The accumulation of great fortunes calls for POWER, and power is acquired through highly organized and intelligently directed specialized knowledge, but that knowledge does not, necessarily, have to be in the possession of the man who accumulates the fortune.
The preceding paragraph should give hope and encouragement to the man with ambition to accumulate a fortune, who has not possessed himself of the necessary “education” to supply such specialized knowledge as he may require. Men sometimes go through life suffering from “inferiority complexes,” because they are not men of “education.” The man who can organize and direct a “Master Mind” group of men who possess knowledge useful in the accumulation of money, is just as much a man of education as any man in the group. REMEMBER THIS, if you suffer from a feeling of inferiority, because your schooling has been limited.
Thomas A. Edison had only three months of “schooling” during his entire life. He did not lack education, neither did he die poor. Henry Ford had less than a sixth grade “schooling” but he has managed to do pretty well by himself, financially.
SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE is among the most plentiful, and the cheapest forms of service which may be had! If you doubt this, consult the payroll of any university.
IT PAYS TO KNOW HOW TO PURCHASE KNOWLEDGE
First of all, decide the sort of specialized knowledge you require, and the purpose for which it is needed. To a large extent your major purpose in life, the goal toward which you are working, will help determine what knowledge you need.
With this question settled, your next move requires that you have accurate information concerning dependable sources of knowledge. The more important of these are:
(a) One’s own experience and education
(b) Experience and education available through cooperation of others (Master Mind Alliance)
(c) Colleges and Universities
(d) Public Libraries (Through books and periodicals in which may be found all the knowledge organized by civilization)
(e) Special Training Courses (Through night schools and home study schools in particular.)
As knowledge is acquired it must be organized and put into use, for a definite purpose, through practical plans. Knowledge has no value except that which can be gained from its application toward some worthy end. This is one reason why college degrees are not valued more highly. They represent nothing but miscellaneous knowledge.
If you contemplate taking additional schooling, first determine the purpose for which you want the knowledge you are seeking, then learn where this particular sort of knowledge can be obtained, from reliable sources.
Successful men, in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession. Those who are not successful usually make the mistake of believing that the knowledge acquiring period ends when one finishes school. The truth is that schooling does but little more than to put one in the way of learning how to acquire practical knowledge.
With this Changed World which began at the end of the economic collapse, came also astounding changes in educational requirements. The order of the day is SPECIALIZATION! This truth was emphasized by Robert P. Moore, secretary of appointments of Columbia University.
“SPECIALISTS MOST SOUGHT AFTER ”
“Particularly sought after by employing companies are candidates who have specialized in some field-business-school graduates with training in accounting and statistics , engineers of all varieties, journalists, architects, chemists, and also outstanding leaders and activity men of the senior class.
“The man who has been active on the campus, whose personality is such that he gets along with all kinds of people and who has done an adequate job with his studies has a most decided edge over the strictly academic student. Some of these, because of their all-around qualifications, have received several offers of positions, a few of them as many as six.
“In departing from the conception that the ‘straight A’ student was invariably the one to get the choice of the better jobs, Mr. Moore said that most companies look not only to academic records but to activity records and personalities of the students.
“One of the largest industrial companies, the leader in its field, in writing to Mr. Moore concerning prospective seniors at the college, said:
“’We are interested primarily in finding men who can make exceptional progress in management work. For this reason we emphasize qualities of character, intelligence and personality far more than specific educational background.’
“APPRENTICESHIP” PROPOSED
“Proposing a system of ‘apprenticing’ students in offices, stores and industrial occupations during the summer vacation, Mr. Moore asserts that after the first two or three years of college, every student should be asked ‘to choose a definite future course and to call a halt if he has been merely pleasantly drifting without purpose through an unspecialized academic curriculum.’
“Colleges and universities must face the practical consideration that all professions and occupations now demand specialists,” he said, urging that educational institutions accept more direct responsibility for vocational guidance. One of the most reliable and practical sources of knowledge available to those who need specialized schooling, is the night schools operated in most large cities. The correspondence schools give specialized training anywhere the U. S. mails go, on all subjects that can be taught by the extension method. One advantage of home study training is the flexibility of the study programme which permits one to study during spare time. Another stupendous advantage of home study training (if the school is carefully chosen), is the fact that most courses offered by home study schools carry with them generous privileges of consultation which can be of priceless value to those needing specialized knowledge. No matter where you live, you can share the benefits.