I’ve resisted writing this piece for quite a few years now, but given the times we are in, I consider myself one of the few whom has both the authority and experience to change a few minds on this subject.

And the subject being — The True Value of a Higher Education

I grew up in a poor Mexican-American family out of East Los Angeles, with parents whom both were very strict in our upbringing and valued education. At age 13, my father suddenly passed away from a stroke leaving my family to survive on a combination of Social Security benefits and my two older sister’s income working minimum wage retail jobs.  This afforded me the opportunity to focus on my studies, despite the tragedy that my family endured.

Long story short, I performed well throughout high school and was accepted into the most prestigious scientific and engineering institution in the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

I was fortunate that I qualified for quite a few “need based” scholarships and loan programs, which all but game me a “full ride” at MIT. I graduated with $10,000 in school loans, which by today’s standards is nothing. However, many of my school mates finished their MIT education with $150,000 in school debt or more, because they weren’t deemed to need the financial aid. (Many of them will be paying these loans back for the rest of their lives.)

While at MIT, I studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, but truth be told, I did not enjoy it at all. In fact, I attended less than 10% of my classes, did a half-ass job at completing my assignments and crammed for all of my exams 2 days before I was to take them. Fortunately, I still managed to graduate with a B- GPA. I had trained my mind to absorb and learn things quickly. (A skill I’m grateful to still possess in a quickly evolving online business world).

The truth is, I did not enjoy engineering or science, but at the time I wasn’t mature enough to realize that and did the minimum to scrape by to pass my classes and graduate from MIT, rather than pursuing a field I actually cared for… (not that I would have know what to study at the time).

After graduation while working at a Defense Contractor for the US government, I had to admit to myself that I actually did not like being an engineer at all and I started to desperately look for a “way out”.

My mission in life became to figure out a way to quit my job as an aerospace engineer yet keep my close to six-figure engineering income which my family depended on. (I had relieved my sisters and contributed back to the family, so they could pursue their dreams).

After many years, which have been documented in many of my blog stories and posts on BetterNetworker.com, I was introduced into network marketing and eventually internet marketing.

While not without struggle, my salvation and financial freedom came as a result of my experience and NEW education from my mentors in both the network marketing world and internet marketing world.

Over the first few years of learning, implementation and innovation as an internet entrepreneur, my business partner and I invested over $150,000 in personal savings and credit card debt to gain access to the courses, live events, trainers, coaches and personal consultations which provided us the education to build successful internet businesses. (Today, that investment numbers is at about $300,000 as we continue to grow.)

Thankfully, over the past 3 years as internet entrepreneurs, Raymond and I have generated over $2 million dollars in revenue for ourselves and created the lifestyle we both dreamed about when we were in college (he attended Harvey Mudd College, while I attended MIT).

Interesting enough, “the dream” was sold to me at MIT – about never having to worry about my financial security and that the world would be my oyster upon graduating from this great institution.  The reality, was that I became a corporate pawn, being told to work on mundane brainless tasks, forgetting the technical expertise I garnered at MIT (a true waste) and after taxes, making a mediocre income while working full-time and often overtime, doing something I loathed.

Now I don’t mean to be a snob, but the truth is, after doing as well as I did in school as a kid and graduating from the premier technical institution in the world, I expected some truly awesome things – which did NOT happen.

All in all, my MIT education cost a total of $150,000 over 4 years for my financial aid sponsors. (I’m grateful that I didn’t have to be responsible for the majority of my education like many of my school mates did.)

My education as a network marketer and internet marketer over 2 years from 2006 – 2008, between myself and Raymond, was $150,000 as well.

The difference is that my MIT education got me a job and if I had to pay the $150,000 back, it would have taken me my entire lifetime on the salary from my job.

My education as a networker and internet marketer was paid for within our 1st year as a successful online business owner and has been paying massive dividends ever since.

However, my job story is not unique in that there are plenty others who invested in a traditional education and came no where near close to re-couping their investment nor achieving the financial freedom promised to them.

The value of a formal education has severely being diminished in place of real expertise and a true passion for performing a craft. In fact, our marketing clients have never once asked me for a marketing degree before they paid us six-figures to work on their behalf.

Now the whole point of this story is that even at the highest levels, a traditional education more and more, fails to deliver on the promises of a college education.  Many of my MIT school mates whom I considered to be brilliant at the least and geniuses at the upper levels, have not achieved any significant level of financial independence since graduating.

In fact, many of them I would respectfully label as “broke”, living paycheck-to-paycheck, no closer to the greatness that was promised to them when first coming to MIT. (A few have done extremely well for themselves, but those people I can count on 2 fingers… the majority of these elite minds continue to struggle.)

My hope is that people read this article and reflect on the things they believe or have been taught to believe will provide them with true financial security, because as far as I’m concerned, in this new economy, there is no financial security other than what we make for ourselves as entrepreneurs.

My only regret is that unfortunately, there are many brilliant people who remain trapped in the old way of thinking and are too proud to admit that the path they are on will only lead to struggle and frustration — especially for those that know deep down that their talents and brilliance, far exceeds what they will be compensated throughout their lives.

I remain grateful for my opportunity to attend MIT and be surrounded by geniuses and brilliant people on a daily basis. But I am under no delusion that the financial independence I enjoy today came as a result of my MIT education. However, it does make me a stronger advocate for true education reform in our lives and in this country.

About the Author:

You may learn more about Ferny Ceballos by visting his website at www.FernyCeballos.com

I also highly recommend you watch this film titled, College Conspiracy:

I’ve only got a few minutes, but considering last week’s dive in the economy I had to take the time to write you…

Four years ago my friend Mike Dillard started getting a little weird on me…

Whenever I’d see him, he’d start talking about the future collapse of the global economy, and he kept telling me to buy gold, emergency supplies, and guns…

Obviously I thought this was a little crazy, considering that Mike basically taught this industry about the concepts of infinite abundance and prosperity, yet here is was talking about the next Great Depression…

He even said he was going to leave our industry to start a new company who’s sole purpose was to prepare people for these events, and teach them how to prosper when they take place…

(And as you may know, he did just that… He left Magnetic Sponsoring and started a company called The Elevation Group in 2010)

He even spoke about this at No Excuses II in Vegas a few months ago, and everyone thought he was nuts.

So when I asked him if he thought the world was going to end or something, he said, “yes… for some people, but I’m not buying these things to prepare for the end of the world… I’m buying them to prepare for the greatest opportunity of my life…”

And then he continued… “Ferny, within the next few years the global economy is going to collapse. The US is going to fall into a hyperinflationary depression, and all of this will result in the greatest wealth transfer in the history of human kind…

When this happens you’re either going to end up richer that you ever dreamed possible, or you’re going to lose everything you have. With great change comes great opportunity, and preparing to prosper from these changes is all that matters right now”.

Well here we are three years later, and everything he warned me about has come true…

Gold and silver are sky-rocketing, food and gas prices are at record highs, inflation is increasing, Europe is falling apart, the Dow dropped 512 points on Thursday, and now on Friday night, Standard & Poors just downgraded the US credit rating for the first time in history…

It’s all happening, so here is my advice to you…

Stop what you’re doing right now and register for one of the free webinars Mike is holding this week on the economy.

He’s going to tell you what’s going to happen in the next few months, he’s going to give you the 7-step formula he’s been using to predict the financial future during the past four years, and he’s going to teach you how to turn these economic events into the greatest opportunity of your life.

Once you watch the webinar, join The Elevation Group.

I’ve been a member since the day it launched, and I can’t put a price on what I’ve learned.

Like many people, I thought Mike had cracked and turned into a doomsday’er…
Well he didn’t… He’s actually spent the past four years of his life learning and preparing for these events, so that you and I may prosper…

After talking Mike about Friday’s credit down grade, and now the EURO’s mess, he said there isn’t much time left.

And I absolutely believe him.

Click here to register for his next webinar now…

Ferny Ceballos

P.S. Guess what Mike said were the two most important assets you can own today…?

1: A home business. (Because most people will lose their jobs).

2: Information. (Because knowing how to position your assets during this wealth transfer is the key to winning).

The strategies of the rich are never put out on display for the public. They have their special ways of buying homes and cars, running businesses, and putting their money into private banks.  As a member of the Elevation Group, you are given information and also the ways to put that all to work. It is designed to help you even if you are not an expert so that you can endeavor in money-making opportunities like owning real estate or investing in silver and gold, the price of which is soaring. You will learn to make your children wealthy as well so that their futures are ensured long after you’re gone.

Already we are experiencing the cost of our expenses rising while our monthly income remains the same. Mike Dillard shares that some of the most important things you need to do are to protect your wealth from bankruptcy and avoid investing into the stock market or ROTH IRA’s. While this defies tradition, he explains why this is important and how to get the resources you need through membership in The Elevation Group.

Dillard’s The Elevation Group is more than just an educational resource on how to manage your finances and protect your wealth from being lost due to a bad economy. As you learn about which economic events affect the value of a dollar, you also see how you can be proactive and protect yourself from the bad news. In his video, he shares some dark realities such as how the prices of food and energy have already gone up by a significant percentage in the last two years.
Even if you don’t have a lot to invest, you will find a way to get started on projects and businesses that will create wealth for you. This group shows you how to invest your money like the rich do with information that you will not find with a simple Google search or a visit to a financial advisor.

The information is very private and usually reserved for an elite group of people, but you can have access to the “black box” and peek into Dillard’s private rolodex of exclusive contacts. Literally, you can see the names and numbers of the people who will get you connected to the best investment strategies that will yield the results you desire. The Elevation Group connects you to Dillard’s friends as well as the skills to help you put everything into action. He explains, “You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to know who they are.”

Membership is highly affordable and is risk free with a 30 money back guarantee. You can sign up with a monthly membership or pay a discounted rate for the whole year.

With unemployment at an all time high in the United States, people are finding themselves at the mercy of a bad economy and families are running out of solutions for their debt problems. While there are programs available for helping people get back on their feet, it seems that a more long term solution for accumulating wealth is much more important than a years-long plan for paying back debt.

There are workshops available that teach you ways to get a new credit file, start a corporation, and own real estate that will create a cash flow for you every month aside from what you already earn as an employee. However, there are plenty of other ways to secure your wealth, and The Elevation Group has created a forum and online resource for you to learn all the ways that you can protect your hard-earned money so that it is not lost through uninformed investments.

Before you become a member, you can review Dillard’s videos which go through various pieces of historical information that educate you in ways that you never hear about in high school or college economics courses. He explains the Seven Phases of the economy to better help you understand why civilizations go through economic downturn. He shares how as far back as the days of ancient Rome, these cycles are evident and you experience great changes such as the price of your expenses rising, the creation of social programs, and inflation. Most importantly, he reveals the investment strategies that ensure your wealth is backed up by something real and valuable.

Other programs charge more than twice as much as The Elevation Group, but the value of the information is no different (or any better). While there are workshops that you can attend, they are usually limited to the weekend you sign up for and they only offer bits of information so that you’re encouraged to invest in another private group meeting. The Elevation Group is a resource you can access 24/7 from the comfort of home and at your leisure. Signing up once gives you access to very private names and numbers of financial advisors and experts in how to invest your money properly so that it yields results for you and your family.

Mike Dillard’s The Elevation Group is affordable and more than pays for itself when the techniques are implemented. There is no risk at signup because there is a 30 day money back guarantee. You can sign up for the whole year and receive a 60% discount off what you would pay if you signed up month to month. However, there is a discount available on the monthly price after you watch his 90 minute presentation. Membership more than pays for itself when the tools are implemented and you get a steady stream of income from your new sources of cash flow.