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After many years of unsuccessful entrepreneurial effort; literally failure after failure, all the while continuing to work on my education, I finally worked out the following principle:There are only three ways to make money. You can rent your money. You can sell your time, or you can gamble.I learned early on that selling my time was a waste. I was never going anywhere financially on a blue collar wage. (Sorry guys. Anyone trying to tell you that you can save your way to riches on an ordinary wage is a dolt.) And obviously I had no money to rent (also called investing.)The honest truth is I had no option but to gamble. I always said that if someone would lend me a million dollars, I would take it. I did not know what I would do with it but I had confidence that if I just had the money, I could then become successful and wealthy. I now believe that I was wrong, because I did not know enough to make good financial decisions, and I now understand that only a fool would have loaned me money to put into a business. None of that stopped me from trying, and I have the scars to prove it.My Mom imbued me with the belief that a good education would pay off, so all the while, through my 20's and 30' and 40's I continued to pursue various educational opportunities. I got degrees in engineering, business management, an MBA, and ultimately, a Ph.D. I stayed in school for an extra semester to get the accounting hours I needed to sit for the CPA exam and then spent all my free time studying for 6 months so that I could pass the test on the first try.Throughout my "career" as an entrepreneur I held many different jobs, including a lot of labor and entry level jobs, then as my education enabled me to move up a couple of notches, automotive engineer at Ford, auditor at Arthur Andersen, controller at Barter Systems Inc., and Aluminum Service Corp., Plant Manager at ASC, Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at NSU and then at University of Central Oklahoma, and finally, owner and manager of my own company: Ear Plug Superstore.In addition to my guiding principle that education would give me the ability to succeed, I picked up one more tidbit that worked wonders. A man with whom I interviewed (I did not get the job...) taught me two things: first, you do not need to be twice as good as those around you. You only need to be 10% better. If you are 10% better, your head sticks up above all the rest and you are therefore, highly visible. The other thing he taught me is that if you think the other guy's job is easy, you simply do not know enough. All jobs are difficult in their own ways.I once got a job as a fry cook on the night shift at a Hardy's restaurant in Arizona. I was 23, back from the Navy, with training as an electronics tech, but I was out of money and the rent was overdue, so I took the job I could find...very depressing, I can tell you; one of the low points in my entrepreneurial life. But, when the manager, who was 5 years younger than I, asked me to empty the trash and clean out the trash can with a brush and cleanser, I simply did it with no complaining. When I brought the can back inside, you would have thought I had produced a miracle! The manager, apparently used to poor compliance with his yucky task assignments, was vocally amazed. He called all the crew over to look at what a terrific job I had done in cleaning the trash can. They all smiled and commented on how the trash can looked brand new!The next day, the manager gave me the keys to the store and promoted me to night manager with a raise! Within days he had received approval to send me home with the manager's store manual and told me that I was in line to attend the next managerial training class. All this because I had simply done what needed to be done with competence and without complaint.I continued to do my best in any job I had, all the while continuing my studies to increase the value of the time I had no choice but to continue to sell. I also continued to gamble every time I got the chance. By gamble I do not mean go to a casino, but try to start businesses. That is the best gamble you can make (going to a casino or buying lotto tickets is a guaranteed loser...just accept that). After many failed tries, I finally did succeed. My business today is worth around $5mm...not a fortune, but for a dirt poor kid, to me it looks pretty good.In summary, 1) continue to get your education, and pick up all the certifications you can along the way. Being a CPA changed my life far more than anything else I ever did, even though I hate accounting...Education will greatly enhance the value you can get for selling your time...a necessity for most of us starting out. 2) do the very best you can in every job, particularly in the menial jobs where it takes so little extra effort to stand out. Doing so will open doors that will amaze you. 3) If your heart is in having your own business, take the gambles as the opportunities come your way. With effort and a little luck, you may eventually have the success you crave.Be well, and do the right thing.Tom

Waddell & Reed is who I have used in OKC for years now. They are very professional, down-to-earth people that I have been nothing but impressed with. See link below for more information regarding their ranking within the industry and more informationWaddell & Reed Financial, Inc. Fund Families Again Among Top Of Barron's "Best Mutual Fund Families" Rankings

Oklahoma requires Personal Financial Literacy in a required "14 modules" included to be taught to all high school students before graduation.