There is a tendency to equate education with credentials. Degrees, certifications, and institutional affiliations are often treated as proxies for knowledge and capability. They have value, but they are not the same as learning.
Real education begins with curiosity. It is driven by a willingness to ask questions, test assumptions, and engage directly with the world rather than observe it from a distance.
That mindset cannot be conferred by a diploma. It has to be developed through experience.
Some of the most valuable business lessons are learned in the simplest settings. Running a lemonade stand for a summer teaches pricing, customer behavior, supply management, and accountability in a way that no textbook can fully replicate. When you are responsible for every decision, even on a small scale, the feedback is immediate and unfiltered. You learn what works and what does not because the outcome is yours to own.
Experience has a way of clarifying priorities. It forces you to confront tradeoffs, manage uncertainty, and adapt in real time. There is no curve to rely on and no abstraction to hide behind. Results are not theoretical. They are tangible, and they matter.
This does not diminish the importance of formal education. Structured learning provides a strong foundation and exposes individuals to ideas they might not encounter on their own. But it is only one part of a much larger process. Without practical application, knowledge remains incomplete.
The most effective builders, operators, and leaders tend to share a common trait: they engage directly. They take on responsibility early, seek out real-world challenges, and treat every experience as an opportunity to refine their judgment. Over time, that accumulation of hard-won experience becomes a form of expertise that is difficult to replicate in any classroom.
Curiosity initiates the process, but action sustains it. The willingness to get your hands dirty, to try, to fail, and to try again is what ultimately transforms information into understanding.
Education, in its most meaningful form, is not something you complete. It is something you continue.
Elliott Broidy is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Broidy Capital Holdings, LLC, a private equity investment firm specializing in AI-driven public safety software. He is also the Co-Chair of the Fund to End Antisemitism, Extremism and Hate which supports the Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization (ARCHER) at House 88, an initiative of The Counter Extremism Project.