<p>My impression from Adams’s essay was that he didn’t learn entrepreneurship from his professors. If he “learned” any entrepreneurship at all, as opposed to simply being born with that kind of talent, then he learned it largely on his own.</p>
<p>Adams admits that he actually majored in economics, not entrepreneurship. What’s more, his examples were all things that he did out of his own initiative; they were not things he did in class but rather outside of class. He applied to be “Minister of Finance” at The Coffee House. He proposed to his accounting professor that “build[ing] and operat[ing] a proper accounting system for [The Coffee House]” would substitute for three credit hours. He got his friends together and pitched an idea to the Dean (of Housing?).</p>
<p>In a way, Adams’s essay confirms what I have long believed about “leadership” and “entrepreneurship”: leaders and entrepreneurs are born, not taught. None of Adams’s experiences came from the classroom. They all came from HIS drive.</p>
<p>You can teach a person to be a better public speaker, to be more organized, to be more responsible, and even to be more confident. But you cannot teach CHARISMA and VISION, which are necessary for effective and true leadership and entrepreneurship.</p>