By Oscar Chukwugekwu
Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke, has said that true success is shaped more by life experience, mentorship, and survival skills than by formal education alone.
Iyke, who spoke during a recent interview with media personality, Joey Akan, argued that academic qualifications do not necessarily determine success, noting that many former students, including himself, have gone on to outperform the lecturers who taught them.
“How many of our teachers are doing well in life? I once met one of my professors, who is now late, on a plane, and we both knew who was doing better. If I had taken everything he taught me verbatim and applied it in my pursuit, I wouldn’t have been successful,” he argued.
The actor said he learned more from traders and mentors who had little formal education but built significant wealth.
“I will tell you what worked. It is what the uncles, the traders who barely went to school but amassed untold wealth, told me. They told me to go left at all times, and never right.
“The father who told me to forget all that book and know when to be ruthless, conform, or stand my ground, and what books to read,” he stated.
Iyke added that many of the world’s wealthiest people did not acquire their fortune in the classroom.
“Some of the wealthiest men in the world did not get it from the classroom. How many of them have a PhD? I have a PhD holder who works for me. We can argue all we want,” he added.