How to Get Ahead of 99% of College Grads, MBAs, and PhDs
Let’s be blunt:
If you're still thinking the path to success is paved with degrees, diplomas, and letters after your name, you're playing the wrong game.
In fact, you can outperform 99% of college graduates, MBAs, and even PhDs—without ever stepping foot in another classroom again.
Here’s how.
What They’re Taught—and Why It’s Failing Them
College grads are trained to follow rules, memorize theories, and aim for a job—usually with no practical skill, no portfolio, and no real-world results.
MBAs are taught frameworks, slide decks, and how to look polished in meetings—but rarely how to build, sell, or lead with skin in the game.
PhDs dive deep into a narrow field, publish papers no one reads, and graduate with knowledge but no leverage, business sense, or execution ability.
And the kicker?
None of them are taught how to think for themselves, apply knowledge rapidly, or create something of value from scratch.
That’s your opening.
How You Beat Them: Play a Different Game
If you want to leapfrog the degree-chasers, stop trying to beat them at their game.
Play a different game entirely.
Here’s what that looks like:
1. Build a High-Value Skill
Not a broad degree. Not general knowledge.
A specific, monetizable skill you can apply today. Examples:
- Sales
- Copywriting
- Paid ads
- Coding
- Operations
- Offer creation
Then prove it with outcomes. Not a resume. Not a certificate. Actual results.
2. Think Like an Owner
College trains you to be a worker. MBAs train you to be a manager. PhDs train you to be a researcher.
No one trains you to be an owner.
You want leverage? Start thinking in systems:
- How can I solve this once and have it work repeatedly?
- How do I build a product instead of trading time?
- How do I get paid while I sleep?
Even if you're working a 9–5, you can think and act like an owner. It shows. It pays.
3. Learn Just-in-Time
Stop hoarding knowledge like you're prepping for a test.
Real-world winners:
- Learn what they need when they need it.
- Apply it immediately.
- Reflect, adjust, repeat.
You’ll outlearn most MBAs in 6 months with this approach. You’ll out-execute most PhDs in 6 weeks.
4. Build a Track Record of Outcomes
People don’t pay for degrees.
They pay for:
- Clients gained
- Revenue earned
- Cost saved
- Teams led
- Problems solved
That’s your real resume. Make one even if you’ve never had a “real job.”
5. Own Something
Own your time. Your ideas. Your products. Your path.
College grads are trained to rent their labor.
You? You're building assets.
Start small:
- A niche blog
- A service business
- A newsletter
- A micro-SaaS
- An Etsy store
- An info product
Then grow from there.
Examples?
- The 22-year-old who skipped college, mastered SEO, and now makes $250K/year running a white-label agency.
- The no-MBA founder who read 50 business books, built a $1M/year productized service, and hires MBAs to work for him.
- The ex-PhD student who turned their research into a course and now makes 10x their old stipend teaching it online.
This isn’t fantasy. It’s real. It’s replicable.
But only if you stop playing by old rules.
Your Action Plan
Here’s your five-step blueprint to leap ahead:
- Pick a skill or problem worth solving.
- Learn by doing. No fluff. No busywork.
- Solve real problems and document the results.
- Build leverage: content, code, capital, or community.
- Iterate aggressively. Improve weekly.
This will get you ahead of 99% of traditional graduates—because you’ll be solving problems they aren’t trained to see, let alone fix.
Final Word: You Don’t Need Permission
Forget chasing prestige.
Forget the sunk cost of someone else’s plan.
The real game is this: Solve valuable problems for real people and get paid well to do it.
Degrees don’t do that. You do.
Stay sharp,
—The Myford University Team
Want to read the full article? Find it here.
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