The Uncommon Life

We all feel proud when we achieve something remarkable. Without a doubt, asking ‘how’ to get a specific result enables us to accomplish more, and to ‘climb the ladder’ more efficiently. This question of ‘how’ helps us think about ways to overcome obstacles and attain our goals – this is all fair and good.

But in order to lead an uncommon life, ‘why’ should always precede ‘how.’ Why is this goal so important? Why did you feel motivated to set this goal in the first place?

Asking ‘why’ before asking ‘how’ ensures that the ladder (the direction you’re travelling in) is leaning against the right wall before you myopically start mounting the summit. Few things are more upsetting than being dissatisfied about the view from the ‘top.’ Read More →

Most things studied in college are quickly forgotten. Traditional education places an extremely high level of importance on detail, but this train of thought can be a hindrance, at times resulting in increased stress and workload. Why? An extreme focus on detail limits one’s ability to grasp the larger picture, which is critical to knowing what details to focus on. When you’re very close to every concept, everything appears important. Read More →

The discussion surrounding conventional education is changing and intensifying. This is a good thing because as the price to value of education continues to grow, people need to think seriously about their goals and how to best position their personal brand and market themselves for a promising future. Read More →

Truthfully, I don’t believe I could have earned the grades I did following conventional college advice. In fact, I believe that doing less, studying less (see tips 1, 2, and 3 in Part 1) and applying these 10 tips, contributed most to the outcome (it certainly wasn’t a natural gift for academics). And perhaps even more satisfying is knowing that these lessons can be applied in the professional world very well. Read More →

I never set out to get perfect grades. In fact, I clearly intended to place business and personal preferences as a priority. This was rather unusual in undergraduate school. My competitiveness kept me striving for good grades, but my lack of time kept me focused on effectiveness. Unexpectedly, this illogical amalgamation served me well.

Truthfully, I don’t believe I could have earned the grades I did following conventional college advice. In fact, I believe that doing less, studying less (see tips 1, 2, and 3 in Part 1) and applying these 10 tips, contributed most to the outcome. And perhaps even more satisfying is knowing that these lessons can be applied in the professional world very well. Read More →

This week marks an important milestone in my life. I am no longer a full time student of conventional education. Elation abounds. It’s back to business full time.

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog will know that I often wrestle with the concept and quality (return on time and money) of conventional education. Looking back, however, I did learn some key things – it just so happened that the majority of my most valuable “education” took place outside of the traditional curriculum. Read More →

There is immense value in being able to think and act independently in a world of conformity and convention – in fact, all innovation and novelty depends on it. It can be challenging to free ourselves from the explicit and implicit forces that keep our brain in the box, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Read More →

We are often led to believe that knowledge creates a better life. This is not entirely so. If knowledge were all it took, there would be many more happy, wealthy people. The reality is: Knowledge is only as valuable as the degree to which it is applied. Read More →

If you would have told me 5 years ago that too much learning could be detrimental, I would have sought the nearest soapbox to beam my message of opposition. But during these last two years, as I spent an increasing amount of time online, I’ve realized how a deep desire to learn (and even a unquenchable curiosity) can also be a liability. Read More →

The sources of our greatest problems are two fold: 1) Lack of information and perhaps, most importantly, 2) Wrong information. Yet, here we are, supposedly the wittiest species on Earth making fundamental erroneous assumptions that undermine our ability to triumph over our more inherent human flaws. But ignorance need not be one of those flaws. Read More →

Every so often an individual’s curiosity, frustration, and/or inspiration urges them to break tradition and challenge the status quo. In my last post, high school Maverick and valedictorian, Erica Goldson, delivered a graduation speech no one expected by encouraging her classmates and the faculty to reexamine the conventional education system and their role within it. I think it is both inspiring and alarming to watch this growing number high school students step forth to speak out about the quality and “process” of their eduction. Read More →

Education is important, but it’s our definition of education that has become convoluted and misleading. Consequently, our “educational” institutions have drifted further away from the course of our emerging world. Academics have arguably become a parallel reality increasingly detached from the “real world.” Yet, the inefficiency of conventional education continues because of the society’s symbolic perception of value. Read More →