Creativity and Education are not Synonymous.

There is no such thing as a collegiate degree for wisdom, and dropping out of high school might be the most unwise thing to do if you ask a formally educated person. But some of the most celebrated discoveries and inventions were borne out of minds that never received an education in higher academia.

Creativity is another attribute or quality that is not necessarily measurable by a college degree, and 78 years ago almost to the day on March 16th, 1945, the Bell X-1 Experimental supersonic jet was commissioned to be built by the US Army Air Forces.

The Bell X-1 represented a milestone that high-school dropout Orville Wright never imagined he would see in his lifetime since the day he invented the airplane along with his brother and fellow high-school dropout Wilbur. Orville Wright died a little over 100 days after Chuck Yeager piloted an aircraft many said would break apart and disintegrate if it ever broke such a barrier. It was a test of bravery and engineering that required the utmost of dedicated commitment.

Only 15 years after the sound barrier was broken, one of the greatest engineers of all time, Kelly Johnson saw the design of his plane take flight, which would break every record there is to break for speed within Earth's atmosphere in an airplane when on December 22, 1964 the SR-71 Blackbird debuted in top secret for its first flight.

Despite the ridicule and mocking of Orville and Wilbur Wright in their many failed attempts to invent an engine-powered machine able to be ridden in and flown, they persisted, and engineers like Kelly Johnson were able to improve that machine until it reached a final climbing height of 85,069 feet absolute altitude.

The maximum final (recorded) speed was Mach 3.3 or 2,193.2 mph.

This was all possible because Kelly Johnson and the Wright Brothers both had a very similar ethos that guided them.

"Assume first that it can be done." ~ Kelly Johnson.

Kelly also wrote his 14 rules for project management that apply to industries far broader than just aerospace.

Limiting your own potential because of the educational background of your resume is a choice.

The power of potential rests in a willingness to explore the limits of creativity; but when paired with wisdom, experience, knowledge, and hard work, then you should always assume first that it can be done. No matter the obstacle.

A very rare - humble and uncut video of Kelly Johnson explaining how the SR-71 Blackbird works.