What the Financial Meltdown Taught Us

I was 17. The wheels were already turning in my head as to where to attend college and what to pursue. My father's friend was over and pulled me aside. It was reminiscent of the scene in The Graduate where Dustin Hoffman is a post-college grad trying to find himself, and a family friend advises him one word: Plastics. Well, my father's pal said something else that was quite shocking to me.

"Do you want to make money? My advice is, don't go to college."

Huh?

"That's right. Go into business. Here's why. If you go to college and become a professional, there's a limit on how much you can make. A dentist might make a decent salary, but that's it. In business, though, the sky's the limit."

Then he told me about a contemporary of his who started selling baked goods as a way to pay for law school. Eventually he grew his business so much that he quit law, became a full-time baker, and is now fabulously wealthy.

I thought the guy was nuts. Wow, one person hit it big. What about the other hundred who failed? So off to college I went, and over a decade and two degrees later, I find myself an elementary school teacher.

Through the years I doubted myself. I saw real estate boom and buddies take a 40-hour course to become a mortgage broker, where a couple of deals made them more money that I make in a year. I saw my buddies get into companies like Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, where their holiday bonuses were more than I make in two years.

Fast forward to December 2008. These guys are barely hanging on. Everyone I talk to in business tells me that things are lousy. I'm not raking it in by any stretch, but I know I have a job, and I know that I have options.

So the lesson is get an education. If you are able to become a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, a dentist, then by all means do so. Granted, you may not make $100 million, but the piece of mind may be more worthwhile.