The Best Possible Graduation Present for College (And Even High School) Grads

It's graduation season, and I would be remiss not to recommend Andrew Yang's Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs and Create New Jobs in America to everyone who is graduating, or knows someone who is.

In it, Yang explores the fact that half of America's top grads do the same six things​ after graduation -- and the reason why is depressing.

The problem with a lot of these career paths is that they are not creating value -- they're just moving money around. They don't lead to innovation. And a lot of people who enter these careers do so more for the extrinsic rewards of prestige and security than the intrinsic reward of loving what they do and making a difference in the world.

Yang's book will walk young grads through ways to make a jump, make a change, and jumpstart a career that will fill their life with purpose and meaning.

Everyone I've ever met who read this book told me that they wish they'd read it ten years sooner -- no matter how old they are. 

The book has five stars on Amazon, and among its reviews are:

This should be required reading for all college students everywhere.

Andrew is a visionary that you need to listen to. Can you imagine how much more awesome we could be as a society if the smartest kids built real things again instead of CDOs and trading algorithms? Rather than waste their intellectual horsepower on new ways to just build wealth for themselves and their clients, we could solve big problems and make big advances.

As an engineering student it was an incredible reminder to pursue an industry that builds and creates, not just analyzes! Yang builds incredible value for why individuals of all walks of life should invest in America by creating something (anything!) instead of walking the well-trodden paths.

Andrew's tales of his own entrepreneurial efforts (leavened by some fabulous failures along the way) and those of many others make this an engaging, fast read. I highly recommend this for anyone even considering law school or other professional program largely because they can't think of anything else to do or because of pressure from parents and peers. In fact, if you give others this book they're likely to cheer you on in your desire to start a new enterprise or help someone else do so.

Get this book. Read this book. Then give it to everyone you know.

It is important for young people to know that there are multiple paths to success.