“We stigmatise mistakes. We’re now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities.” ~ Ken Robinson
You might have heard of that idiom: Keep your mind open, but don’t let your brain fall out. Well, that’s exactly what our goal is. We aim to expose students to subjects that they generally don’t learn about in school.
Our goal is to ask questions that challenge your perspective; we propose ideas that compel you to weed out that noise that keeps you on the hamster wheel. What if you one day realize that there’s so much more to life than what you’re told at school, and you figure out how to get off the wheel?
Are you a person who doesn’t fit into the cookie cutter education system?
Are you tired of teachers telling you that you’ll never amount to anything, because you didn’t do well in the cookie cutter education system’s exam?
Do you have an inkling that people are just doing things without questioning why they’re doing it?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place. Through our mentorship program, you will learn and discuss ideas that will help you make rational sense of the world, such as:
- How can we critically examine multiple perspectives to formulate a more accurate, objective view of our world?
- A humble, open-minded attitude towards opposing perspectives can make you a better individual, but are you ready to get comfortable with discomfort?
- How can we avoid succumbing to the ‘us vs. them’ mentality and instead strive to become a balanced, discerning individual who is able to step back and see the big picture?
The Power of Language and Story to Bias “Reality”
Have you ever talked to someone who speaks a different native language, and noticed that it’s not just the words that are different – the way they think and reach conclusions are different too? This concept is called linguistic relativity. Words are used to express our thoughts and ideas; if we don’t have a word for it, the concept doesn’t exist for us. For example in Japanese, one word 武士道 bushidō encapsulates the entire moral code of the samurai, which in English would require an entire page to explain. In both Japanese and Chinese, it often only takes one character to express a complete concept. In German, a bridge is feminine, whilst in Spanish, it is masculine. It is said that the Australian Aboriginal language Guugu Yimithirr doesn’t contain words such as left and right.
So how does this affect the way we process new information? Does our native language make us subtly biased? Did you know that every time you study a new language, new neural pathways are forming and strengthening in your brain, enabling a whole new way of thinking, perceiving and living?
We use words to formulate and build ideas. Language has such a huge influence on our choices, and our perception of what is possible. Want to broaden your worldview? Learn a new language. We offer Japanese and Mandarin Chinese language classes designed to help you decode reality.
Philosophy is a Tool for a Successful Life
Has anyone ever said to you, ‘I wish I knew that when I was your age’. They’ve made mistakes and learned from them, but they would’ve been so much better off if they got the message 30 years ago. This is the power of hindsight. What do you wish someone had told you 5 years ago?
Generally, when people think of philosophy, their brains shut down. But what if you could take that lesson which took 30 years to learn, and start applying it to your own life? What if you could test the ideas from Socrates, Seneca, Lao Tzu and even your neighbor down the street to give you insights that drastically improve your life? In a nutshell, philosophy is about critically examining the decisions you make and why you make them. Through this self-awareness, you are giving yourself the opportunity to outperform your peers and redefine the standard. Don’t be a sheep that follows the herd. Be aware of every decision you make, and how it’s impacting your future success.
Knowledge is Useless Without Wisdom
Knowledge is just information. Wisdom is knowledge applied, experience gained.
Have you ever sat through a class wondering how on earth any of it is relevant to your life? That’s because fundamentally, schools today are a remnant from the industrial era, where conformity was valued over creativity. The classroom fundamentally hasn’t changed for over 100 years. They categorize people according to age and predetermined frameworks of academic ability, which completely disregards the uniqueness of each individual.
Subject rankings are categorized by their relevance to the modern workforce, rather than by their creative potential. In humanities subjects, you are told that you must agree with the essay question in order to receive high marks, and non-conformity to rigid criteria sheets is punished by low grades.
Everybody is tiptoeing around the glaring fact. We live in such a rapidly transforming world, yet schools are so entrenched in their own bureaucracy that they can’t see the forest for the trees. A 16 year old today will retire around 2075. What is the world going to look like in 50 years from now, and how can we gracefully adapt without letting our brains fall out?
This is where wisdom becomes crucial to your success. Knowledge is just a download of information from AI, but wisdom is knowledge applied in real-time to your everyday life. Test the knowledge to ascertain the truth for yourself. Embrace mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new. Always think critically, and take action to apply the lessons you’ve learned. AI is just a knowledge tool, and it can lead to dangerous outcomes if you simply take it at face value.
As Earl Nightingale once said,
“Everybody is self-made, but only the successful are willing to admit it.”
Learn more about our mentorship program:
Adventure Travel:
Redefine Your Potential
Knowledge alone doesn’t transform us. Experience does. Elevate your success by learning directly from a mentor who has already successfully navigated the path you are about to take.
“I travel because I become uncomfortable being too comfortable.”
~Carew Papritz
Entrepreneurship and Financial Education
The world is changing faster than we can blink. Bitcoin, digital currency, the rise of AI.
Be informed. Be prepared.
“If you want to be financially free, you need to become a different person than you are today and let go of whatever has held you back in the past.”
~Kim Kiyosaki