It’s no secret The Art Institute of Las Vegas wasted my time. We can find good in any experience, but does my 3.97 GPA outweigh the time, money, and effort I put into college? I absolutely do not believe so.
The most current book I’ve read, Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work, made me set it down for a minute. Internet because widely accessible for a while. Books are not hard to find. It’s strange to me to be considered “educated” or “cultured” we still rely so heavily on public education and college.
I almost wanted to throw the book because I couldn’t believe how it reinforced my mistake of going to college!
The Importance of Networking
This book forced me to pull out my college transcripts. The college is defunct.
Of the 53 college course I took, only a couple would’ve tried to prepare me for the business world, and not even effectively. This is strange. After graduation and even during a student’s time in college, a great deal of life experience is going to be in business. Whether it’s entry level, lower-to-upper management, and especially entrepreneurial, why was navigating the business world barely covered?
Out of all of the business “education” I received at The Art Institute of Las Vegas, I would’ve gladly traded it all in for Jacqueline Whitmore’s book. It would’ve saved a lot of time and money. They said, “Dress up nice!” but never truly explained its importance or how.
One of the biggest points college gets and one my college made sure to point out is that it is an opportunity to network. While you can network in college, it’s not worth the hefty price tag.
In a real networking scenario, people with drive and goals surround you. While education is a “must” and many misguided students are in attendance, a simple MeetUp or a Facebook Group meeting of people with similar interests is a much better networking opportunity. The vast majority of students I studied with had only a fraction of interest a few of us had.
In Whitmore’s Business Class, there are twenty pages on how to effectively network and why it’s important. From how to prepare to how to follow up, it’s invaluable information not only for business, but for life as well.
Can a Barbarian Be Civilized?
Deep down inside, I’m a barbarian. It’s why I was OK with joining the Infantry. I like sleeping outside. I eat with my hands and slurp. Walking with a mission is natural. My beard is stupendous and can grow wildly.
One of my favorite scenes from a movie is I Love You, Man (2019) starring Jason Segel and Paul Rudd. Sydney (Segel) walks with Peter (Rudd) allows his dog, Anwar Sadat, to defecate on a boardwalk. A runner (Ian Roberts) steps in the feces and yells at Sydney. Sydney goes nuts and gets in the runner’s face. Peter asks what that was. Sydney replies:
I’m a man, Peter. I’ve got an ocean of testosterone flowing through my veins. Society tells us to act civilized, but the truth is we’re animals. Sometimes, you gotta let it out.
-Sidney Fife, portrayed by Jason Segel in I Love You, Man
To me, he’s right. I perform better and am more at ease after I let “it” out. Whether it’s at pro wrestling events, hiking, or working out, once I am able to release my wild side, my civilized side can function more easily.
However, barbaric tendencies in the business world don’t work! I know this and present myself appropriately.
If I find myself wound up, I drive out to a secluded area. Here, I can do whatever you want. If I want to throw rocks and logs, I do it! The nerd part of me may want to throw a kamehamea, so I do it! No one will see me or judge me. I get to release all that pent up stress that’s been building for who knows how long. Exercise is a great way to release stress, but it’s a civilized way to release it. Let your barbarian run wild sometimes!
Can a Barbarian Be Civilized?
I don’t say a lot of great things about my time in the Army. It would be wrong of me to say I didn’t learn some things while serving. But then again, how terrible would something have to be if there was nothing to be had after 6 years?
Of those 6 years, I spent about 2 years in Recruiting. Even though I hated it, I did learn one thing that every “good” salesman should be able to do. He should be able to fit in anywhere like a chameleon. He should genuinely be interested in care in every situation.
I also ran across the Manners episode of Penn and Teller’s Bullsh!t! To my understanding, they say you can be a Barbarian or whoever you are at dinner parties as long as you make sure everyone is having a great time. They also conclude that if you aren’t able to entertain or have a certain level of charisma, proper etiquette is for you.
I don’t see a problem with having a mix of both. The real skill possibly is being able to read the room. Entertaining everyone takes a lot of skill and charisma. Maybe you shouldn’t do it right away if the room feels uppity!
But Why Did I almost Throw “Business Class”?
One way I’ve struggled on how to act civilized is during meals. After getting about halfway through the “Dining for Dollars: The Art of the Meal” chapter, I had to put my book down. I reflected on where I could be at life if I just knew how to eat in a professional, civilized manner.
A few months ago, I had a lunch meeting with a former regional manager and regional director of sales. Both women were highly successful and well put together. Although the meeting was impromptu, I feel I could’ve made a much better impression on them had I known what Whitmore has taught me through her book.
I’m sure I did OK. I still had the job! One thing I know I’ll pay more attention to is how much food I eat. I’ve always taken advantage of free food. Remember, food is for nutrition, not for your mouth 🙂
Final Thoughts on College and Business Class
It’s 2022. I’m weirded out by the fact that we still treat education almost exactly the same as we did 100 years ago. The cost of public education and college is absurdly high, and we aren’t very formally a lot on how to navigate the business world.
What is a business degree even worth? During my time as an Army Recruiter, I ran into so many college graduates who had been out of college for a while with business degrees that were doing menial jobs like stocking at grocery stores because they couldn’t find any work with their business degree.
The introduction of Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work features a quiz. Thinking myself somewhat refined, I was a bit shocked. I only scored a 57%! That’s pretty bad for someone with my GPA history, but not bad for someone who hasn’t had any real formal business education 🙂
The introduction could’ve been just the quiz alone and it would’ve made me read the entire book. Honestly, going through my professional development phase I’m in right now, I only read “Business Class” on the cover and grabbed it. I’m so happy it was about etiquette and although I’m sure I can’t claim to be an expert, it definitely taught me so much.
The only section of the book I’d recommend skimming is the email section, pages 111-117. This is just me thinking we should all know proper email etiquette by now! My copy was published in 2005, so email was still fairly new at the time.
Finding Jacquelin Whitmore and Penn and Teller
The good news is Jacquelin Whitmore is still teaching what she knows! You can find her at her website, etiquetteexpert.com, and on her Facebook page.
You can watch Penn and Teller on Showtime with a subscription. The Roku Channel had a special on Memorial Day Weekend. I was able to grab their Showtime add on for $0.99 for two months! You can also get the Manners episode on Amazon Prime Video, as well as all their episode.
If you found this helpful or entertaining, please consider your support to BLoafX.com at the support page. Links to Amazon on this site are linked to my affiliate account with Amazon. Any link you click to Amazon that results in a purchase will generate a percentage to me.