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Success Even with Only a High School Diploma, Ivan Gunawan Turns Insecurity into Gratitude for Having Talent

Success Even with Only a High School Diploma, Ivan Gunawan Turns Insecurity into Gratitude for Having Talent

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Success Even with Only a High School Diploma, Ivan Gunawan Turns Insecurity into Gratitude for Having Talent

Behind his brilliant success, Ivan Gunawan openly admits to having felt insecure about his educational background. The mega star confessed that he only completed his education up to the Senior High School (SMA) level.

This feeling arose when he saw the educational backgrounds of his colleagues in an association, most of whom were graduates of prestigious universities abroad. The designer, affectionately known as Igun, shared this moment honestly when he was met on Jalan Percetakan Negara, Central Jakarta, on Saturday (12/7/2025).

"So the story goes, my association was making a company profile, and in that company profile, there was a section for names, schools, and educational backgrounds, which the admin asked for. So I just wrote 'Ivan Gunawan, SMA' because I never went to school," he said.

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The moment of 'slap' came when he saw the complete list of his colleagues. He became the only one without a bachelor's degree from a prestigious university.

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"Then when I looked at the chat again, there were some studying at enespre-enespro (ESMOD), some in Paris, in Milan, I only graduated from high school, so I just captured it," he reminisced.

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Even so, Igun does not dwell in feelings of inferiority. For him, formal education is not the only determinant of success.

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Therefore, he actually turns his feelings of inferiority into a reflection and gratitude for the talent bestowed by God.

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"What I mean is, we should be grateful for the talent we have, God gives us abilities. Like for example King, did King go to cooking school? No. He is a self-taught child, and his cooking can be delicious," he said as an example.

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He emphasizes that intuition and hard work are often more influential than just academic degrees.

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"There are people who study all the way to London for business school, but that doesn't necessarily mean their business is good. There are people who don't go to business school, but their business intuition is great," he explained.

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Ivan Gunawan clarified that his posts on social media are not meant to belittle higher education. He just wants to motivate his followers.

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"So I'm not here teaching my followers 'that's enough, don't go to college, just finish high school', that's not it," he asserted.

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"What I mean is that I am just a high school graduate, and I can be at the point I am now. My work can be appreciated and valued," concluded Ivan Gunawan.