時尚雙語:大學可能會讓你致富的8門課程

Is it common knowledge that school doesn't prepare you well for the real world?

Sure, you can get a good degree, find a well-paying job, work until you're in your 60s, and then retire to enjoy the life you've deferred for 40+ years. However, that may not prove to be a successful life, a secure life, a financially sound life. A lot will depend on your outlook and your goals but know this: School doesn't prepare you well for achieving wealth or becoming an entrepreneur and it downright fails at teaching you how to be rich.

Nevertheless, school is here to stay. For now. Thus, it helps to identify which classes are the most relevant and helpful for those of us looking to become rich entrepreneurs. There are, in fact, several courses that contain critical information and instruction that, if used correctly, will put you on your path to riches.

If you're in college, about to start college, or looking to take some classes, here is a list of college courses that could help make you rich. (I focused on college because (a) college provides the most variety in course selection, and (b) college is generally the time when individuals realize what they want to do with their lives.)

Accounting

Although this list is in no particular order, I think Accounting is, by far, the most important course to take if you want to succeed financially. Today's "credit crunch" illustrates that there are too many people who do not understand a balance sheet. Someone who walks into Best Buy and pays for a 47-inch plasma television with a credit card does not comprehend the difference between an asset and a liability.

Learning the difference between assets and liabilities, as well as concepts like inventory and cash flow, is essential if you intend on keeping your finances in order. Moreover, these concepts are crucial if you want to start your own business. The health of a business is reflected in its balance sheet and financial statement. As those numbers go, so does the business. Accounting will help you understand that cash flow is what helps a business succeed, and it is what helps you as an individual succeed.

Marketing

If you intend on making money from selling something (which, incidentally, is how any business makes money), then you need to learn how to find the right product. Marketing, in and of itself, is not selling. However, it helps you learn how to promote certain products and services. By taking Marketing, you can understand the process involved in figuring out what consumers want, focusing on a product that satisfies those desires, and the attempt at moving consumers toward that product.

Too often, products fail because their creators didn't bother to learn whether a market existed for that product. This process involves research and time, but, in the end, it can save a business thousands, if not millions, of dollars. As an entrepreneur, it can also save you valuable time and money. Find the market first, and then develop the product.

Economics

I regret never taking Economics in college. Understanding the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services is essential if you want to take a big picture approach to business and investing. The current state of the U.S. economy is a combination of various factors (i.e., consumer over-spending, speculative real estate investing, fragile lending practices, a weakening dollar, low supply of oil, etc.).

If you understand how the economy got to the point where it is today, it helps you identify where your money should be. You can pick out the right investments and turn away from the bad ones. You can identify which direction your business should go in, including whether to take advantage of certain trends or cut out excess inventory.

Economics is a vital ingredient in a person's financial education. The world is now a global marketplace, and the supply and demand of goods and services operate at that level.

Finance

It's tax season, and several people you know are probably receiving refund checks in the mail from the Internal Revenue Service. If you're excited about receiving a refund check, you probably never took a finance course. Receiving a refund is a way for you to lose money. The government withheld money from your paychecks and held that money for a year without paying you any interest. It's like giving someone an interest-free loan. Thus, your money sat in the government's hand and lost value during that time.

Finance helps you understand how the time value of money works and how various investment vehicles operate. One of the keys to becoming rich is comprehending how money works when it's not in your hands. A finance course (preferably one geared towards entrepreneurship) will teach you what you need to know to reach this level of understanding. There might be some math involved, but it won't kill you. It'll just make you a stronger and more savvy investor.

Any American History Course

History can be boring. But if you look at history from a different viewpoint, it can open doors for you. The most valuable aspect of history is its ability to convey to us the mistakes of others. Studying history helps you learn from others mistakes so that, hopefully, you won't commit the same mistakes.

American history is filled with mishaps, wrong turns, and terrible decision-making, both at the national political level and at the business level. Look at these errors, and figure out how a better decision could have been made. Then, apply that realization to today's world and to your own trajectory. How can you apply what you learned from these mistakes to your own entrepreneurial experiences?

Writing and Composition

Succeeding as an entrepreneur requires that you be able to express yourself and your ideas. Whether it involves pitching an idea to an investor, writing a press release, or composing a business plan, entrepreneurs need to communicate. More often than not, this communication is done in writing. Basic composition and grammar skills can do wonders for your ability to convey your ideas and your mindset.

Just glance around at the number of blogs across the Internet and you will see a lot of bad writing. It's an instant turnoff and preempts any evaluation of the content of your writing. Good writing, on the other hand, draws in a reader, and it gives you a shot at selling someone on your content. In other words, it helps you get in the door.

Any Literature Course

Literature, like history, contains valuable lessons that emanate from years of experience and wisdom. Why not draw on these sources of information? There is no limit to the topics covered by novels. Ernest Hemingway's books are full of inspirational messages. Oscar Wilde provides brilliant business advice. Henry David Thoreau is the master of teaching self-reliance. These books and others provide timeless principles of personal development and, just as important, wealth creation.

Management

One of the problems with "bosses" is that they don't know how to manage people. If you want to own and run a business, you need to manage that business effectively and efficiently. This process requires dealing and communicating with people and delegating tasks and decisions to employees. An understanding of management concepts and learning different techniques and skills will not only make you likable, but they will also help you make more money.
-Robert

學生通過學校的學習並沒能掌握應對殘酷現實世界的技能，這是否已經成爲所有人的共識了呢？

當然，你可以通過上大學獲得一個高學位和一份高薪的工作，接着工作到60歲，然後開始享受退休的生活，享受遲來了40餘年的那份安逸快活。但是，這並不能保證你就能過上成功，穩定並且金錢寬裕的滋潤生活。你要明白學校不會在讓學生變富裕或成爲一名企業家方面下很大功夫，可以說，在教授學生如何變富裕方面，學校算是徹頭徹尾地失敗。相反地，在很大程度上這都要取決於你的人生觀以及你所制定的目標。

不過，目前學生還是要待在學校裏學習的。尤其對於那些想要成爲富人的學生來說，學校可以幫助你選擇一些最有幫助的相關課程。實際上，有些課程能夠提供十分關鍵的信息指導。如果你能把它們充分地利用，那麼財富就會在不遠處向你招手。如果你想要選修一些課程以開始自己的大學生涯，那麼以下的一系列大學課程都會幫助你發財：

（在此，我主要針對大學課程，一是因爲大學課程可選擇的範圍很廣，二是因爲人們通常只有到了大學階段纔開始意識到自己今後想要做些什麼）

● 會計學

雖然排列的順序沒有特殊的意義，不過我覺得如果你想要獲得經濟上地成功，那麼會計必是首選的課程。當今的信用危機不正好說明了有很多人對保持收支平衡都很不在行嗎！人們在好購物刷卡購買一臺47英寸等離子電視的時候還是分不清財產和負債的區別。

如果想要使你的財政狀況保持有序，你就需要對這兩者間的差別，還有貨物清單及現金流這些概念有所瞭解。此外，當你想自己創業時，這些概念也很重要。生意的好壞都會在它的收支平衡表和財政結算表有所反映。如果這些表上的數據不夠理想，那麼你的生意也不會好到哪兒去。通過學會計，你會知道現金流的保有能使你取得生意上的成功，還能取得人生的成功。

● 市場營銷

如果你想要從銷售（這也是絕大多數公司賺錢的方式）中賺到錢，那麼你就得學會找到合適的產品。市場營銷從本質上來說並不等於銷售。不過它會讓你學會怎樣去推銷產品和服務。通過學習市場營銷，你就會明白消費者想要什麼樣的商品，把精力集中到能讓消費者滿意的商品上，並試着讓他們對那件產品有購買的慾望。

產品不暢銷，通常都是因爲其生產商事先沒有調查，確定這件產品的市場前景。雖然在這個過程中既要做市場調查又要消耗一些時間，不過這樣做卻能幫公司省掉上千，上萬，甚至百萬千萬美元的損失。對於一名企業家來說，它還可以幫你節省很多寶貴的時間和金錢。重要的是先要對市場做個考查，然後才着手產品。

● 經濟學

我後悔自己在上大學時沒有修經濟學。如果想要對整個金融與投資地大環境有個全面的瞭解，那你就得對貨物，服務，生產，分配以及消費這些方面有所瞭解。當前美國的經濟狀況使由多種因素造成的，例如消費者的過度消費，房地產的投機猖獗，過於脆弱的借款機制，美元的疲軟以及石油供應不足等。

對經濟發展的態勢的瞭解會讓你看清投資的方向。你就可以避免錯誤投資並找到正確的投資領域。此外，你還能清楚地瞭解自己生意今後前進的方向，例如是否有必要就者當前的某種趨勢，或是大幅消減超額的貨物清單呢。

經濟學在個人的金融教育中是一個不可或缺的因素。當今世界已經變成了一個全球市場，所有的貨物以及服務的供求都在這個大市場中進行。

● 金融學

又到了交稅的時間了，你可能會從身邊的朋友那裏得知他們會從稅務機關那裏得到一些退款單。如果你也爲此而激動不已的話，那麼你從來沒有上過金融課程。事實上，收到退款的同時你也在賠錢。政府會從你的收入中扣取一些錢，期限是一年，而且不付任何的利息。這就像是你把自己的錢無償地借出去一樣。那麼，你的錢就會因爲被扣在政府那裏而失去了生錢的價值。

金融學會幫你理解錢的時間價值還有不同的投資機構的運行方式。要想發財，關鍵之一就是要了解當錢不在你手上的時候它們是如何運作的。一門關於金融的，最好是針對於如何管理企業的課程會教你怎樣達到那樣的理解層次。或許這會涉及到數學，但還是難不倒你的。相反地，它會讓你成爲一個更強更有悟性的投資者。

● 任意一門美國曆史課

歷史可能會很枯燥。但是如果你能從一個新的角度去看待它，你就會得到很多有用的啓示。你能從歷史中看到他人所犯的錯誤，這是它最有價值的地方。此外，通過對歷史的學習能夠讓你避免再犯前人所犯的錯誤。

美國曆史是由許許多多的災難，錯誤的轉折以及可怕決定充斥而成的，不論是國家政治上的或是經濟上的。研究這些錯誤並找出更好的解決辦法，然後把之付諸實踐，最好是把這些經驗應用到你的企業中。

● 寫作

要想成爲一名成功的企業家，你必須具有表達自己觀點以及表達自己的能力。因爲無論是要向投資者表述一個構思，寫記者會文稿，還是擬定一份商業計劃書你都需要與別人溝通，大多數情況下，這種溝通都是通過書面形式完成。當你向表達自己的觀點和想法時，對基本的寫作以及語法技巧的掌握就能讓你事半功倍。

瀏覽網上的博客，你就會發現有很多的文章都寫得很糟糕。這樣的文章讓人一見生厭不說，對其內容的含金量也會大打折扣。一篇好的作文除了能吸引讀者注意力，對於推銷你的觀點也是一個絕好的契機。換句話說，好的作文有助於獲得成功。

● 任意一門文學課程

文學和歷史一樣，飽含了前人留下的寶貴經驗和才智。鑑於此，爲什麼不把這些寶貴資源充分汲取呢？小說所涵蓋的主題是不受任何限制的。厄內斯特·海明威的小說所包含的內容能激發人們的靈感。奧斯卡·王爾德會提供十分獨到精闢的商業建議。亨利·大衛·梭羅卻是教人自助自立的大師級作家。這些書能夠提供的原理古今通用，不僅促進個人發展，而且還能幫助你創造財富。

● 管理學

老闆不知道如何管理好自己的員工，這是他們的通病之一。如果想要經營一門生意，你必須能高效高速地處理問題。在這個過程中，你必須要處理的事情很多，例如與職員的溝通，談判，有時還要做出些決定。不過當你對管理的理念有所瞭解，又掌握了多種應對方法和技巧之後，你這個老闆就會變得人見人愛，而且還能賺到更多的錢。