A Reality Check on College

Marketing Shenanigans (#020)

The common misconception about college? People think it’s about grades, sports, or getting into a top-tier school. But that’s not what really matters.

The Reality About College

Here’s the truth: College isn’t just about the accolades you earn during those four years—it’s about what those four years prepare you for.

• Grades? They don’t guarantee career success.

• Sports? Most athletes don’t make it to the pros.

• Prestige? A fancy school isn’t a golden ticket to happiness.

College should be about discovering your passions and building skills you’ll actually use for the next 40 years.

Take my story, for example. I didn’t have the “traditional” path. While my friends were heading to service academies or playing D1 sports, I started at Clemson in their community college program—not exactly a highlight reel.

But here’s the thing: My parents encouraged me to focus on what I’d care about long-term. They pushed me to take entrepreneurship and business classes. And guess what? Those classes taught me real-life skills:

• Problem-solving: Tackling challenges head-on.

• Pitching ideas: Selling concepts and telling stories.

• Managing finances: Understanding money (a skill way too underrated).

For the first time, learning felt like play. It wasn’t about grades or prestige—it was about building a foundation for the life I wanted to live.

The Real Question

So, the next time someone tells you college is about grades, sports, or a fancy degree, ask yourself:

What do I actually want for the next 40 years?

Because the real goal isn’t a diploma—it’s a roadmap it's making a living doing what you love.

Stay curious,

Teddy

PS - GPA is a fake fairytale number. If you're not getting an MBA or trying to get into med school, nobody cares. Focus on building your network and your skillset and save yourself the headache.

Teddy Giard

In case you don’t already know, my name is Teddy, and I operate a firm that specializes in marketing strategies for outdoor brands. Our approach is simple: align your product development timeline with your marketing production timeline; by doing so, we can own the distribution of our message and our products.

If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to fill out this form, and if we’re a good fit, we can schedule a discovery call. We ask this because we keep a fairly narrow target for whom we work, and we like to be as open about that on the front end as possible. After all, time is life’s most valuable resource.