Forget university? 4 steps to design your own education | Till H. Groß | TEDxKlagenfurt

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. How important is your education to you? Have you ever thought about designing your own education? Till H. Groß is a remarkable young man with a passion for psychology. He took his education in his own hands...with mind blowing success.

As soon as Till finished High-School he took his education in his own hands. After reading the whole psychology section of the small town library in his city, he set out to personally meet the authors of the books that thrilled him. In 2011, he started to consciously seek out the best psychologists, therapists and coaches all over Europe in order to learn from them. He visited them at home, attended their workshops and engaged in long email conversation asking numerous questions. His teachers were the founders of whole psychotherapy schools, masters in their field and some of the best paid coaches in Europe. Having the best teachers possible sped up Till’s learning curve immensely and enabled him to give talks throughout Germany at the age of 19, hold a guest lecture at the University of Vienna at age 20, conduct his own seminars, found a startup, and work as a coach at the age of 21.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[supamdeepbains]

1 have skill
2 learn from best
3 do it for free
4 keep going and have guts to accept "NO"

[navneetnair]

I think at 22 he has more things figured out than most people in their 40s...

[keira]

His talk is not about leaving school or University, it is about you gotta take another chance to get your real life experience, and if you didn't get chance to go to University, that's doesn't mean you will be a failure for the whole life, this is among the best talk I think.

[immanuelespetore]

Summary.
If you want to become good at something:-
1. Develop Skill
2. Learn from the Best
3. Hustle Comes First ( then passion follows)
Quote:-
"Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain. You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."
- Pink Floyd-

[Lazh-_-]

Develop skill
- deep work
-Deliberate practice
Learn from the best
- best work way too hard
-do something that adds value to them and learn as well
- it is important to have a skilled mentor
Real life skill- learning is more important than money
Hustle comes first, passion follows

[keanuoliva]

The fact that his English is imperfect, but the content of his speech is super valuable, is really impressive.

[off-griddad]

1. Focus on cultivating real, valuable, useful skills (through deep practice)
2. Find people who are "better than you" and find ways to really help them (for free)
3. "Hustle comes before passion." Work hard & keep at it!

[tiagocampos]

University has easily become one of the most overrated things ever! In most places, it will teach you that you should destroy your dreams, live a limited life and stick to the degree you took even though you might regret it later. But it will also (if you're willingly) open your mind to new horizons and perspectives you can discover. At least I learned it that way!
Everything we've ever wanted is right on the other side of the fear that we develop since youth. I grew a great deal in the last 6 months by being unemployed after being fired from a 1 year job in a company that has been swarmed with corruption, bad values and nasty, nasty people. I'm using a lot of things I've learned from several people including Till and turned my negativism into positivism, my dreams have REAL hope now and I'm following what I believe in and what I wanna do. I've started 2016 with a bad life but this year will mark the path to success for me. Are you courageous enough to that? Do you have the vision and ability to see past many negative things you've been taught since you were a child? Are your ambitions bigger than your fears? You have a chance to live once, do not waste it by living how others tell you. Find out how to live it and live it, damn it!!

[sameerme]

OMG, was he really 22, when he delivered this talk? That's amazing and awe inspiring. Well done Till..

[glade_maker]

Finding one's purpose is not something that's handed to you, and it's the hardest thing to find! I've also always considered studying as a part-time thing... I've been playing lots of music, learning how to be a teacher and a journalist at the same time. Be curious my friends and seek your passion!

[niory]

he is lucky to have a great father ! I think his father should have given this talk ! we need to become better parents ... my parents did the opposite always ! every time I had a dream they were so good at making fun of it and destroying it for me ...

[strivethrive]

The wise one will listen to this message and extract valueanke information and apply it towards personal growth. The not so wise will find faults and 1001 reasons why they can't break free. Remove that mental block and see you soar.

[luisabaguiwet]

I actually love self-learning, and hopefully after my bachelor's degree, sign up for more learner-centered education or educational structures that I can do on my own for my higher education. What worries me though is that our society's economy is very old-school (at least in my developing country) and are more after those who graduated with a "degree" from traditional schools. I'm planning to be self-employed someday but people whom I might work with might not take me seriously based on the credentials that I plan to have. So right now I'm looking for people or a community who took this life path and I'd like to talk through about the cons of living life through this way and smash through them!

[Mranthony]

You are a young man with wisdom well beyond age!

[perrywest]

3. "Learning is more important than making money"

Yea, if you are blessed financially. This is such a privileged statement. So many people do not have this option because basic human needs are not provided by state or family.

[isamolii]

I like that young people like me (22 yr old) are investing in their mind which will return the investment with interest. Awesome talk!

[velvet_coco]

This talk was immensely illuminating. When I realized how beneficial this would be to my own intellectual learning, I immediately grabbed my notebook and began writing notes to grasp and remember the content as much as possible. It is crazy to think that I am close to his age right now, 20. I sympathized with many of his points and his disappointment with the formal education system. Thank you for this!

[nooraahmed]

I am totally agree because university only prepare you for academic purpose not for practicable world you need to gain experience and self skill in order to achieve your goals . I am very impressed with this guy he is my brother friend he is really polite and humble guy .  

[jespernoren]

Hell yes Till, this got me thinking more and more about following up om my passions and push trough with all of it. Really inspiring and great talk!

[YeabuddyXD]

I love this so much, this is exactly what I needed to hear. I've been thinking about dropping out of University to pursue a UX Design career and now I know that I've just gotta hustle through the degree while developing necessary skills on my own. Thanks so much!