Since formal education is on my mind, I want to spend this week discussing the role of education in our lives and society.
The first thing I want to establish, so pay attention closely –
You do not need formal education to be a success!
Whenever I start promoting the benefits of education, I feel this lingering argument that I actually agree with. The argument is this: there is an endless list of successful entrepreneurs and leaders who were never formally educated. I am well aware of this fact, and I am grateful to be raised under a free-market system that rewards hard work and ingenuity, not educational degrees.
So before we start articulating the benefits of formal education, let’s all agree with this fact: You don’t have to have a formal education to succeed.
What example do you have of someone who has been successful without a formal education?
Aaron's Angle 
thanks for sharing, Frank.
Thanks for sharing, Frank. What a great story, and point.
Thirty some odd years ago, I was sitting in high school study hall talking with one of my friends who was turning 16. He told me he was quitting school that day. School wasn’t for him, he was one of those ‘fellers’ that was going to have to work hard all of his life, so he might as well get started. I ran into him at our 30 year reunion. He had just recently sold the business he had built over the years for a considerable amount of cash. In addition to that, he had built a successful farming operation and owns several rental properties.
I’m guessing that there are thousands of MBA’s coming out of college each year. The casual observer would argue that my friend Terry and these folks have nothing in common. I would agree with that for a high percentage of the MBAs. But, for that small percentage of them that take their education and truly create something significant, I would argue the opposite. My perception is that the one most significant common trait they share is one of fearlessness.
I’m sure I have heard this somewhere before, sorry for not giving proper credit.
There are many who understand rocket science, but there are very few rocket builders.