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I purchased James Bach’s book, “Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar”, after reading a review from popular blog Gizmodo.

What was so enticing about this book is that James, a high school dropout,  became the youngest boss at Apple Computers.  I wanted to know how he did it?  What was going through his mind?  What insane logic could have possibly pushed him into dropping out of high school? And how did he become so successful without any formal academic background?

I later asked myself, “could I have done the same?”  This is what I learned…

If you are like me and you dislike/disagree with the school system but are afraid to leave or you think there isn’t any other option.  Or if you are told (or you think) you have “attention deficit disorder” (ADD) and this “inhibits” your learning, then this is a perfect read for you.

Through a series of life events, interesting family dynamics, role models and a passion to learn, James discovered ways to inspire himself to learn.  As well, throughout his life, James mastered and recorded his “techniques” of learning and describes them thoroughly to the reader.  I use the word “techniques” loosely because James’ techniques are really reasons on why you shouldn’t feel guilty for doing the things academics would typically describe as harmful to learning.  For example, James explains to the reader how procrastination can in fact be beneficial to the learning experience.  This may seem like an illogical claim but you will have to read the book to understand this more clearly.  The greatest lessons I took from this book is that you have to listen to your mind and not wrestle with it.

James is a story teller and thats why reading “Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar” is so enjoyable.   From beginning to end I found it easy to relate to my own personal experiences with James’.  I now understand what it mean to be a Buccaneer Scholar.