I bet you have heard about the "Thiel Experiment", it`s been all over the news in the past months, particularly memorable for headlines such as "Thiel Pays Students To Drop Out Of School!" or "Thiel Pays Offers $100000 to Drop-Outs!".
In m opinion, the story is way more powerful and way less sensationalist than what the press showcases.
Peter Thiel, co-founder of Pay Pal (also known as as "the mentor of the PayPal mafia of entrepreneurs"), has set up a FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, through which young entrepreneurs "will pursue innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship, and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow. During their two-year tenure, each Fellow will receive $100,000 from the Thiel Foundation as well as mentorship from the Foundation’s network of tech entrepreneurs and innovators" ... and yes, to committ full time to the previous, they have to leave school.
I am a passionate for education, and specially for that one, which is not conventional. And I totally praise what Thiel is doing for the simple reason that YOU CAN`T BE WHAT YOU CAN`T SEE. You have to see stuff like this happening, as also you have to get inspiredby the stories of all the bunch of sucessful dropouts (not only Gates or Zuckerberg, but the many other close to you that I you know you know!!) to understand that there is not a "formula" to become an entrepreneur and specially not to be sucessful.
I want to steal a statement from a recent article I read from Max Kalehoff, which in my opinion totally embodies what really matters in life ... this matters, and not only to pursue a traditional education:
"Like many parents, I wish for my kids to be curious and passionate about the world around them. I wish for them to find purpose and embrace it, and to tackle important problems with creativity and drive. I also wish for them to enjoy what they’re doing along the way, and feel pride and fulfillment in the end — that what they’d done really mattered, and made the world a slightly better place. It doesn’t matter to me so much which path they pursue, but I hope it has these elements."
These past "elements" - as Kalehoff calls it - neither neglect nor invite to eschew formal education, BUT, you might agree with me, they also do not make formal education essential. I believe Thiel is just trying to offer to this exceptional group of fellows a platform free of "distractive prejudices" where just purpose and relevant skill trainning matter. Can`t wait to see what happens with this group ... (sad that there are only two girls!). We need to get more used to serendipity and this is for sure something that formal education certainly disencourages.
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