Kylon helps us learn a couple new words he made up that allow us to understand what type of credentialing we are pursuing, and which type is best. Don't get lost in the weeds here. The basic idea to remember is that direct-credentialing is always better than indirect-credentialing.
Blake Boles is an author, educator, adventurer who helps young people become more self-directed. He designs and leads life changing trips for teenagers through his company Unschool Adventures. He's also the author of three books, he speaks for alternative school and homeschooling conferences, and his work has appeared on The Huffington Post, New York Times, USA Today, BBC Travel, Psychology Today, and Fox Business.
Blake and I share a lot of the same interests as far as self-directed learning, snowboarding, unschooling, adventuring, and just doing and thinking differently in general. I really enjoyed this episode and Blake is an incredible resource for you if you listen to this show! Go and check out his stuff!
Kylon shares one of his worst entrepreneurial moments. A moment when he wanted to just curl up and die. If you've ever wanted to hear a grown man break down and cry on the mic, this is the episode for you (totally joking lol...) Kylon extrapolates some valuable lessons from this experience.
Also, head over to successfuldropout.com and look at the show notes for this episode to listen to a song from Kylon's band.
Sorry for the poor audio quality on this one guys. Ross and I were both in our cars during this interview, I was sitting outside of one of my businesses and Ross was outside of the title company about to buy another rental. Sometimes you have to mix a little business with the pleasure of a great conversation. ;)
Ross Alex is a full time real estate entrepreneur who made a life changing decision three years ago to drop out of college, move from New York to Houston and quit his bartending job to create a real estate business. He is 26 years old and he has successfully created two six-figure real estate businesses in just under two years. The guys is a rockstar!
This is the first time I've ever had a guest on the show for a second time...Ross is worth it! We dive deep into the real estate business and Ross shares some incredible action steps and thoroughly explains three different ways you can make money in real estate. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced real estate investor, you'll find a lot of value in this episode!
This week Kylon shares the be-do-have paradigm...which will simultaneously blow your mind and give you a brain twister. So basically you might get a headache. But all joking aside, this is a foundational concept. If you get this right, everything else comes a little easier. #bethesource
Hillary is a writer from Walla Walla, WA who loves saving money. After earning her bachelor's degree for under $10,000 from Thomas Edison State University, she decided to share the resources cultivated and researched during her degree journey by writing College Without the Campus, a guide to credit-by-exam learning for students of all ages. Currently, she enjoys running a jewelry and supplies shop on Etsy and working for her family's heating and cooling business.
This was a special episode for the podcast because we haven't had a guest on the show yet who advocates for earning your college degree, but in the most efficient way as far as time and money goes. College is right for some, and not right for others, and the fact is ANYONE can succeed in business and in life without a college degree...BUT...if you want to earn your degree there is most certainly a better way to do it than just following the standard pipeline. Hillary shows you how with her book, College Without The Campus.
If you have any questions whatsoever about how to maximize your time and money earning your degree, connect with Hillary, she would love to chat with you!
Kylon shares three lessons on purpose, productivity, and preparedness.
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Aj Cartas was 19 years old working 3 jobs and going to school full-time when he discovered Instagram. He was ultimately able to gather over 1.2 million followers across his social platform. He was also very successful with Vine (RIP) which dramatically increased his exposure. He was able to work with brands such as JC Penny and RedBox and movies such as Hercules and How To Train Your Dragon.
After dropping out of college he went on to be a Finalist for Forbes 30 Under 30 2016, he Co-Founded an influencer-driven events company which became the #1 influencer network in the Bay Area, he lead the social media initiatives for a company valued at $10 billion, he is already making 6-figures.
I really enjoyed chatting with Aj! He shares some broad (but great) advice on how to become a social media influencer, he tells us about a failed trip to Iceland, his worst entrepreneurial moment was when he was scammed into joining a company that cost him thousands...and there's a lot more! Stay tuned for his new book, Startups and Downs.
Kylon shares a simple concept: the more novel experiences you have, the longer you will perceive your life to be.
Guys! I can't begin to describe how cool of a feeling it is to have my younger sister featured on Successful Dropout. I'm so proud of her, and she has accomplished so much in just a few short years...much more success ahead for her! She is the epitome of a blooming Successful Dropout and a self-directed go-getter. If you have any questions about how to navigate the entrepreneurial waters and direct yourself outside of college - get in touch with her!
Chelann at 20 years old is a serial entrepreneur focusing her ventures on inspiring and empowering others to chase their dreams and goals in life. Two weeks before graduating with her AA in college, Chelann opened NUYU Juice bar along with three other partners at the age of 18. Less than a year later she launched the Entrepreneur Before 25 Podcast out of a desire to inspire and unite young and like-minded entrepreneurs together. On the podcast Chelann interviews inspiring entrepreneurs who started their journey at the age of 25 and under.
Ron Brumbarger is one of Indiana’s most recognized technology and education entrepreneurs. In 1992, Ron co-founded BitWise Solutions, Inc. and continues to serve as the company’s president and CEO. Ron’s foray into education started in 2006 when Governor Mitch Daniels requested he launch Indiana’s first statewide, virtual charter school (now known as the Hoosier Academies). In 2013, Ron founded Apprentice University ® - an award-winning proficiency college serving motivated high-school graduates eager to accomplish more than a traditional college degree. In 2016, Ron published his first book, “You’re Always Being Interviewed.” Ron and his wife, Cindy, enjoy traveling and spending time with their two sons, Tanner and Hudson.
I learned so much in this episode. Ron comes across to me as a very humble and a somewhat reserved person...those kinds of people almost always have loads of wisdom to share when they are asked the right questions...Ron was no exception. Here are just some of the things we talked about:
Patrick started his first company RED Alerts at age 17. It was a software platform to ease and enhance event scheduling and communications at schools, churches, and governments. A few years later he co-founded Phone2Action where he builds tools that help profit and non-profit companies activate and engage their supporters to be part of the civic process.
Patrick is a great example of someone who started building solutions to problems at an early age. Remember, solving problems is the essence of entrepreneurship. Since Patrick built the RED Alerts software platform in high school and started generating a user base and interest in that so early on, he had two feet to stand on when he decided to drop out of college. Great example of why it's never too early to start building things...even while you are still in school.
Tam is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker. He’s built and managed online and in-person communities with Mixergy, The Hustle, 500 Startups, Lean Startup, and also under James Altucher. He teaches a course with Andrew Warner on how to create messenger bots to grow your business. And He’s also written two books: The 1st of which is about teaching people how to network. And the 2nd book is about teaching college students how to land their dream internship.
This episode was a blast. Tam gives great advice on how to talk to your parents about dropping out, he also talks about the most important things to keep in mind when starting your first business, we talk about messenger bots, breadth versus depth of knowledge, and we thoroughly answer the question, "is a college degree worth it?".
Michael is co-founder and CEO of Epic Playground, Inc. He is a veteran entrepreneur with a specific focus on Web-based software and services. Michael considers helping people understand and leverage technology his life's work. In addition to creating companies and running Epic Playground, Michael is heavily involved in the Dallas, Texas startup community, building on the lessons from the Boulder and Denver community – where he spent seven years. He is a mentor to several other individual startups, and he is debt free, including his house!
Guys I absolutely loved this episode. Michael will probably be on again in the future. In this episode we talk about questioning your belief systems, virtual reality, how Michael's daughter is "unschooled", how Michael quit smoking in 1 day, how he lost 40 pounds by eating mindfully, how he became debt free and why he sold a new car in favor of a $1700 junker. Lots of great stories that will challenge you to think differently!
"A lot of times in life, the most fun things you can possibly do and the most value you can get out of life is to experiment and tinker with what your belief systems are. Question everything, constantly." - Michael
Justin has been pushing his limits for years now by pursuing extreme sports like free diving, back country snowboarding, surfing monster waves and much more.
He's a serial entrepreneur living life to the fullest, and he teaches entrepreneur's, high achievers, & sales people how to write, market and publish their first book in 90 days around their full time job even if they suck at writing and have no ideas. He loves helping people create passive income and he's built multiple million dollar businesses.
Patrick is an American entrepreneur, author and creator of the Valuetainment channel on YouTube, which has been referred to as “the voice for entrepreneurs.” Patrick is currently the CEO and founder of PHP Agency Inc. (People Helping People) which is a leading insurance sales, marketing and distribution company. He resides in Dallas TX with his wife and three children.
His viral video: "The Life of an Entrepreneur in 90 Seconds" is worth checking out on youtube. Over 30 million total views and counting.
Braun is a 19 year old high school and college dropout based out of San Francisco. He works at Actiview, a blind and deaf technology startup after he had a line of several jobs at enterprise companies and VC firms. Braun is a huge fan of philosophy and hopes to convince people to work on problems that matter.
We go deep into the philosophy of experientialism, and how you can live more lifetimes than the average person by seeking out more novel experiences. Braun lives a life that is consistently inconsistent as a result of his personal philosophy, and I found the idea pretty fascinating as I began to understand his reasoning. I think you will too.
At 25 years old, Jake is a two time published author with Penguin Random-House, (which is the number one publisher in the world by the way), he’s backpacked around the world, he’s given TED talks, he toured with Van’s warped tour in 2015 as their first inspiration speaker appearing in front of over 500,000 millennials and their parents, and most importantly to HIM during that tour Jake helped the nonprofit Feed Our Children Now raise over 345,000 pounds worth of food…and of course…he is also a dropout.
Chino is a serial entrepreneur and mobile growth consultant. At 18 he dropped out of University of Washington to start an app company called Select Apps. By night he built the company while working as a carpet cleaner by day. With zero marketing spent and zero outside capital the company published over 160 iOS apps and 30 Android apps with users across 155 countries worldwide. His world class knowledge in app store optimization better known as ASO has resulted in a top 1% ASO track record. Over 50 of his apps have hit Apple's top charts totaling about 5 million users. The app portfolio was acquired in 2016. Chino has appeared in social media publication like Yahoo Finance, Forbes, Inc, and Huffington Post.
Chino seems like a very genuine guy who succeeded (and continues to do so) through pure grit and grind. What he did is possible for you to do too. We talk about how he was able to attract over 5 million app users with zero marketing or funding and how to elevate your worst case scenario.
Letsie and I go deep in this episode talking about the future of learning and how to take control of your own education with an entrepreneurial flare. Whether you are in school or out, on your entrepreneurial journey or not, this episode will get you thinking and asking questions.
Letsie is an Austin, TX based entrepreneur who brings a deeply transformative and effective approach to both education and business development. At age 26 he co-founded and let the Khabele School which was one of the first school in the country to embrace and institute entrepreneurship and daily mindfulness in it's methodology. Letsie was also the CEO of the tech software company Trails.by. He is currently the co-creator of the KoSchool, he's a philanthropist, public speaker and a leadership and strategy consultant.
Mike is an entrepreneur, small business owner and video producer. He dropped out of Miami University in 2011 and started Clum Creative which has grown into a six person video production company recording $500,000 in billing for 2016.
Mike and I discuss the difference between narrow passions and expansive passions, when to create a business plan, his dropout story, and what you should focus on as you start your own business. I would highly recommend checking out his website and videos, they are amazing!
Ryan is the founder and CEO of Newchip, a FinTech startup reinventing the financial landscape to bring exciting investment opportunities in emerging companies to small investors, new investors and millennials. He created Newchip as a way to make wealth and investing more accessible to the masses, while also specifically targeting people his own age - millennials.
Ross is a full time real estate entrepreneur who made a life changing decision two and a half years ago to drop out of college, move from New York to Houston and quit his bartending job to create a real estate business. He did his first fix and flip two months into getting started and two and a half years later he has already done fifty fix and flips and built a solid team that is growing rapidly. He has also raised millions of dollars in private capital to buy deals.
This week we have a special episode featuring a conversation between my good friend Stephen Olmon, my brother in law Auren O'Connell and myself. We talk about the big questions and thoughts you should keep in mind when trying to decided if college is right for you or not. Enjoy!