Today’s business world is much different than it was in the last few centuries. With the upswing of modern technology and WiFi hot-spots, a lot of people are doing their work on the go from the comfort of their laptops and tablets. With the increase of many freelance jobs hidden in the market that aren’t necessarily seen on regular job market postings, it makes the real world a much more evolving atmosphere.

In order to give the young people of today’s generation a better idea and outlook. I decided to do a quick summary of an excellent business book by Michael Ellsberg, The Education of Millionaire’s.

I don’t plan to do too many book reviews on my blog, however I do firmly believe that some reading materials are definitely worth the time. For this reason, I wanted to include my personal opinion along with the modern day advice of Ellsberg on the current business and career landscape present for the generation of today.

In The Education of Millionaire’s, the book begins by discussing some of the most important skills that every young adult should be developing that aren’t necessarily taught in your State History class or Introduction to Psychology course. What is stressed in this book is the crucial need for success related skills such as personal skills and networking with people of authority. All of which aren’t necessarily taught in introductory college courses.

The college education of today consists of pounding in studies through the means of memorizing vast terms and spending all-nighters studying for material that may not always have great relevance to the modern workplace of job related skills. Unless a student is in an Engineering, Pre-Medical studies, Finance, or Computer Programming field the world is becoming increasingly hard for new graduates.

What this book really stresses is the need to develop seven key skills related to successful results in the professional world as well as practical steps to take in order to make vast changes.

The seven success skills are as follows:

1. How to Make Your Work Meaningful and Your Meaning Work (or, How to Make a Difference in the World Without Going Broke)
2. How to Find Great Mentors and Teachers, Connect with Powerful and Influential People, and Build a World-Class Network
3. What Every Successful Person Needs to Know About Marketing, and How To Teach Yourself
4. What Every Successful Person Needs to Know About Sales, and How To Teach Yourself
5. How To Invest for Success (The Art of Bootstrapping)
6. Build The Brand of You
7. The Entrepreneurial Mind-set versus the Employee Mind-set: Become The Author of Your Own Life  (Ellsberg 17)

In order to really make a dent and change lives, it takes a lot more than a simple college degree as our current job applicants all across America become increasingly educated and acquire more and more higher degrees. Nowadays many people continue education all the way beyond to the point of graduate school. The question to consider is whether all the schooling necessarily pays off in the long-run and whether the knowledge is really put into practical use to help fund and create businesses.

Through the course of self-study and learning  many relevant skills can be learned in a short time span including the art of app and website creation. With the increase of online programs and software becoming increasingly available it has become much easier to develop critical skills that can be applied towards multiple entrepreneurial ventures.

The modern day student and local retail salesperson are both people that are fighting a similar fight. They’re stuck in a crowded environment where their utmost skills and talents aren’t necessarily being full utilized, while their plates are simultaneously becoming more full.

Ellsberg repeatedly stresses that the biggest part of learning in the realm of career, work, money, and business all come through the course of self-education and trying out new ideas.

It takes a lot of trial and error in order to make an impact on the lives of others while simultaneously living a fulfilling life.

In order to have a successful launch it requires a smart toolkit of skills like transferring ideas and knowledge via word of mouth.

Ellsberg recommends time after time that if you want to take things a step further and reach people outside of your local circle of influence, a major way of accomplishing this goal can be through the method of referral marketing and building brand awareness. The best way to reach large amounts of people is through setting good realistic goals and taking constant action in order to reach more followers, customers, fans, and large groups of people.

The biggest stress of this book by Michael is whether it is correct to push our future students and graduates directly into schools or whether it is more beneficial for society and human interest to go take risks with creative passions.

Just about everyone has some sort of outside hobbies and passions that they enjoy doing, but the question of whether young people should take the risk of taking on student loans and boring careers versus striking it out in the business world is what young people need to try and configure.

As quoted in the book, “More and more Americans of all ages are waking up to the reality that you don’t need a nine-to-five job to be a valuable, contributing member of society and to create wealth for yourself and others. Millions of small-business owners, entrepreneurs, computer programmers, graphic designers, independent consultants, writers, and freelancers make valuable contributions to society (creating four out of ten new jobs in the economy), outside the realm of working for a boss nine to five or (eight to eight). (Ellsberg 15)”

Ellsberg stresses there needs to be more purpose in young people’s lives that isn’t exactly shown through dull professions and university degrees. In order to have a strong balance one needs to learn the art of making a living by solving problems and making a difference.

Part of experiencing life is stumbling upon new interests and refining old skills. In order to live comfortably and confidently it requires one to be adventurous enough to take leaps in the direction of new opportunity.

The important factor for most young people is that in order to launch a successful venture it helps to have a sense of financial security so experimentation and failure can occur without being broke. Ellsberg will tell you it is way less stressful to do things like launch an entrepreneurial  experiment when there is still room to fall between the spare hours of work and life. As he states about experimenting, “Leading always feels more meaningful, impactful, and creative than following. (Ellsberg, 44)”

One of the most important takeaways that I took from reading this book, was the importance of taking the step of Aligning Your Money and Your Meaning. When you live a life without any meaning attached to it, you’ll be wondering around hopelessly in a career that brings little value or satisfaction. I really feel that this book is a game-changer and it can really motivate strong self-directed learners towards the life of one’s dreams.

One of the quotes by Matt Mullenweg on the back cover of this text is quite noteworthy,  “Self-education is the key to upgrading your mind and your life. Michael’s book teaches you how to unlock the education available outside of classes, all around you.” Matt Mullenweg the creator of WordPress.org, the platform used by blogging professionals across the world; is just one of the many big names mentioned in the book.

The book will provide any college student or employee with a strong mindset as well as street-smart toolkit full of skills that can be applied towards real world success.

Be sure to stay up to date and create a strong reading list. Get yourself a copy of The Education of Millionaires!

Works Cited

Ellsberg, Michael. The Education of Millionaires: Everything You Won’t Learn In College About How To Be Succesful. New York: Porfolio/Penguin, 2011. Print.