Co-Owner Of The Warriors, Chamath Palihapitiya, Realized He Was Smart (And School Is Stupid) From Watching Jeopardy

Chamath Palihapitiya, if you are unaware of him, is an extremely successful venture capitalist and minority owner of the Golden State Warriors. He's invested in many successful start-ups and is, as far as I can tell, a pretty respected man in the investment field as well as a fun follow on Twitter. 

And I love this story from him. Chamath is a billionaire now, but even he had trouble in school. I could go on and on about how fucked the education system is (and I've done some blogs here and there about how corrupt the college system is), but Chamath's story is a great reminder how just because you struggle in one aspect of life, doesn't mean you won't succeed in others. It also is a reminder that school is not for everyone. Some people flunk out because they are too stupid...and others struggle because they see the bigger picture beyond what the education system is pushing on them. Jason Koon is an extremely successful high stakes poker player, widely considered one of the best in the world. He told us a story on the podcast about how he would get in trouble in school because he knew he was smarter than the teachers. When your brain operates on a different level, it's hard to take a teacher seriously or care about whatever bullshit curriculum they have to teach in order to get funding for the school.

So it's pretty cool Jeopardy made him realize not to give up hope or belief in himself. That just because he was doing poorly in Astronomy, or couldn't build a fucking diorama, didn't mean his future was bussing tables at Applebees (not that there's anything wrong with that, I loved working at Olive Garden).

So remember, kids- work hard in school, but even if you struggle, it's not the end all be all. If you work hard, the cream will always rise to the top. But you DO have to work hard at your passion. Being a lazy asshole will get you nowhere.