Since our childhood, we have heard our parents and elders urging us to pay heed to our studies and take school seriously. They believe and want us to think attending school will lead to a better future. Yet, time and time again, we have seen people disregarding school and other forms of formal education, and still, they have left their mark on the world.
It means that school is important but it is not everything. If we compare formal education with determination and focus, we see that many graduates fail to achieve even mild success in life whereas high school dropouts make bigger splashes in their chosen fields.
In this blog, we will take a look at different individuals from different walks of life, from showbiz to business and technology, and see how leaving schools and college only enabled them to dream big and achieve unachievable in life!
Geniuses Who Never Went To School
When we say they never went to school, we mean they either dropped out or did not go there altogether. It does not mean that they did not have any mentorship from masters of the craft. It is just that they did not stick around schools and colleges to graduate and then join others in the ranks of laborers.
In this section, we will cover three of the top personalities in the science and early technology field who left a lasting impact on the areas of research and development.
Thomas Edison
This name does not need any introduction. Ask any kid to name an inventor or a scientist, good chances are you will hear the name Thomas Edison. Considered to be the most important personality in the early 20th century who revolutionized the face of technology.
If you go through the life and childhood of the inventor, you will come to know that he had only attended school for a couple of weeks and then her mother pulled him out and homeschooled him for the rest of his education. Dropping out of school was not enough as he was known to be an avid reader and persistent in his pursuits.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was among the few inventors and entrepreneurs who reached legendary status in their life. Without any background in technology or even formal education, Jobs along with his friends, founded Apple Inc. and changed the face of the personal computer industry. There were many challenges in his life, on both personal and professional ends, but he prevailed with sheer grit.
As for the formal education, he attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon for a brief semester and then dropped out to work in the computer industry.
Albert Einstein
If you don’t know the name and person behind that name, you are either living under a rock or just plain illiterate. Albert Einstein made exceptional contributions to Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. He was a slow learner in school and by the age of 15, he decided to drop out of school because of the unchallenging work and the poor attitude of the teachers.
Yet, he went on to get a ph.d in Physics from a renowned university and contributed through academic papers and journals. He even came up with the most elegant yet profound equation in the history of science: “E = mc²”
Geniuses Who Struggled In School
There is something about good writing, whether it is a piece of fiction or non-fiction. It makes us meet new people and visit new places even when they don’t exist outside of the book. Just like other people, you might wonder that to become a writer, you definitely need to attend school and college and take up creative writing courses. However, these writers and authors defied the odds and became world-renowned personalities in Literature. They achieved that without even bothering to go to top universities!
Charles Dickens
Ask your Lit professor about the most revered English writer of the 19th century and he will tell you it was none other than Dickens. Although he had to drop out of school due to the financial situation of his family, he managed to succeed in the literary world by sheer will and determination. Even after leaving school, he read books and honed his natural talent for writing. From publishing in periodicals, he went on to become the most cherished writer of his generation.
Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury was a prolific writer in the post-WWII period. Being a soldier and serving the country overseas showed him the grim realities of the world. He put all his experience into his books, including his seminal work Fahrenheit-451. Although he was never accused of being good in school, he was a natural wordsmith with a penchant for details and building universes that go far and beyond.
His story shows that you do not necessarily have to go to school to become a great person in life.
Mark Twain
If there is one writer who made American Literature a force of nature in its early days, it was Mark Twain. His stories give a sense of adventure and perseverance in early 20th-century America. What is lesser known about the author is that he had little to no formal education. In fact, he dropped out of elementary school to become a printer’s apprentice. He loved being a typesetter but then changed his focus and became an author. During his sojourn from education, his father forced him to complete his education and he returned to school for a brief period. But he never graduated and dropped out to become one of the greatest American writers.
Jack London
Jack London is another one of the most celebrated writers in history. As a student, he spent much of his time brawling and getting scolded in the principal’s office. However, he was an avid reader and wanted to learn more about the world around him. Even though he never graduated high school, he went on to become a reporter and used his experience there to write stories.
Again, not a high school graduate but his stories are still read and loved by millions of people around the world.
A List of Geniuses Who Failed School
In this section, we will go through celebrities in the showbiz industry who did not graduate from school. Yet, they learned from practical experiences and built a foundation to find success in acting, singing, directing, and more!
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is one of the most beloved and successful singer-songwriters of this generation. According to her interviews, she failed to graduate school because she loved singing so much and wanted to pursue that as a career as soon as possible. Although she believed that she could have gotten some use of schooling, her earnings and accolades say that she had done great things without a school education.
John Travolta
If there is one action figure in modern cinema that can stand out in both acting and producing, that person is John Travolta. Loved for his iconic roles on the big screen, the actor knew he wanted to be a superstar from a very early age. That compelled him to drop school and move to New York in the pursuit of acting roles. A few years later, he was the ultimate name in the blockbuster list.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino does not need any introduction. He is among the most celebrated writers and directors of modern cinema. With classic movies like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and more, the name is synonymous with love and dedication to cinema. However, many people don’t know that Tarantino failed to graduate from high school.
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is another superstar that has been gracing the cinema for over three decades. He has many hit movies under his belt yet he did not graduate high school and dropped out of it to pursue acting.
Robert Downey Jr.
Another classic example of a turbulent past and a glorious future – Robert Downey Jr! As a kid, he had a hard time staying in school so he dropped out and started pursuing acting as a career in New York. He also had his personal demons to beat but he persevered and became the most iconic figure in cinema.
Famous Geniuses Who Did Not Have Formal Education
This section is dedicated to business personalities and entrepreneurs who did not have formal education. Still, they equipped themselves with knowledge and took on the world.
John D. Rockefeller
His name is synonymous with wealth and influence. Yet, the person behind it failed his first business and dropped out of high school. Today, we know that he was among the most successful and wealthy people of his generation. Apart from oil and mining, he made a fortune through banking and philanthropy.
Sir Richard Branson
He dropped out of high school when he was 16 and started working for a magazine for students. He realized that he had a drive for business and started his own record label the name “Virgin Records”. The rest is history as now the Virgin group is diversified and prospering as we can imagine.
Bill Gates
He is still among the most popular billionaires on the planet, apart from being a thinker and internationalist. His efforts in the philanthropic field alone make him a force of nature. Yet, he dropped out of Harvard to start his own company, that later on became Microsoft.
Mark Zuckerberg
He was studying at Harvard when he founded Facebook. This one small internet company took the world by storm and made Zuckerberg the youngest billionaire of his generation. Today, Facebook is rebranded as Meta and has other companies such as Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, and more under its banner.
Henry Ford
If there was one person that changed the face of industrial production, it was Henry Ford. The way he perfected car production and mass-produced at a lightning pace, he is considered to be the pioneer of personal cars. However, many people don’t know that he left high school and worked in his factory to achieve the status that he has now.
Top Smart People Who Didn’t Go To College
We have covered the lives of geniuses who did not go to school. It is time we take a look at some of the personalities who attended high school but did not go to college. Yet, they left a lasting mark in the industry they excelled.
Larry Ellison
He is an entrepreneur and a businessman with many ventures. He is considered a guru in the enterprise computing world. With a net worth of multiple billion dollars, he did not go to college but taught himself all the things he needed to know.
Michael Dell
Who has not heard the term, Dell? It is a famous computer brand that produces personal computers, electronics, and enterprise solutions. However, its founder, Michael Dell did not go to college. He worked in the industry for years and equipped himself with the knowledge and training to open his own company.
Ernest Hemingway
In the world of literature and literary figures, no one has a more adventurous life than Ernest Hemingway. He was a war hero and correspondent, a hunter, and a fisherman. Yet, he found time to write one of the most enduring stories in Literature – all without even seeing the face of college.
Success Comes From Determination & Focus
By going through the lives and works of the most famous people who did not go to school or college, we come to understand that school is not the absolute necessity to earn a name in this world. If you want to achieve a higher status, you need to be willing to give everything for the cause and success will follow!
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