Successful Dropout

Eric is a former philosophy student and screenwriter and an accomplished writer and researcher. He is best known for his blog Barking Up The Wrong Tree, which has been around since 2009. Much of the blog's popularity is due to how useful it is to people and there are currently just under 300,000 subscribers to Eric's newsletter. His blog topics typically revolve around science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life.

I shared a post of Eric's on my FB recently. The post followed 81 valedictorians after graduation to see where they ended up. It sparked an interesting debate in the comments and so I decided to invite Eric on the show to talk about his findings.

Rainesford Stauffer is a 23-year-old writer who has been published by Forbes, USA TODAY, and The Hill, among others. After a diverse high school education, she dropped out of college her freshman year and spent two years shaping her own education through internships, writing, and communications. She's given two TEDx Talks and serves on the Advisory Board of (south by south west EDU) SXSWedu. For her day job, she works in communications, and is the editor of Gap Year Stories, a platform that publishes student perspectives on shaping your own learning experiences.

Rainesford and I have a lot in common with our mindset around education and entrepreneurship...she also owns a hot yoga studio, which is one of the businesses I own as well. In this episode we talk a lot about uncertainty, not knowing the answer, anxiety, and how messy and unclear times are actually the key to finding your way, learning, and ultimately success.

There are so many quotable snippets in this episode, Rainesford is the real deal - a go-getter, a self-teacher and an entrepreneur. She's the epitome of a Successful Dropout.

"Usually when you are shaping your own path, it's a combination of belief in something that matters to you, incredible amounts of effort, and just the right amount of risk."

"Sometimes the greatest opportunities, moments and endeavors in your life are really messy. They aren't cookie-cutter, they aren't picture perfect and to me I think that's the magic of it."

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.

Sign up at Audible.com and get your first audiobook for FREE by going to Successfuldropout.com/book

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.