People are mad at me about this.
First, I cannot imagine ever in my life saying "Aim for the moon so if you miss you hit a star." I just...I can't figure out any circumstance where those words would leave my mouth. It's 2025 not a 1992 after school special. But maybe I said it...if I did it /must/ have been sarcastic.
I have however many times advised people that even though formal education can cost a huge amount of money, it's easy to forget that there are other ways of spending money to learn. Trying to execute a personal project is worth spending money just like paying for school is because project-based learning kicks ass. That can cost an order of magnitude less than a semester of college and will deliver skills you just won't get otherwise.
Student loans won't pay for it, unfortunately, but if you can do it, I think it's a good thing to keep your mind open to even though society can make you feel like it's foolish. I learned a lot spending money on things that failed. In a country where people spend $150B on sports bets last year, "spend some money trying to do something interesting" is a message I hope a lot of people hear.
If you'd like some examples of projects like this I spent money on:
1. I got a website and domain and tried to build a tool to build databases out of email surveys.
2. I bought $500 of PBR and threw it to people tubing by in the Clark Fork River because I wanted to make a video about it but this was before YouTube and I didn't know how to edit video. Made a lot of people happy, though.
3. I paid for translations of an unreleased anime so that a small team including myself could subtitle it.
4. I bought a dying website for $800 from a person who didn't think it had any opportunity and then I worked really hard to discover they were right.
5. I hired a dev to work with me on a website that let people review and rank hosting services to try and get affiliate income. I think this one turned a profit but barely.
OK, I hope that all provides some useful context.
YouTuber Hank Green advises young people to invest 5% of their net worth in new ideas, even if they fail
"Aim for the moon, so if you miss, you hit a star"
via: FORTUNE
