It's an age-old question for parents: Should you push your children into specific activities and educational pursuits or fully let them follow their own passions?

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, 73, says his parents took the latter approach — and he's happier and more successful because of it. He used the same strategy when raising his own children, he added.

"My parents let me follow my heart," he told graduating students at the University of Colorado Boulder last week. "When you really want something, love something and it's your passion, you should have your parents supporting you going in your direction. Not telling you, 'No. You should study this. You should go to this school.'"

The California native matriculated to the University of Colorado Boulder in 1968 and majored in computer science. His parents had enough money saved up for only one year of out-of-state tuition, he said — but they still encouraged him to attend the school of his choice and pursue his love for technology, a field they had no idea would become so lucrative.

Wozniak was expelled in 1969 after hacking into the university's computer systems and sending prank messages. He re-enrolled in college — first at De Anza College, and then at the University of California, Berkeley — and was introduced to Steve Jobs by a mutual friend before dropping out of Berkeley in 1971.

Five years later, Jobs and Wozniak co-founded Apple. Both men became millionaires when the company went public in 1980. Today, Apple has a $2.8 trillion market capitalization and is the second-largest company in the world.

Now, Wozniak provides his kids the same kind of support his parents gave him, he said.

"I've treated that the same way with my own kids," he said. "My parents didn't force their values on me ... They let me choose for myself so I was careful to be that way with my own children."

The tactic is effective, according to parenting expert Margot Machol Bisnow, who interviewed the parents of 70 highly successful adults for her 2022 book, "Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams."

When you don't encourage your kids' passions — especially if you fear they won't make enough money as adults — you show that you don't trust them, Bisnow told CNBC Make It last year. High levels of trust and support children build the confidence they need to eventually excel at whatever they do, she added.

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