That was what I thought throughout high school and college, enough that after college, I figured I'd live with my parents and found a startup just to see what my top speed was and what I could accomplish once I really put my mind to something and didn't have any external obstacles holding me back.
I found out that it wasn't really school that was holding me back, it was me. I'd thought that it was really technical skills that were key to doing world-changing things with technology. But it turns out it's not: it's character traits like determination, perseverance, curiosity, observational skills, patience, listening, social skills, respect for others, and the ability to accept help that matter most. There's no way to develop these skills other than time and practice, and I found out that that was what my mostly-liberal-arts education had been trying to teach me, except I hadn't been listening all that much because I was so consumed with the technology aspect.
I found out that it wasn't really school that was holding me back, it was me. I'd thought that it was really technical skills that were key to doing world-changing things with technology. But it turns out it's not: it's character traits like determination, perseverance, curiosity, observational skills, patience, listening, social skills, respect for others, and the ability to accept help that matter most. There's no way to develop these skills other than time and practice, and I found out that that was what my mostly-liberal-arts education had been trying to teach me, except I hadn't been listening all that much because I was so consumed with the technology aspect.