While some individuals have the ability to earn prestigious degrees, other individuals struggle to simply earn a high school diploma. If you find yourself classified as the latter, there is no reason to curse your fate as there are plenty of famous high school drop outs that rose above their circumstances and got their slice of the American Dream.
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wonzniak are some of the most notable college drop outs in the world; however they still were fortunate enough to have earned a high school diploma. However, not every big name in business or entertainment had such luxuries, and circumstances forced them to drop out before earning a diploma of any kind. Despite that misfortune, these individuals were able to rise above their circumstances and change the world around them.
Notable High School Drop Outs
- Thanks to an ad campaign featuring the sun talking about the power of a great breakfast, Jimmy Dean has officially evolved from high school drop out to sausage king. He first dropped out of school, joined the U.S. Air Force and then switched into becoming a professional entertainer. In 1969 he diversified and launched the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company, the rest is processed meat history.
- Daniel Gilbert was once an aspiring science fiction writer who also dropped out of high school. He eventually went on to earn a GED and when he went to enroll in a creative writing class, he found his true calling instead, psychology. Gilbert went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Ph.D. in social psychology, he now is a professor at Harvard University.
- What is not to love about Richard Branson? He is handsome, British and a self made billionaire despite not having a high school education. He struggled in school, but his entrepreneurial spirit was enough to carry him through and eventually launch the Virgin empire (starting with music and now including phone serves as well as an airline).
- Diana Frances Spencer was not known for being a stellar student, she is even categorized as a high school drop out. Despite that, she inherited the title of Lady and later became Princess Diana.
Estimates suggest that daily, more than 7,000 students opt to drop out of high school and the reasons include home life to learning disabilities. While there are certainly individuals who proved they did not need that type of diploma, the average Jane or Joe needs those credentials to make a living wage.
Although high school may not be for everyone, there is a lot to consider before becoming a drop out. Individuals looking to avoid the traditional route to education should focus their energies on what kind of job prospects may exist or creating a business plan essential to entrepreneurial enterprises. While there is no denying that high school dropouts can go far, for every one Princess or billionaire success story there are countless of other folks who would may have been better sticking with theta traditional course of action.
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