Thank Jesus For Internet College

My world and the world at large are changing because of the internet. 

Hot take I know.

But people don’t realize HOW much it’s changing, or how it could change their lives dramatically too, specifically in the realm of self-education.

At an increasing rate, all the solutions or answers you need for your major life problems, not just for your career, are online.

Most people understand this at a base level; if a toilet is clogged just pull up a YouTube video. If you’re getting into digital marketing just listen to a Smart Passive Income podcast. But it goes much deeper than that. 

Not satisfied with your dating life? There’s a blog for that. 

Having mental health issues? Have you explored podcasts that discuss trauma?The impact of this web of knowledge is massive and ever-growing.

This web of knowledge is causing a slow but powerful bifurcation in our society. Two populations whose delta is increasing; one camp that can sift signal from noise discover the right piece of content + act on it, and those who aren’t aware of the wealth of knowledge that’s being published online for free and continue to struggle with their existing problems. 

The education system taught me what to think, not how to think. I walked away from my undergraduate experience thinking “I’m done with education”. If I didn’t learn it on the campus of SUNY Geneseo, I wouldn’t be good at it moving forward in life.

“I have never let schooling interfere with my education.”

–Mark Twain

I didn’t have the language at the time, but when I walked across that graduation stage I had a fixed mindset, not a growth-based one.

I had severe voids in my life that were not filled by the education system, my family, and American culture. I was underskilled for the ever-increasing technological marketplace, I was horrendous at dating, and had massive mental health issues that the current system couldn’t mend at the root level.

Thank Jesus for Internet College.

Up until age 32, I never made more than $45,000 per year in my life. But after learning software engineering, via an online course in full-stack web development with Bloomtech, I increased my salary by 77% to 80,000. 

The funny thing is, I’m not even a software engineer. I stuck to technical sales, but now that I have that skillset I can command more salary. I told myself the false narrative that “I didn’t choose a computer science major as a 17-year-old when applying for college, so I’ll never learn how to code or never be technical”.

Thank God I was wrong. 

Why did I need credentials for a B.S. in Computer Science when I had creations on my GitHub for the world to see?

Creations > Credentials

The solutions for a better life didn’t stop at the career level.

I didn’t have my first girlfriend as an adult until age 29. I was HORRENDOUS at dating. Had no clue what I was doing, and was blind to women’s experiences and how they pertained to dating. I didn’t know what the most attractive traits were, let alone how to cultivate them.

Then I found the book What Women Want & its related podcast The Mating Grounds by Tucker Max and Dr. Geoffrey Miller. Society and my social circle left a void in me on how to ethically and actionably date – and the internet was able to fill that void better than I thought was possible.

The answers were all there, all I needed to do was find them and integrate the knowledge into my actions. 

Then there was the department of mental health.

I struggled with depression for YEARS and even had close calls with suicide. 

Yet again I turned to educating myself via teachers on the internet because the current system and my models for how to improve my mental & emotional health weren’t effective for me.

I found a different school of thought from world-renowned doctors like Dr. Gabor Mate & Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk in the realms of polyvagal theory and trauma to find a solution. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this right now.

I spent nearly four years trying the classic tools of talk therapy plus SSRIs in order to get me out of depression –didn’t move the needle at all for me. But after having success in other domains of my life I knew I could find a second approach from the internet. For me, it was a matter of sifting through all the noise to find a signal valuable signal.

Now I’m happier and healthier than ever.

I shifted timelines. I’m a completely different version of myself, living a life I love all thanks to solving problems with solutions from teachers on the internet.

All thanks to leveraging learning on the internet:

• I have a fulfilling dating life
• I slayed the mental health dragon and am never going back 
• I’ve increased my salary to the highest it’s ever been
• Have writing as a creative outlet and continue to connect with like-minded people, or as David Perell likes to say am no longer Intellectually lonely

This is the beginning. Any subject that will help me with my goals in sales, persuasion, startup building, nutrition, or you name it I can learn and integrate.

Will there be “misinformation” out there? Yes.

But now I have a raging level of self-confidence to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I have superpowers now, and so do many others. 

I’m not special, I’m not that smart, all I am is curious.

If you can self-educate, and integrate the knowledge, you’ll be unstoppable. You’ll be able to see and build things others can not. You will be able to solve problems in the domains of your life outside of your career and continue to level up.

A wise entrepreneur once said “free education is abundant, all over the Internet. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.”