Aug 31
Aug 31
Sorry, but besides me, it’s in Dutch… Not the first time that has happened to me…
Aug 29
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- on the roof of Rokin
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- silent coffee break
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- the harvest
I can’t believe I’m still awake right now. Knowing I have the second day of a workshop I’ve developed through Knowmads in collaboration with the Hub Amsterdam, I am still buzzing. It’s amazing the amount of things I am able to do with an education as amazing as Knowmads. Going out into the city doing collaborations like The Knowmadic Learning Lab make me realize that there a lot of other “pop-up, start-up learning spaces” happening all across the world.
When I mention this phrase, my mind immediately goes to Frauke Godet of the Hub Berlin. An absolutely gracious presence to have attend our workshop this past Wednesday, she has a rather interesting education topic that suggests the world’s next best “dream school” may not even need a roof. Here are some details on the concept, Future at School:
Facing the global transformation process from moving from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge age. Schools need to educate different skills and competencies:
INDUSTRIAL AGE…………………………….KNOWLEDGE AGE
Interpreted data……………………………. Interpreted information
Hierarchical………………………………….. Personally-constructed meanings
Soloed jobs and roles…………………….. Network org. and Knowmads
Chaos and ambiguity are avoided…….. Chaos and ambiguity are embraced
Inspired by John Moravec, a Knowmads ambassador and initiator of Education Futures:
Accelerating complexity caused by human activity is challenging society and individuals. We need to develop people who are capable to create alternatives in the unknown, to make sense of ambiguity, and to take leadership in chaotic environments.
Vision
To develop young people world-wide who take responsibility to design and create their future!
Mission:
To create a space for cross-generational learning and collaboration to support ideas for a radically better world.
Aug 27
Ideas to change the world;re-designing the Picnic experience-
*travels{abroad}, Sweden, {abroad}knowmad 2 Comments »
This is from one of the most amazing days of my life. Taken in Stockholm, it says: “Ideas to change the world:”
You may recognize one contribution…
Another great day at Knowmads, hosting a World Cafe for idea generation on our Picnic proposal in the morning:
and, in the afternoon, dreaming up…
I think both are very much connected to the photo from above as well as the theme for this year’s Picnic event:
“The world around us is changing fast, and not all the changes are positive. We’re facing the biggest natural, social and economic challenges our world has ever seen. We’ve addressed some of these issues in the past, but the days of just talking are over. It’s time to take action.
We’re focusing on Life, Cities, Media and Design — areas that provide real opportunities to make a difference. PICNIC ’10 brings you a platform to create new solutions for a better world.
For more information on the event, click on the picture above, or check out the blog of Marcel Kampman of happykamping. Both creative director of the festival as well as ambassador of Knowmads, his website is definitely worth a peek. Thanks again to all the great guests Knowmads was able to welcome home on this exciting day!
Aug 25
Chris Guillebeau’s homepage instantly draws you in. Branding himself as “challenging authority since 1978”, Chris is a writer, traveler, and the biggest role model I’ve never met. Fighting the status quo is an art. Chris’ writing and way of life demonstrates that the art of non-conformity is not just writing about settling for less, but actually doing it!
Case in point; Chris has traveled to over 100 countries and has determined to travel to all the countries in the world by 35. When applying to Knowmads, I stumbled upon his site and it literally changed my life.
He’s written two incredible manifestos: A Brief Guide to World Domination and 279 Days to Overnight Success.
He’s a creative, resourceful entrepreneur who knows how to market his knowledge products that include: 25,000 Miles Guaranteed (become a frequent flyer master), Art + Money (yes, it’s possible!), Freelancers! (less stress. more pay.), Hail, Caesar! (build an empire), Create Your Own Freedom (break out of 9-5)
When Chris isn’t building his empire while traveling the world, writing a book (coming out next month!), or meeting other “world-changers,” he is usually running marathons and must be drinking incredible amounts of coffee! Some of his other popular articles include:
A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas
How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review
Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World
Could Chris be any more inspiring? I’m sure he’s trying and I’m happy to dedicate this post to a man who doesn’t even know my name but has dramatically changed my life. Perhaps, this man will inspire some change in you. Thanks, Chris! Happy travels!
Aug 23
I love reading online manifestos! They are a great way to quickly get inspired, motivated, and educated. This week, I’d like to share a manifesto that very well could be one of my favorites that I’ve ever read. Taken from changethis.com, a site brimming with manifestos, The Young Professional Rockstar is a guide to rocking your world. Young or young at heart, everyone can take something from this manifesto in my opinion.
Admittedly, however, this manifesto is more geared towards the emerging professional just entering the workforce. It focuses a lot on personal branding, identity, and things that can really help a young professional make an easy transition to “working” life.
Taking the learning journey one step at a time, it takes a ten-step approach. Part one, Access, focuses on accessing your inner qualities and recognizing the core competencies you are built upon. Giving tips on controlling your brand image and setting a direction for where you want your goals to take you close down the first section.
What I like about this manifesto is the inclusion of action steps that follow each introduction to the certain points of reference. The second part begins with just that-Action. It does a great job at advising you how to make valuable connections, market yourself, stand out from the crowd, as well as push yourself out of your comfort zone. I find these tools incredibly useful at creating needed change to diversify your personal skills and income. The final part, Advance, encourages you to “rock it from anywhere and everywhere” and to keep growing!
My favorite action steps, or personal coaching tools, listed in this manifesto include:
- Creating a “rockstar vision book”
- Develop your “rockstar statement”
- and finally, creating time for growth
Have a manifesto you recommend? Drop us a comment below!
Aug 21
I’m proud to bring back the second installment of my Summer Book Series! Relaxed, rested, and ready to rejuvenate this series after ten days of meditating, I’ve decided to profile two books similar to my recent mind-expanding experience. Our personal perceptions, how we think, make up the majority of who we really are. After over 100 hours of training the monkey in my mind, I’ll introduce the second part of this series with a book similarly titled.
A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink is centered around a thesis that claims we are entering a new age of commerce, living, and learning. Pink sees three forces driving the Western World in this direction: Abundance, Asia, and Automation. Also author of Drive: The Surprising Science of Motivation, states that there are six critical competencies required for this new era:
1. Design—not just a function but also DESIGN
2. Story—not just an argument but also a STORY
3. Symphony—not just focus but also SYMPHONY
4. Empathy—not just logic but also EMPATHY
5. Play—not just seriousness but also PLAY
6. Meaning—not just accumulation but also MEANING
An incredibly easy read, this book has great flow. As a great fan of Pink, I recommend the following YouTube video adapted as a taste of Pink’s brilliantly simple mind:
Written in the same style as Pink, in terms of format, Global Citizens by Mark Gerzon is my next recommendation. He states that there are three skills required for a 21st Century global citizen. Along the lines of Naomi’s previous post on openness, these qualities are:
- Witnessing- Seeing with open eyes-
- Learning- Opening our minds-
- Connecting- Creating relationships-
- Geo-Partnering- Working together
Gerzon concludes with a section on twenty ways to raise our Global Intelligence along with a great ‘action guide’ appendix of Global Citizen’s resources followed by extensive notes.
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post profiling these resources! Until then, happy learning! Enjoy the last of these dog days of summer!
Aug 19
Dave Navarro’s website is pretty kick-ass. Dave seems like a pretty kick-ass guy, in general. Although we’ve never met, his articles such as Goal Addiction and the Cult of Productivity, or Why You’re Not Doing the Things You Said You Wanted to, are also pretty kick-ass. Although his website is an overall good resource full of kick-ass tips, I recommend his manifesto even more. It’s called More Time Now. If you’re not up for all 40 pages now, this post gives the jist of it.
He says it’s all about your mindset. Go figure. Whatever the case, he reminds us that most people lived successful, happy lives well before GTD, Franklin Planners, Palm Pilots, or The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People were ever written. It’s not about getting things done, Dave says. Time will pass, as it always has, so he advises to stop chasing productivity. Time management will never work. It’s not about how organized our lives are, but whether we can finally stop settling for less. My favorite quote is this:
“Recreation isn’t simply playing video games- it’s literally re-creating yourself and shedding your baggage so you can live a remarkable life.”
The difference is that goals are things we dream about, while priorities are things we actually act on. Goals and priorities are where dreaming becomes doing. Navarro talks about three skills to save focus and protect priorities, regarding commitments.
- Deferring new commitments
Resist reaction and train yourself to no longer be conditioned by things that aren’t really that urgent just because they pop up. Whether it’s a phone call, an email, or whatever. Making a conscious decision to leave what you had originally made a priority, when it feels like the right thing to do, otherwise stay on track.
- Delegating new commitments
Meaning asking other people to do something you may not need to do yourself. Feelings from ego (“only I can do this the right way”) or guilt (I can’t let this person down.” ) are often the culprits for not delegating.
- Mitigating new commitments
This can be a combination of some type involving deferral, delegation, or some sort of negotiation to take on part of a task or a smaller one that you can commit to.
Other tools his manifesto’s foundation is built upon include:
Timeboxing– Giving yourself a little bit of pressure to say: “This needs to be done in an hour.” Giving your priority the focus, attention, and drive it deserves.
Micro-actions– a powerful, mind-altering prescription for habit change because they don’t require willpower. Making changing habits a game that will ultimately leave you feeling that internal nagging to play an even bigger game.
Aug 03
To celebrate the dog days of summer, I’ll be posting (every Tuesday) books that have been on my goodreads ‘to-read’ list for quite some time. In case you’re not familiar, goodreads, it is one of my favorite ways to make reading a much more social activity. With the ability to create a network around what you and you’re friends are reading, want to read, and have read, goodreads brings the ‘book club’ home. If you want to learn more, see the link above, or check out my profile here.
Here are my first three recommendations for this four-part series:
Attempting to answer the question: How do I decide what to do with my life when there are so many things I want to do?
In my opinion, skip all the inspirational stories of people’s eclectic interests their creatively connected lives. Make this book an even easier read and use it for the incredibly helpful exercises it provides. Skip the book entirely if you know exactly what you want to do and how to focus your passions. If you have a million different directions your passion is pulling you, pull this one off the shelf, into your lap.
Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 02
a story of pilgrimage
*travels{abroad}, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, camino de santiago, palestine, {abroad}journey No Comments »Perhaps the best way to describe this city is like Amsterdam’s bitchier sister who is just as hot, but more in the ‘I can kick your ass’ kind of way. Rotterdam has chewed me up and spit me out, yet I still keep coming back for more. With gusts of salty wind, huge skyscrapers, and an impossible grind of cars, trams, and bicycles, she doesn’t give you the time to think. People aren’t strolling canals in circles, but crossing bridges with a direct destination in mind. Here, you work hard and you play hard. Any questions? If so, catch the nearest train back to Amsterdam; maybe someone up there will give you the time of day.
It’s not surprising, then, that I’ve reached the first obstacle of my trip here. Head spinning, my body lies like a rag on the sofa. My brain is fuzzy. The television plays movie after movie, as if on repeat. Maybe it is on repeat. I’m not sure. The flu medicine must be kicking in. Read the rest of this entry »
