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What is the most important lesson you will learn in college? With classes starting up across the country and students preparing to head to campus for the fall semester — possibly for the first time in their college careers — there are plenty of unknowns and circumstances that you may never have expected to find yourself in. But at the end of the day, the goal remains the same: get your education and diploma before heading out into the real world.
What you may not know, however, is that the most valuable lesson from your time in college may not be the piece of paper you walk away with at the end of four years.
It could be the habits you develop.
Marcus Lemonis, a self-made millionaire, and entrepreneur who currently hosts “The Profit” on CNBC where he attempts to help struggling entrepreneurs with their businesses sounded off on the importance of a formal education and his answer may surprise you.
Lemonis, who graduated from Marquette University with a degree in political science, says its more about the “regimen” of college than the degree you earn.
“For me, it’s more of the principle… the structure, the discipline or the understanding that you’re accountable for something,” Lemonis said while speaking with CNBC Make It.
“When people are unable to get a formal education, it’s not the education that I’m worried about them missing — it’s the structure and the discipline and the accountability that I want to know they have. You have to show up for class, have to turn in a paper, you get a grade. You’re starting to build this process where you are given a task you have to perform and you’re judged on it. In my mind, going to school is a job. It is your job to show up on time, to listen to your authorities, to perform the task, to excel at the job.”
Lemonis is the Chairman and CEO of Camping World, a company valued at nearly $2 billion, so he certainly knows what it takes to gain success.
While we may not all end up with that kind of money in our bank accounts down the line, listening to what Lemonis says about the importance of developing productive habits is something that should resonate in everyone’s minds during their college careers. It’s certainly a good foundation to have.
