I want to start this section by saying education has many different forms. Someone people are academics, some are street education, while others may have a little but of both. I have nothing to say in support or disregard for any type of eduction.
I like to say my education started around the age of 16. By then my parents were divorced and I’d moved out of my mothers house choosing (not by choice) to live with friends when I could and out of the back seat of my car when necessary. I’d decided high school was a wast of time so I stopped going. I chose to ‘run the streets’ with my cousin making money how ever we could. I held a few jobs here and there but really had no direction or care about what was going on.
On my 16th birthday I went into a Marine Corps Recruiting Station to enlist. I was very convincing to the point where the was paperwork on the desk ready to be filled out. Then came the first questions – Date of Birth. When I told them I just turned 16 the recruiters tone changed and the young Corporal I had spoke to at first got a bit of an ass-chewing. Turns our you can not enlist until you are 17 and you can’t go to boot camp until you graduate from high school. Both pieces of news were disappointing. Irregardless I was back on my 17th birthday.
I managed to graduate from high school with a 1.1 GPA (I still think I got the .1 just so they could get rid of me). This isn’t necessarily how you’d think the story of a serial entrepreneur would start. Hopefully that is good news to everyone reading this that found absolutely no value in the garbage they teach in US Public Schools.
The next step in my education was a five year tour in the United States Marines. I spent my first year in training where I received a certification as a Avionics Micro-Electronics Engineer. Fancy title for a guy who worked on 40 year old helicopters. While in uniform I was always considered a stellar Marine. Unfortunately I was still a little immature and didn’t respect the fact that a Marine is a Marine 24/7 whether he has his uniform on or not. This lead to a few problems of my own creation.
I was lucky enough to spend the last year of my enlistment in the S-4 Office (Logistics) where I met Capt. Brewster. Which till this day I thank for setting me straight and for the first time showing me I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was. Working in his office I designed parking lot maps, helped create field exercise supply lists, built inventory databases, and got first hand knowledge of the logistics industry. This single year of my life introduced me to the skills I would later use to start my first company.
While serving as Marine and living in Southern California I did attend the local Community College. I may have a attended class a few times… but spent most of my time harassing the female students.
When I got out the Marines I started my first real job. I did continue to go to school as well. You can read more about that by clicking this link My First Post-Education Job
