When I went to college, I was too smart for it. Backpacked Europe, lived abroad, learned several languages, studied with some of the best Central European teachers, crammed three semesters into one. Looked at stuff once and was good.

I remember my school wouldn’t let me graduate, despite all I had done, they forced me to return to complete a slew of intro courses.

I sat in with the freshmen, my nose turned up. 

But guess what?

Intro to Psych 101 turned out to be the most interesting thing I ever learned.

But it was too late, I was done.

Had I just gone to school, like a normal personal, I would have 100% majored in psychology. It was fascinating.

Moral of the story is this: college isn’t about teaching you something. It’s about exposing you to things you didn’t know existed. It’s about making you more worldly, even if you’re from some small podunk village. It’s meant to show you all the things that are possible, and give you a chance to get excited about a million different paths in life.

Super cool to drop out and start companies, but you’re missing the point of being learned, not just smart.

You’re missing the point of living, not just succeeding. 

Very few drop out, start a company, and develops a deep love and talent for brain surgery, or social work, or marine biology, or theoretical physics.

But many of these people who go to school and become these things found their calling while in school.

There’s plenty of time to build a company anon. Live first.