02 Aug 2021

Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were these people’s careers! In classic Drake “started from the bottom, now we’re here” style, these successful legends with the highest of personal and significant accolades were never at the top of their class. 

You may feel like you’re at rock bottom, with every test determining your level of future success and you may be in sync with Coldplay’s “when you try your best but you don’t succeed” (wow, heaps of muso references in this one) but these guys are living proof that school is not the be all, end all!

Benjamin Franklin

Let’s go way back. Dropping out of school at 10-years-old to work as a soap and candle maker (um, small business goals), Benjamin then moved onto being an apprentice in the first independent newspaper. Bada bing bada boom, he became one of America’s Founding Fathers + scored a role in Hamilton ('tis a joke).

Richard Branson

 

Suffering from dyslexia and dropping out of school at 15-years-old, Branson started Virgin records and grew his Virgin brand in the 1950s to be what it is today. Some crazy, rich stuff!

Simon Cowell

Apparently, Simon Cowell was a horrible high school student. Dropping out at 16-years-old, he left without any qualifications. He then worked with a few record labels, ultimately becoming that famous guy that says “it’s a no from me” - a harsh critic but we love.

Janine Allis

 

Boost Juice smoothie queen Janine Allis dropped out of school at 16-years-old, had no business training and had never attended a single day of uni in her life. With over 300+ franchise stores, she’s definitely freakin’ made it.

Lord Alan Sugar

The business guru and The Apprentice star himself left school at 16-years-old, worked at a grocery store and used his entrepreneurial skills to climb the ladder of success in selling electronic gadgets. Hustle, king 👑

Chris Rock

 

Dropping out of school in the tenth grade and working various jobs in fast-food, he then went on to be one of the funniest comedians to be on our screens. The zebra from Madagascar? The funny dad in Grown Ups? The bestie in The Longest Yard? What about the voice of Chris in Everybody Hates Chris? He really be doing it all.

Leonardo DiCaprio

You know, the guy in the Titanic and about every other cinematic masterpiece out there? Dropped out after high junior year and started studying at a free drama centre. Never would have thought.

Harry Styles

I remember crying because I didn’t get tickets to 1D’s first Australian tour. It was a grim time.

Anyway, Harry dropped out of high school to take on the responsibility of being in One Direction because he just...didn’t have time for anything else. Well, I guess it paid off, right?

Now, I’m not saying that these people didn’t lift a finger their whole careers. They’ve built a massive name for themselves and their jobs. They worked in hospitality, they went on coffee runs, they put in the hard yards. As long as you’re passionate and keen about what you want to do after school, who really looks back on those meaningless marks? It may feel like you’ve aimed towards nothing but remember to trust the process and believe in yourself!