know of some successful figures, for example, in the business domain, who have no higher education. The same is true in the political domain. For example, Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia what a remarkable king because of his tutor, the Greek geometer Menaechums.Of course, there are professions where one has to have a higher formal education. Physicians and lawyers are but two examples. However, nowadays, get to the top is often required a college/ University degree.
Best regards,
Orlando
Dear Orlando M Lourenço,
Thank you so much for your prompt response and insightful contribution.
Regards,
MO.
I believe that education is a continuous journey, and has no end. There is also no age to learn something new in the same way as no end to one's education. You can always add more to it, with more space to add.
Quite a good number of successful leaders and politicians celebrated without degree are listed: Wiston Churchill, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Jacob Zuma and many more.
It's possible, why not.
See:
http://time.com/money/5013563/15-super-successful-people-who-never-graduated-college/
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/leader-360003-2016-12-28
https://smartandrelentless.com/100-ultra-successful-people-who-did-not-get-a-college-degree/
It would be interesting to ask why the list did not include the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, who left the university after the first year of study, that is, in other words, he did not have any formal education at all. Do not confuse two things: Knowledge and Mind. A Erudite person does not mean that it this a Clever person. You can know a lot and do not be able to do something. That is, formal education as a sum of knowledge is not a guaranteed guarantee of success, but only one of the catalyst for success. Here it is important to understand the other side: It is important to know not so much at the moment, as the ability to extract this knowledge at the right moment. For example, Stalin did not graduate from any universities, and nevertheless very effectively led the country during the war years 1941-1945, as he constantly extracted knowledge from books, reading 500 pages every day and even made comments in the fields of these books.
Thank you so much for the link and your brilliant response Dr. Nihada Ahmetovic .
My point is, formal education is not what one needs in order to be successful, that is a myth that our society has been sold. There are plenty of opportunities to gain experience, and then to apply that experience to something practical, innovative, and functional. What you really need in order to be successful, is a good work ethic, willingness to persevere, and sometimes a willingness to perform tasks that you may consider beneath you, until you are able to reach your goal. Do not be disillusioned into thinking that formal education is the one-way ticket to prosperity. Our economy is changing. Find something you like doing, and strive to become the best at it.
Thank you for sharing your thought Adraaa Alfatlawy and Djaafar Zemali
Education is a way to success but it is most definitely not the only way to success...In my view,education is the most simple way to success,especially for the poor.The poor don't have enough money, don't have power,they only can get successful by education. That's why we have often said,education is the fundamental law of the state.
Success needs only good thinking, devotion and confidence that you can do any hard and difficult work.
It is possible for a person without formal education to succeed but it is much easier to succeed with formal education.
Formal education is not synonymous to success. There are good number of successful leaders and politicians who are celebrated without degree like you mentioned: Wiston Churchill, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Jacob Zuma and many more.
Success means accomplishment of a task or ambition. It is a relative term, hence cannot be tied to higher education. It is not every task or ambition that requires higher education. However, what higher education does is to sharpen one's intellect, cognitive ability and skill. it does not mean that without higher education, one cannot succeed in other spheres of life. Basic education such as numeracy and logical reasoning are all what is required, no matter the area of endeavour.
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