Table of Contents
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 mind-sets found in this book. Since theyre 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 dont need a degree to live life on your own terms: you need economically valuable skills. Ellsbergs book is the blueprint for entrepreneurial education.
Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business
Provocative and timely, Ellsberg lays bare what he sees as a giant hole in much of traditional educationa 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 homes in on seven key success skills that help put you back in the drivers seat.
Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance
Ignore the stats, break the rules, devote yourself to something meaningful. You wont get that in an MBA program. But youll get it from Ellsberg and his self-educated millionairesand plenty of proof that true and sustained success can only be defined on your own terms.
Danielle LaPorte, author of The Fire Starter Sessions , creator of WhiteHotTruth.com
PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell,
Victoria 3124, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in 2011 by Portfolio / Penguin,
a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright Michael Ellsberg, 2011
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ellsberg, Michael.
The education of millionaires : its not what you think,
and its not too late / Michael Ellsberg.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN : 978-1-101-54449-5
1. Success in business. 2. Practical reason. I. Title.
HF5386.E435 2012
650.1dc23
2011019060
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.
http://us.penguingroup.com
For my greatest teacher of all,
Jena.
Your journey of self-education inspired this book.
[A] whale-ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.
Ishmael in Moby-Dick (Read in colleges across the land;
written by a high school dropout)
GET ARTICLES, RECOMMENDATIONS, TIPS, AND INVITATIONS TO FREE CLASSES
JOIN MY PRIVATE E-MAIL LIST
Send an e-mail to privatelist@ellsberg.com, with private list in the subject heading, and Ill put you on my e-mail list, regularly sending you all the goodies described above. Ill also e-mail you, as a thank-you for purchasing this book, these two free PDF reports related to my book:
The Dropout Revolution: Why Todays Savviest Kids Are Forsaking Debt and Educating Themselves In this free PDF report you will learn why many kids today are choosing to avoid student loans and to educate themselves. Featuring interviews with some of todays hottest young entrepreneurs and rising stars, this report is sure to inspire you, challenge you, and make you think. This book also has my detailed responses to nearly every objection I could imagine a reader having about the message of my book, such as But college graduates earn more! and But you need a college degree to get a good job!
Self-Education in Health and Relationships In this free PDF report, learn how to educate yourself to succeed in relationships and health. We all know that happiness depends on more than just money and career. Learn how to educate yourself for success in all areas of your life that matter to you, including your personal health and relationships.
I send only quality content Ive written myself to my e-mail list, zero spam, and I never ever give your information to anyone else. You can remove yourself at any time with one click.
Once again, to get immediate access to everything described above for free, just send an e-mail to privatelist@ellsberg.com with private list in the subject header.
INTRODUCTION
THE CRAIGSLIST TEST OF THE VALUE OF A BA
(or, Why Practical Intelligence Almost Always Beats Academic Intelligence)
Youve been fed a lie. The lie is that if you study hard in school, get good grades, get into a good college, and get a degree, then your success in life is guaranteed.
This might have been true fifty years ago. But it is no longer true today.
If you want to succeed now, then you must also educate yourself in the real-world skills, capabilities, and mind-sets that will get you ahead outside of the classroom. This is true whether youve been to college or not.
This book shows you the way.
A thirty-seven-year-old Harvard MBA and a twentysomething college dropout, the latter a few credits shy of a film and theater degree from USC, are sitting across from each other in a job interview. The MBA is wearing a crisply pressed three-piece suit with a yellow tie. The twentysomething is wearing jeans and a pullover sweatshirt, with no shirt underneath. The twentysomething is unshaven, and the state of his hair suggests that not much grooming had occurred between his departure from bed that morning and this interview.