When I was 14 I dropped out of high school to build companies. Here’s 10 reasons why it’s the best decision I’ve ever made:

1. I destroyed my safety net. I gave myself 4 years to figure out how to make money on my own, or I was screwed. You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish when your back is against a wall. Crossing the point of no return is an amazing motivator.

2. I gave myself 4 extra years (8+ if you count not going to college) of real-world experience with building products, distributing them, and everything in-between. You simply cannot get this experience in school.

You need to build shitty things, fail, fuck up, lose money, make some money, build slightly cooler things, fail again, over and over. It is the only road to success; there are no shortcuts. I can’t imagine trying to start something without the knowledge I gained from those years.

3. I found out who I was. Naturally, not going to school and building companies from my computer in my basement, I had a lot of time to myself. You are who you hang with, so when you hang with no one, you learn a lot about yourself and what you truly want.

4. I was able to focus my learning. High school gives you very general knowledge of *mostly* useless topics and doesn’t prepare you much for anything. If you know what you want to do, do that and stick to it. Even a few hours a day of something useless is detrimental.

5. I learned how to learn. On my own, without someone telling me how to figure things out. Learning is a skill, googling is a skill, reaching out for help is a skill. Opening up a textbook and cramming information in your brain that you’ll forget in a week doesn’t lead anywhere.

6. I got to sleep. It’s one of the most important things you need for a healthy life, and most of us neglect it. We drag kids out of bed after a few hours of sleep, shove them in a classroom, and expect them to excel. I made my own schedule and found ways to motivate myself.

7. It gave me purpose. I was following my dreams, doing what I wanted to do, and every day I couldn’t wait to work, because it was my path and not someone else’s. I would often forget to eat and have to set alarms to remind myself.

8. It taught me to set goals, become a self-starter, and most importantly, become completely independent at a very young age.

9. It’s thrilling. Having so many ups and downs, so many failures and successes, times where I’ve had to max out credit cards to buy groceries and times where I’ve had more money than I know what to do with. It certainly saved me from a boring life.

10. It made me who I am today. For me, it seemed like such an obvious and easy decision at the time, but I had no idea how much it would impact my life, and I’m forever grateful I took the leap.

Dropping out is not for everyone, and school can be an important part of many careers. I’m just sharing my experience and hoping it helps others who are on similar journeys. If you’re the type of person who can handle it, you likely already know that.