A Marketing Director was at a coffee shop in Austin, Texas when he saw a young man working on designing an advertisement on his laptop. The ad was one of the best he’d seen. The Marketing Director complimented the young man on the quality of his work and asked him if he was in college.

The young man replied, “only for a little while. I dropped out.”

The Marketing Director then asked why didn’t he go back to school and study marketing and advertising. He even offered to write a letter of recommendation.

The young man said he was learning a good amount on the job and making money.

The Marketing Director then asked, “so what is it you do? Personally and professionally”

The young man said, “I work from coffeeshops, contract for clients right now and will be starting a company soon hopefully. My clients respect me and I make good money, learn a ton, and travel around the world regularly. I have a ton of free time and am writing a book. I’m also debt free.”

The Marketing Director scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said. “You should go back to school and get yourself a degree in marketing and advertising. With that degree, you could get yourself an a good entry level job. You could work for 5-10 years and move up the ladder, and one day make really great money. You might need to take out student loans but it will be worth it.”

The young man asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the Marketing Director replied, “Oh, 4-6 years for college, and another 5-10 years on the job.”

“But what then?” asked the young man.

The Marketing Director laughed and said, “That’s the best part. Eventually you’d be able to leave your job.”

“Then what?”

The Marketing Director said, “Then you could work from coffeeshops all over the world. Get paid to contract with clients, start your company, make great money, and travel the world. You’d be highly respected. You could spend time focusing on your hobbies and even write a book if you wanted!”