Michael Ellsberg's The Education of Millionaires is a must read.

Ellsberg's claim is that college is a waste for most career-minded people, as it doesn't teach real-world job skills. Considering that 53% of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, I'd say he has a point.

After making his case against college, Ellsberg spends the rest of the book outlining the actual skills that will make you successful, illustrated with numerous real life examples. He lists seven skills, but they could be boiled down to just three:

  1. Make connections.
  2. Learn how to sell yourself and your ideas.
  3. Take chances.

While many have decried Ellsberg's dismissal of college, (Ellsberg himself is a Brown graduate) even he admits that it's necessary for many fields. But it's hard to disagree with the skills he recommends, which are often discouraged in academia.

For example, he insists that everyone should learn sales. I know you're probably cringing at the thought, but as Ellsberg astutely points out, if you can't sell others on your ideas, they'll go to waste.

If you think your ideas are going to waste, then The Education of Millionaires is a must read. It's the essential primer for today's job market. It's changed my life and I'm sure it can change yours.

Buy The Education of Millionaires with any link in this post, and I get a small kickback from Amazon, at no additional cost to you.