Don't Worry: Warren Buffett was rejected by Harvard.

17 replies
Okay, so I just got some feedback on an honours-level course that I was planning on doing in 2013.

To keep with this short, I was told I would not be accepted because of some blah blah reason.

This then brought my thoughts to the forum and the world's 2nd/3rd richest man, plain ol Warren Buffett.

He was reject by Harvard university at the age of 19 however turned out to be one of the most successful businessmen of the 20th century.

If there is anyone that is feeling down or de-motivated, then I suggest you take a loom at Warren's story.

In fact, take a look at the story of Oprah, Walt Disney and many of the other financial success stories.

Many of then came from the depths of failure to rise above those who said that they were not capable.

Hope this can inspire someone.

RL
#buffett #don’t #harvard #rejected #warren #worry
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Hi Ryan,

    Sorry to hear you didn't get in to this course. There are always limited seats, and whoever is deciding on entry has to use some kind of criteria. And who knows, maybe the 10 people who got in had parents who religiously donate to the school.

    Now I know you are not in "the depths of failure" even if you are feeling a little upset about their decision.

    This isn't a failure on your part. They probably don't even know you personally, right?

    It's an exciting time where you can pick what to do next. Instead of some prescribed course of study, you can decide to make something different happen.

    Seth Godin has a useful paper about what he believes school should be for. He has an article (that I couldn't find, but here's the gist) in which he says if you want to make a course remarkable, team up with a couple of other students and figure out what you want out of it. Then make that happen. You'll have a course experience that people remember long after you're gone. Pretty much, he suggests becoming a leader.

    Leadership is the most missing factor in today's world. I see it missing every day, in all kinds of situations. Leadership, not technical knowledge, is what is most needed. Is there an opportunity for you to do something that demonstrates leadership, that you can put on your resume and will make you stand out? That's a target to aim for.
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    Watching "how I made my millions" last night was an awesome documentary on the guy who owns the Paul Mitchell hair product empire. He also owns Patron Tequila surprisingly.

    I would highly recommend anyone watch this. He was a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman and got fired, then partnered up with the hair care guy and made the shampoo, going biz to biz selling it. Eventually they lost everything and only had $700 between both of them. He was homeless and sleeping in his car and eating 99 cent truck stop breakfasts.

    He just kept pounding the pavement and eventually found massive success with it, and the first thing he did when they had money was he bought an actual full priced meal at that diner. Now he's worth a bazillion dollars but he still teaches sales skills to those who are trying to get jobs, and it was very very clear that his door knocking days were an integral part of his success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    Hey everybody --

    Google the radio show "Legends of Success", hosted by John Rezneck.

    Find out where it airs in your radio market and listen to it.

    John has great 1-hour interviews with people like Paul Mitchell and successful entrepreneurs.
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    • Profile picture of the author Irish Intuition
      I'd be a little more inspired if Warren got rejected by Michigan State University
      instead of Harvard.

      LOTS get rejected from Harvard and go on to be successful. They are VERY
      picky...

      Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve1776
      Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

      Hey everybody --

      Google the radio show "Legends of Success", hosted by John Rezneck.

      Find out where it airs in your radio market and listen to it.

      John has great 1-hour interviews with people like Paul Mitchell and successful entrepreneurs.
      Program schedule here.
      Signature

      You can get anything you want if you help enough other people get what they want.
      Losers fail and quit. Winners fail until they succeed.
      Indecision is worse than the wrong decision. You can fix a wrong decision, you can't fix indecision.

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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Subtle
    Originally Posted by RyanLester View Post

    He was reject by Harvard university at the age of 19 however turned out to be one of the most successful businessmen of the 20th century.
    So what if he was rejected by Harvard. Did that end his education? Nope. This guy started his college education at the famous Wharton School of Bussiness (U of Penn). He went onto grad school (MS Econ) at the Columbia School of Business (another top business school).

    Originally Posted by RyanLester View Post

    If there is anyone that is feeling down or de-motivated, then I suggest you take a loom at Warren's story.
    I would recommend that you don't. Why? Because it will just depress you even more to learn he was driven from childhood to make money. He worked all the time. He filed his first tax return at the age of 14. Then took his first business tax deduction the following year (his bike and a watch).
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  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    Brian Tracy never graduated high school, and I think Jay Abraham has a similar story.

    Yet they both get paid thousands an hour!
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    • Profile picture of the author Irish Intuition
      Originally Posted by vndnbrgj View Post

      I think Jay Abraham has a similar story.
      Jay is so damn smart it is scary. He'd have to dumb-it-down to go to Harvard
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  • Profile picture of the author TeamBringIt
    School is a bit overrated! The experience you get, from real world business pawns school anytime. Theories are ok, but doing things and taking action is what takes one to the next level....You'll be ok
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Missing out on a prestigious university means that you don't fit into their mold. Being a square peg in a round hole is a positive thing if you're a marketer because you can think outside the box. It's something to be proud of.
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    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author Sheila Ross
    There are so many people who left schools before completing the study and in the later age, they become famous personalities in different fields.
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  • Profile picture of the author sniger
    Op, thanks for the post. I'm new and I'm learning. Thanks again.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnB23
      You can educate yourself a lot on the internet. You have a wealth of knowledge only a few would have had 30 or 40 years ago.

      My tips...

      -Look up words these guys use who are successful. I.e. Jay Abraham has all these big words...adroit, boil something down to the "marrow", immutable, conceptual, etc. Do you ever notice that really successful people use words that others don't. Things you just don't hear in everyday conversation. Maybe the top 5%.

      Is it any wonder, the top 5% that use it, are also the top 5% in earners? Buffett is a great communicator as well (i.e. his famous letters to shareholders). I don't think they teach that kind of communication in school.

      -Also, look up things you don't know.

      Someone I follow in the financial world is Jim Rogers. Very successful guy. In some of his interviews, he'll go on about something historical. Or some event I've never heard of. Research it. You can learn a lot in a reasonable amount of time. Build files of different people that get your interest.
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  • Profile picture of the author gabysanchez225
    With the number of post-grads living at home, incapable of finding a job, I would rather divert the 2-6 years towards building a solid business and if you were truly focused/driven there would be no reason why you would fail. You'd learn every step of the way, and though you might struggle there's no teacher like experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I would be more impressed If Buffett was rejected from a community college, lol, he$$ they'll let anyone in.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anish
    Yeah! Academic system is FLAWED. Most of successful people in business are drop outs, got rejected, or just never got to college etc. This itself shows there is something seriously wrong with academic systems. They inhibit leadership, self-motivation, and in fact turn bright minds to leeches. I'm sure this can be a very controversial subject with reasonable arguments from both sides but this is just my opinion. Obviously, this is very different for something like medical field - agreed, you can't survive without proper education in that, but we're talking about business here.

    I'm studying Business administration and I do enjoy the subjects but ever since I've joined and "paid attention", I feel like it limits my creativity. They teach you a set of rules and train your mind to stick to them. Sure, business has elements of science to it.. You gotta do things the way they work, but pfft! VERY little attention is given to PRACTICALLY long-term effective aspects. Things like being different.. lateral thinking.. are just flat out ignored. All they know is which edition of book to recommend to students for a stupid exam and look for management jobs like a hungry dog, without having the inner drive for the craft. Luckily though my attendance is less than 18% :p Planning to drop out as soon as I hit IM income goals!
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    • Profile picture of the author Mr. Subtle
      Originally Posted by Anish View Post

      Yeah! Most of successful people in business are drop outs, got rejected, or just never got to college etc. This itself shows there is something seriously wrong with academic systems.
      WTF are you talking about? What a crock of BS, but of course I'll take it all back if you can post some links to academic studies that back up your brain fart.

      Actually the opposite is true. There is a direct correlation between higher education and business success. (Google: "higher education and entrepreneurship: the relation between college educational background and all business success in texas" for the dissertation.)

      The chart below has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, but education pays:



      The majority of people (in the U.S.) who are suffering because they are unemployed is because they do not have a higher education (college degree).
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