Most people who write have their favorites and Chris Guillebeau is one of mine.
I own several copies of his books and have sent friends and family members copies of his books. Further, when I finally met him, I had purchased his books and had them ready for the book signing.
Little did I know, Chris gave out free copies of his latest book, "$100 Start-Up" and now I have an extra copy with his signature.
Chris Guillebeau is a very inspiring figure. During his talks, I was not able to ask him a question in front of the audience. I think he was looking for people who were not assertive to ask him questions relating to the book.
I come off as shy, but tend to be more assertive, so I asked him the question right before he signed my books.
My question, "After reading Guy Kawasaki and Robert Kiyosaki who were both in MBA programs and dropped out and then knowing that you were a high-school drop out, Reid Hoffman talks about MBAs being a negative predictor of entrepreneurship, do you think that schools are not able to nurture entrepreneurial talent?"
Obviously, he saw my notepad as I was sitting extremely close to him and probably didn't want to answer such a long question during the speech.
Nevertheless, Chris answered:
"Do I think that school fails in developing great entrepreneurs? Yeah, I think that schools are definitely dropping the ball on developing great entrepreneurs. Schools aren't the breeding grounds for social change and entrepreneurship. I think the education system is so entrenched in old habits that don't work as effectively; however, the powers that be are afraid of change, and some students are looking for alternatives that actually meet their needs. I don't know if online learning or self-education will take the place of traditional college, but innovation is outpacing the education system. Do I think my book will change the way educators instruct students? I don't know, I doubt my book will have a large impact on the way things are done in education. Progress is stifled all the time and there are many people invested heavily in these outdated ways of doing things and it's really holding great minds back."
Chris asked, "What about you, what do you think?" I replied, "Well, I think CMU is not doing it for me anymore. I've taken to teaching myself more and more."
In an effort to invest in myself, I should start really focusing on organizing my life, running another profitable venture and running this marathon.