I love this story in the New York Times.  It tells of   Joel Moss Levinson, a college dropout who can boast of dozens of failed jobs.  So far, he has won 11 contests by creating  homemade corporate commercials, user-generated video content that promotes their brands or their products virally on places like YouTube and MetaCafe.  And so far, he has earned $200,000 in cash and prizes.

Let’s keep in mind that each one of those contests is a whole new ball game.  You don’t get credit for previous efforts in other contests.  You don’t get seniority or stability.  You have to earn each one with the quality of your work.  Imagine if each month you had to apply for your job, along with thousands of other people.  I wonder how many people would retain their jobs.

What I am trying to demonstrate, is that this is a truly monumental accomplishment for a vagabond dropout.

I am a big believer in education, but I am also a big believer in taking life by the horns and creating your own destiny.  And formal education is not always the same thing as education.  So I salute Mr. Levinson, and perhaps it will be an inspiration to a few other people to jump in and find their calling…especially if they are either job hopping or stuck in a rut where they really don’t get satisfaction.