The Education of Millionaires: It's Not What You Think and It's Not Too Late

by Michael Ellsberg Narrated by Erik Synnestvedt

Overview

The Myth: If you get into a good college, study hard, and graduate with excellent grades, you will be pretty much set for a successful career. The Reality: The biggest thing you won't learn in college is how to succeed professionally. Some of the smartest, most successful people in the country didn't finish college. None of them learned their most critical skills in an institution of higher education. And like them, most of what you'll need to learn to be successful you'll have to learn on your own, outside of school. Michael Ellsberg set out to fill in the gaps by interviewing a wide range of millionaires and billionaires who don't have college degrees, including fashion magnate Russell Simmons, Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and founding president Sean Parker, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg, and Pink Floyd songwriter and lead guitarist David Gilmour. Among the fascinating things he learned: How fashion designer Marc Ecko started earning $1,000 a week in high school with his own clothing business and later grew it into an empire. How billionaire Phillip Ruffin went from lowly department store clerk with no college degree to owner of Treasure Island on the Vegas Strip. How John Paul DeJoria went from homelessness to billionaire as the founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems hair care products. This book is your guide to developing practical success skills in the real world. Even if you've already gone through college, the most important skills weren't on the curriculum--how to find great mentors, build a world-class network, learn real-world marketing and sales, make your work meaningful (and your meaning work), build the brand of you, master the art of bootstrapping, and more. Learning the skills in this book well is a necessary addition to any education, whether you're a high school dropout or a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

After a slow start, this book launches into a series of riveting interviews and life lessons featuring hugely successful business people, such as Russell Simmons and Sean Parker, who didn't finish college, and instead forged their own path. Ellsberg, who blogs about entrepreneurialism for Forbes.com, is zealous about following one's passion, and maintains that college courses are woefully insufficient for tackling real life. Instead, it's better to embrace risk within a framework of unstinting work and "street smarts." As he explains: "We've basically just trained ourselves to be cogs in a machine…skills we've been training 16 years to develop have no impact in the workplace at all." He also argues that "no single skill you could possibly learn correlates more directly with your real-world success than learning sales." Ellsberg suggests valuing life-long learning and voracious reading. (Oct.)

Jonathan Fields

"Provocative and timely, Ellsberg lays bare what he sees as a giant hole in much of traditional education-a focus on 'academic' knowledge and a de-emphasis on the knowledge and skills necessary to actually succeed in life. Drawing from a wealth of interviews with successful entrepreneurs, he hones in on seven key success skills that help put you back in the driver's seat."

Josh Kaufman

"You don't need a degree to live life on your own terms: you need economically valuable skills. Ellsberg's book is the blueprint for entrepreneurial education."

Simon Sinek

"Just like the entrepreneurs he highlights in his book, Ellsberg challenges the conventional wisdom of what it takes to make it in this world. If you have an idea and the drive, nothing can stop you. And Ellsberg proves it."

Cameron Herold

"This is the must read of the next era of education. This one book could be all the education you ever need to massively outperform even the Ivy League. The secrets contained are brilliant and simple to adopt."

Scott Banister

"If entrepreneurs were running schools, instead of bureaucrats, schools would be teaching a lot more of the skills and mindsets found in this book. Since they're not, this book is a necessary antidote to a traditional college education."

Jenny Blake

"This book is a masterpiece. Gripping and whip-smart, The Education of Millionaires will forever revolutionize your thoughts on the connection between education, career success and prosperity. Ellsberg is careful to avoid 'motivational fluff' and instead provides mind-blowingly sharp (and humorous) brass-tacks advice on how to profit handsomely by becoming a lifelong learner."

Matt Mullenweg

"Self-education is the key to upgrading your mind and your life. Michael's book teaches you how to unlock the education available outside of classes, all around you."

Lynda Resnick

"As Michael so aptly explains in this delightful read: your education starts in the crib and ends when you take your final breath. In a fully realized life, it is all about lifelong learning."

Keith Ferrazzi

"Your success in a knowledge society depends on mastery of soft skills and practical intelligence-and yet they don't show up in college or high school curriculums. Ellsberg's rebellious book provides a street-smart education to fill the gap."

Peter Thiel

"Michael Ellsberg's book is provocative and wise. Tuition is skyrocketing, job prospects are grim, and the race for bogus credentials has turned into a runaway status competition for positional goods. The Education of Millionaires offers a renegade path for anyone who wants vital skills without the crushing burden of student debt."

Dale J. Stephens

"Success in the twenty-first century depends on street smarts, not book smarts. It has to do with your motivation, network, passion, and ability to make other believe in you. You'll learn stuff in college, but you won't develop these skills-which are requisite for success in life. Whether you go to college or not, The Education of Millionaires will help you learn what it takes to succeed in today's entrepreneurial economy."

From the Publisher

"Success in the twenty-first century depends on street smarts, not book smarts. It has to do with your motivation, network, passion, and ability to make other believe in you. You'll learn stuff in college, but you won't develop these skills-which are requisite for success in life. Whether you go to college or not, The Education of Millionaires will help you learn what it takes to succeed in today's entrepreneurial economy." - Dale J. Stephens, founder of Uncollege.org

"Michael Ellsberg's book is provocative and wise. Tuition is skyrocketing, job prospects are grim, and the race for bogus credentials has turned into a runaway status competition for positional goods. The Education of Millionaires offers a renegade path for anyone who wants vital skills without the crushing burden of student debt." - Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, creator of the Thiel Fellowship

"Your success in a knowledge society depends on mastery of soft skills and practical intelligence-and yet they don't show up in college or high school curriculums. Ellsberg's rebellious book provides a street-smart education to fill the gap." - Keith Ferrazzi, author of #1 NY Times bestseller Who's Got Your Back

"As Michael so aptly explains in this delightful read: your education starts in the crib and ends when you take your final breath. In a fully realized life, it is all about lifelong learning." - Lynda Resnick, vice chairman of Roll International, Teleflora, and PomWonderful

"Self-education is the key to upgrading your mind and your life. Michael's book teaches you how to unlock the education available outside of classes, all around you." - Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress.org

"This book is a masterpiece. Gripping and whip-smart, The Education of Millionaires will forever revolutionize your thoughts on the connection between education, career success and prosperity. Ellsberg is careful to avoid 'motivational fluff' and instead provides mind-blowingly sharp (and humorous) brass-tacks advice on how to profit handsomely by becoming a lifelong learner." - Jenny Blake, author of Life After College

"If entrepreneurs were running schools, instead of bureaucrats, schools would be teaching a lot more of the skills and mindsets found in this book. Since they're not, this book is a necessary antidote to a traditional college education." - Scott Banister, founder of IronPort Systems, Banister Capital

"This is the must read of the next era of education. This one book could be all the education you ever need to massively outperform even the Ivy League. The secrets contained are brilliant and simple to adopt." - Cameron Herold, author of Double Double, former COO of 1-800-GOT- JUNK?

"Just like the entrepreneurs he highlights in his book, Ellsberg challenges the conventional wisdom of what it takes to make it in this world. If you have an idea and the drive, nothing can stop you. And Ellsberg proves it." - Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why

"You don't need a degree to live life on your own terms: you need economically valuable skills. Ellsberg's book is the blueprint for entrepreneurial education." - Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA

"Provocative and timely, Ellsberg lays bare what he sees as a giant hole in much of traditional education-a focus on 'academic' knowledge and a de-emphasis on the knowledge and skills necessary to actually succeed in life. Drawing from a wealth of interviews with successful entrepreneurs, he hones in on seven key success skills that help put you back in the driver's seat." - Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170404520
Publisher:	Ascent Audio
Publication date:	01/17/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged

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