INTRODUCTION
Whenever I think about writing a new book I ask myself: Why am I writing this book?
For me, the answer has always been simple, and always the same. I have always wondered why money is not a subject taught in school. Day after day, our teachers drummed this into our heads:
“Go to school to get a job. If you don’t go to school, you won’t get a good job.”
Why Go to School?
This caused me to ask my teachers, “Isn’t the reason for getting a job to make money? If money is the objective for getting a job, why not get right to the point and just teach us about money?”
My question was never answered.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
The Emperor’s New Clothes is a Danish fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1837.
The Plot:
Once upon a time, there lived an emperor who cared only about his clothes and about showing them off. One day two con men came to him and said that they could make him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they said, was very special. The cloth was invisible to the stupid and the low-born.
Being a bit nervous about whether he himself would be able to see the cloth the emperor first sent two of his trusted advisors to see this special material. There was, of course, no cloth at all, but neither would admit that they could not see it and so they praised it.
As word of this special cloth spread, all the townspeople were now interested to learn how stupid their neighbors were.
The emperor then allowed himself to be dressed by the con men in his special new suit, made of this special cloth, for the procession through town. Although he knew he was naked, he never admitted it for fear that he was too unfit and stupid to see that he was wearing nothing. He also was afraid that the townspeople would think that he was stupid.
Of course, all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes of the emperor, themselves afraid to admit that they could not see the clothes, until a small child said: “But he has nothing on!”
The child’s parents gasped and attempted to silence the child, but the child would not be silenced. As he twisted and turned, pulling his parents hands from his mouth, he continued to say, “The emperor is naked!” Soon, a few of his classmates were giggling and joined in.
After awhile, adults joined their children and began to whisper, “The kids are right! The old guy has nothing on. He’s a fool and he expects us to be foolish with him.”
What Americans Really Want
In his 2009 book, What Americans Really Want… Really, Dr. Frank Luntz, a respected pollster who measures the heartbeat of America, asked this survey question:
If you had to choose, would you prefer to be a business owner or CEO of a Fortune 500 Company?
Those questioned responded with the following:
| 80% | The owner of a business that employs 100 or more people. |
| 14% | The CEO of a Fortune 500 Company that employs more than 10,000 people. |
| 6% | Don’t know/refused to answer. |
In other words, Americans today want to be entrepreneurs.
The problem is that our school system is training our kids to be employees.
This is why schoolteachers and many parents continue to say, “Go to school to get a good, high-paying job.” Few parents or teachers are saying, “Go to school to learn to create good, high-paying jobs.”
There is a tremendous difference between the skill sets of an employee and the skill sets of an entrepreneur. The skills required to be an entrepreneur are not taught in most schools.
Dr. Luntz found that over 70 percent of full-time, corporate employees are considering or have considered starting their own businesses. Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, but few will take the leap of faith. The lack of financial education is the primary reason why most people will remain employees. Without a financial education, most employees are terrified of losing their jobs, not having a steady paycheck, or simply failing.
Financial education and the transformation it delivers are essential for entrepreneurs.
Forget MBAs
Dr. Luntz goes on to state:
“So how to equip a generation of Americans for success in entrepreneurship? Forget about MBAs. Most business schools teach you how to be successful in a big corporation rather than start your own company. But starting something from scratch and nurturing it as it grows is where our country has been at its strongest and most innovative.”
Killing the American Dream
Americans have always wanted to be entrepreneurs.
People immigrated to America—some enduring unimaginable hardships—attracted by the promise of the American Dream. Millions left the oppression of the kings and queens of Europe and the tyranny of communist dictators in other parts of the world, just for a shot at the American Dream. Their American Dream.
The American Dream is just as Dr. Luntz describes: “Starting something from scratch and nurturing it as it grows is where our country has been at its strongest and most innovative.”
Our schools seem to have forgotten about the American Dream. The problem is that our educational system trains students to be “A” students—academics—or “B” students—bureaucrats. Our schools do not train our young people to be “C” students: capitalists. Furthermore, it’s these “C” students who so often follow an entrepreneurial path, carrying the torch of capitalism and creating new jobs.
Ask entrepreneurs today and many will tell you that bureaucracies are actively destroying the entrepreneurial spirit of capitalism.
They will also say many young graduates do not have the skills required for today’s work environment. In fact, many have a “bad attitude” towards capitalists.
Hatred of Capitalists
In 2008, The Kaufman Foundation, a leading entrepreneurial think tank in America, commissioned Dr. Luntz to find out what Americans thought about capitalism. His survey found:
“It’s hard to tell which has become the stronger emotion: respect for entrepreneurs or hatred toward CEOs.”
In November of 2012, Hostess Brands, the maker of iconic baked goods including Twinkies and Wonder Bread, shut its doors and filed for bankruptcy protection. The CEO of Hostess claimed the company was forced to shut down due to union demands for higher wages and benefits.
Making matters worse, it’s not just the 18,000+ workers who were affected. When the company closed, 18,000 families felt the impact as well. If there is an average of four people in a family, the number of lives impacted jumps to 72,000. This ripple effect spreads from each family, affecting schools and businesses such as dentists, grocery stores, dry cleaners, retailers, auto repair shops, even churches, and the rest of the community.
It was later disclosed that the CEO of Hostess Brands and his team of merry men and women paid themselves millions in severance bonuses.
Small wonder that Americans now hate CEOs. Many are graduates of our finest business schools and it begs the question: Is this what our business schools teach?
Unfortunately,