The education system is broken.

It programs people into limited thinking, corporate robots.

Focuses on teaching people how to fit into a system, not create their own.

Puts people into crippling debt by charging 200k for a degree that might yield them no benefit.

A new trend that I noticed is how slow the education industry adapts to new and emerging fields.

Marketing, Business and Finance have been around since the beginning of civilization. But coding, product, software etc have not. That's why you can't major in something like product management (yet)

Who knows how long it will take to see a major like that, but product management is one of the fastest growing job areas (according to LinkedIn)

So you're only option to learn this is self-education.

The Modern Skill Stack

I can confidently say that YouTube has taught me more than anything or anyone in my life. (besides maybe my parents)

As a kid it taught me all about tech and gaming-- my main interests at the time.

But as an adult it has taught me SEO, marketing, product management and finance.

Each of these has had an incredible impact on my life, and not a single one is taught in school unless you majored in marketing or finance.

But in my opinion these should be taught much earlier than college.

The ironic part is that sales, marketing, psychology, product- are all necessary skills to thrive in the digital age regardless of your path.

You want a promotion?

You need sales and marketing to convince your boss why you should be promoted.

You want to make money online?

You need writing, psychology, marketing, and product building to do that.

You want to be healthier?

You need to understand your own psychology and finances to create and pay for a healthier lifestyle.

Even if you think some of those skills don't apply to you, learning them will improve your life in one aspect or another.

The Antidote

The way to break out of a broken system is to self-educate.

Social Media platforms like YouTube, X (Twitter), LinkedIn etc are all filled with individuals providing completely free education on valuable skills and knowledge.

The problem is most people use social media for mindless consumption.

But if you tailor your feed to educate, inform and improve your mind-- you will start to see the benefit.

The algorithm can either control and distract you or educate and empower you.

The choice is completely yours.

Not only can you leverage social media, but the self-education industry is so large that platforms like:

Masterclass

Udemy

Codeacademy

Skillshare

All were created with the sole intention of providing people will useful and actionable skillsets.

YouTube, Twitter, Hubspot Academy and Codeacedemy are directly responsible for me 3x my income in 18 months.

People are hesitant to branch into new areas that they haven't previously studied because we are conditioned to think that way.

This thread from Dan Koe highlights the importance of this:

Self-Education is Self-Improvement

An unexamined life isn't worth living - Socrates

Unless you want to remain static and exactly where you are now, self-improvement is a necessary step to creating a better life.

Creating this better life will require new information (education), habits and skills. The only way to increase your quality of life is to acquire new skills that enable you to build better relationships, be healthier, and make more money.

Naturally that means self-education is part of the self-improvement process.

Becoming more valuable requires new skills that make us inherently valuable.

The first step is identifying how you learn and retain information best.

Some people prefer reading, others prefer video.

Some prefer books, others prefer podcasts.

The options have never been more accessible, but we have to start using them.

It's difficult at first, but once you learn your first new skill and start applying it-- there is no looking back. (speaking from experience here)

Happy skill hunting 🎯

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