The Lessons School Forgot. Steve Sammartino

you can't study for this career at university. If you don't have the university degree, you won't be considered by potential employers. It's equally frustrating if you become qualified in an area that doesn't turn out to be what you hoped for – just ask any lawyer you know. Most soon learn it's less about using the law to create a more humane society and more about nailing down every six minutes of billable time.

      Our subject choices also have the judgemental weight of society behind them. It doesn't take us long to work out where our teachers and colleagues place us in the intellectual hierarchy. The smartest kids with the most potential are those who happen to be good at maths and science, the most valued subjects in a left-brain, logic-driven society. A small step down the hierarchy are respected humanities such as finance, economics and literature, and of course the bottom of the hierarchy is reserved for the artsy types, widely regarded as the flunkies of society, who are lucky if they can eke out any kind of career using their talents. Kids are persuaded, falsely, that most artistic pathways have little economic value and are best left as something we do on the side, in a ‘post-success' environment. Which is ironic given how companies like Apple and Nike have risen above commodity-centric competition on the back of the artistic design of their products. In any case, why should we stop valuing given talents and passions solely on the basis of their limited economic potential? An economic limitation, mind you, that is quickly being reversed.