As the price of a college education continues to soar well above the price of a home and car combined, I find myself joining the “not everyone needs college” boat. In fact, where I have “Get 50 people to go to college” on my Living to Do List, I’ve marked out the words with whiteout. Now it reads, “Get 50 people to follow their dreams.” And dreams don’t necessarily mean college.

People ask me, “What about your daughter?” If she doesn’t want to go to college, I’m actually quite fine with that. Our family has a much different definition of success than most American families do. Living authentically, being happy, making a difference, and being socially conscious and empathetic are much more important to us than money, stuff, and, well, more stuff, which is why people go to college in the first place. To read more about these ideas and to get some good alternative ideas to college, check out this article and video featuring James Altucher. His statements about student debt and servitude are particularly disturbing. Be sure to visit the links at the bottom of the article as well, and to pass it on if it resonates with you at all.