David Mullings

Published on Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 21:35

My story is not one of a child growing up with limited opportunities but that does not make it any less meaningful and inspirational to others. No matter what part of the social spectrum you grow up in, you will face obstacles that you must overcome and education always plays a central role in great achievements. I must define education though for many think of it as formal schooling. Albert Einstein famously said that "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school" and Mark Twain said that "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

These are important points from some of the most influential people to have ever lived because "education" is more than formal schooling. According to Will Durant, "education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance" and that is how I have always approached my education. I graduated from Campion College in Jamaica at the age of 15 and went directly from 5th form into college in the USA. I graduated at 19, took time off to work and play football semi-professionally, and then returned to the USA to pursue my MBA, with a focus on marketing and International Business, which I completed at the age of 22 after receiving a scholarship. After that, I was fortunate enough to work in Jamaica and also took up rally driving for over a year as a Co-driver/Navigator.

During the MBA program, my brother and I started a venture together that today has become Realvibez Media, an integrated media and entertainment company focused on Caribbean culture. We run a website with one of the largest collections of Caribbean entertainment videos on the web, recently became the first official Caribbean media partner for YouTube.com and have merchandise deals with artists such as T.O.K. and Cezar. We have been lucky enough to go on tour with Sean Paul and hang out in the studio with Grammy-winning artists like Shaggy and Beenie Man. We have even had the pleasure of teaching Brandy some Jamaican dances on her visit to Montego Bay.

My formal education has played a significant role in how we approach business but it is my other education that lead us down this path. We were never taught how to build websites, create graphics or edit videos. Our parents had us pitch business ideas to them every Summer and Christmas since I was 15 and finally they said yes to Realvibez when I was 20. My brother and I didn't have the money to hire a web designer or video editor so we bought books and taught ourselves. Those weeks of diligent reading and practicing lead to the current site we now have that has allowed us to secure major strategic partnerships. We also finally raised some capital from an angel investor mainly because we already had a functional website and had proven what we were capable of doing with limited resources.

Recently, I was asked to endorse a book on entrepreneurship coming out in the USA in September titled 'The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur' and written by a frequent contributor to CNBC's 'The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch', the leading entrepreneur and small business how in the USA. Mike Michalowicz, the author of the book, loved my testimonial so much that it will be one of the four on the back of the book, in the company of Donny Deutsch. That testimonial says that "Everything they don't tell you in business school...with a twist. I found this book far more useful than my MBA for starting and growing my business. MBA vs. TPE? TPE is the far better investment."

I have no problem saying that because it is fundamentally true - you cannot learn everything in a formal setting. If I had followed only my formal education, I would never have approached YouTube or many of our partners because we were not "big enough", did not have lots of employees or were not profitable. My other education however, reading stories and case studies about how people like Richard Branson, Bill Gates and others built their businesses, taught me that an entrepreneur never thinks in negative terms. You are never too small to make an approach, you just have to approach correctly. The MBA helps with crafting proposals and the execution of projects but I also benefit from a wealth of knowledge regarding the mistakes of other companies, the case studies of successes and the distinct belief that I am not too young to succeed.

I am now the Youth Spokesperson for the Jamaica Diaspora Southeastern USA which encompasses 13 US States and I was asked to represent my country and the Jamaican Consulate in Miami on the local NPR station for a recent interview. I have also been interviewed for a book on Gen-Y entrepreneurs and Realvibez will be featured in a book about YouTube success stories being published by McGraw-Hill. Coming from the small island of Jamaica, none of these achievements would have seemed possible but instead of believing the naysayers, I chose to educate myself about the realm of possibilities and how others had achieved their success.

If my story can teach you one thing, it is that you should embrace all aspects of education in order to achieve your dreams. I close by recommending six books that will help you in anything you seek to succeed at, even if you don't plan to start your own company. The lessons they provide can be applied to your own job and to your career.

  • How To Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
  • Cashflow Quadrant - Robert Kiyosaki
  • Good to Great - Jim Collins
  • Built To Last - Jim Collins
  • The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki
  • The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur - Mike Michalowicz