MONACO WORDS OF WISDOM
HelloMonaco: You left school at an early age and have publicly criticised the university system. Why are you against university? Simon Dolan: Well, the same thing I always say, which is that I’ m not against university or against education, because I believe it’ s really important. We’ re all learning, you know? But the problem, in England, anyway, and it’ s mirrored in a lot of western countries, is that governments have basically sold university as the dream and the only way to get a job. And that was ok when university was free. What’ s happened is that university has become more and more expensive. You get these kids who are 18, and not particularly academic, and they have been told that if they want a good job, they have to go and get a degree. They go off to some university and they get into £ 50 – 60,000 of debt, they study for three years and come out with a 2:2 in psychology or something and then they wonder why they can’ t get a job at the end of it. So now they’ re three years down the line, without any work experience, £ 60,000 in debt and no nearer getting a job than they would have been if they started when they were 18. So, I’ m absolutely not against university, and I’ m absolutely not against education, but I am against the lie, which is, that in order to achieve anything in life, you have to have a degree. Because with the exception of a few professions, that’ s just not the case. If you want to be a lawyer or a doctor, yeah, you’ ve got to go to university. But most other professions start off like in the old days, with an apprenticeship. In the old days, if you wanted to be a painter or a carpenter, or an electrician or something, you did an apprenticeship. You turned up at 18, you didn’ t know anything; you watched somebody else do it, and then you learned and learned and then after a year, two or three, you had an applicable skill.
HM: Do you really think 18-year-olds know what to do with their life? SD: No. But how many of us do? I’ m 48 and I’ ve done loads of things but I still don’ t know what I really want to do. I certainly never wanted to do accountancy, which is one of my first businesses. I hated it. I still don’ t find it interesting, but I made a lot of money at it. So no, you don’ t know what you’ re going to do when you’ re 18. All the more reason not to go to university and narrow your choices. Because I’ ve seen it a lot. You get some kid who is good in sciences, he goes to university and does a chemistry degree, and he does very well in that, and then he goes and does a masters; then he does a PhD. Then he’ s 27 and the only thing he’ s ever done is chemistry. What’ s he going to do with the rest of his life? He’ s actually pigeonholed himself into only ever doing chemistry. Whereas, if he didn’ t go to university in the first place, he would have done lots of different things. I see it as university actually narrows your choices.
HM: What is success for Simon Dolan? SD: It’ s an interesting question. It’ s not like you wake up every day and think, « I’ m successful ». Because you don’ t think about it, you just live life. But I think success means that you don’ t have to do anything you don’ t want to do. If anyone gets to that point in their life, then they’ re successful.
HM: How important is money to success? SD: Money is obviously a by-product of success. Depending on what profession you’ re in, but in any kind of commercial transaction, then money is a by-product of success. Money just puts you in a position where you don’ t have to do anything that you don’ t want to do. That was a big one for me. All the nice watches and nice cars, and houses and trinkets and stuff are all nice, but it doesn’ t make any difference really. If you’ ve got a 60m boat, then having a 70m boat doesn’ t really change your life, does it? So, there’ s a point beyond which money doesn’ t really matter. But I think freedom and being able to have whatever experience you want to have— are probably the two most important things.
I am absolutely not against university or education, but I am against the lie, which is, that in order to achieve anything in life, you have to have a degree.
HM: Do you need to be in harmony? SD: No. Your feelings and emotions come from within you. And there’ s really nothing, short of pain, that you can do anything about. Whether you feel happy or sad or whatever, it all comes from stories you tell yourself in your head— about what things mean. So you could quite happily now, think of something like children starving and genocide and you can make yourself depressed just by thinking of it. Equally, if you thought about having really great sex, it changes and you’ d feel completely different. Nothing in the external world has changed, it’ s just what you’ ve told yourself in your head. So no, I don’ t need everything to be harmonious. If you rely on everything on the outside to be harmonious, I don’ t think you’ ll ever be happy. Better to rely on yourself.
HM: What makes you happy? SD: Lots of things, really. Achieving; winning; that really drives me. And then simple things like family. Getting the boys off to school in the morning and picking them up. Or I go to the gym now with my eldest son and he’ s fitter than I am now, and that’ s really cool. Racing, or discussing business with my younger son; he’ s twelve and all he wants to talk about is business. And obviously, there’ s my wife. So pretty much everything in general. I’ m a reasonably happy person, so it takes a bit to knock me off. Yeah, you can find happiness in most things, if you look close enough.
HM: What is love for you? SD: There’ s a big difference for me. The love you feel for your children is so much more than the love that you feel for anything else. I don’ t think you could give it the same name, even. You have partners, but before children, 99.99 % of people are the centre of their own universe. And you’ re the most important person in the world. If someone came along and said they’ ve got a gun to your head and says: « it’ s you or them », whoever the « them » is, they can have it and you wouldn’ t feel bad about it. You would think about it, but … But when you have children, if someone came along with the same question, you wouldn’ t even think about it, you’ d go yourself. You would sacrifice your own life without hesitation, without thought, without anything. So that’ s love, for me.
HM: What’ s your most successful achievement in your life? SD: Winning Le Mans was a big thing. That was hard and it took a long time. You can’ t go and buy it, you just have to do it. And if you set your mind to do it, there are a million things that can conspire against you, which are outside of your control. So that was a very big thing. But the most important thing in my life, and should be in most people’ s life, is having my two boys, the way they are. That’ s a really proud achievement.
Hello Monaco Spring – Summer 2018 / 25