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Accept or Deny?
It's like talking to a bunch of five year olds!
Actions Speak Louder Than Words...So Let's DO This!
Like any great idea, Project:IDWIL doesn’t really exist until we stop thinking about it (and holy moley, do I think about it!) and actually start acting on it. Project:IDWIL, regardless of how many of layers of capability and action get fulfilled, can be successful if even the most basic building blocks are created. The building blocks of this project is essentially people volunteering their time to talk to students about why they do what they love.
1) The term ‘students’ is not limited to high school or college students…or even classroom students. Plenty of adults that are not in school, young children who aren’t in school yet, and any number of local organizations can benefit from what is ultimately exposure to the possibility to be inspired.
2) The term “talk…about why they do what they love” is just that simple. As a speaker, you can’t think about targeting people to inspire - your story can touch anyone directly or indirectly, and it can come from an one minute piece of your story. Just the same, not everyone will be inspired by your story. With all of that in mind, it would be maddening to attempt to strategize how to inspire people. So don’t. Just put your story out there. I am serious about the ‘story’ part, too! People relate to, react to, and connect with the emotional side of what you tell them.
Right now, as one guy, all I can do is go out there and talk to people and search for like-minded people who see value in the project. Creating an organized way to get more people to talk IDWIL and developing the website are in the works. So, in accordance with the thought at the top of this article, I started acting. On 12 September 2012, I spoke for 45 minutes to a classroom of students at my alma mater, Mascoutah Community High School.
Here is how it went. Nothing mind-blowing, but I left there feeling extremely fulfilled. Now, let me stipulate that 1) this was my first attempt at doing this 2) I am not a professional speaker 3) I had limited technical capabilities.
Plenty of room for work, but it only cost me time. And seeing how easily I can waste time in other parts of my life, then using the term cost even feels wrong. I just needed to act.
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Remember that one kid back in school...?
The kid I am talking about is the one you or I knew who, in high school or earlier, already knew what s/he “wanted to do when they grew up.” Okay, so maybe there is more than just one kid that fits this description, but the point is that they are severely outnumbered by the others - the rest of us.
Although I brought the subject up, when I think back to high school, I can’t recall a specific person who illustrated this notion, but I know that there were at least a couple that did. If I am going to be completely honest, I probably would have labelled him/her in my head as ‘dorks’ or ‘snobby’ or ‘uptight’ - which is kind of funny because I can easily describe myself with 2 out of 3 of these labels. (I let you try to figure out which 2!) Looking back now, I am envious. (Except for the ones whose parents had a plan for them and they were not to stray from that plan a/la “Center Stage” or “Varsity Blues” or countless other “it’s not my dream, it’s your unfulfilled dream!” movies.) Don’t I feel silly now - those kids that had focus way back then are probably pretty darn successful these days - more importantly, I hope that they are happy and truly get to do what they love.
I’d love for Project:IDWIL to be the seed of a movement in which those kids represent the majority instead of the minority. With Project:IDWIL’s success comes more of these people. By helping kids recognize the things in life that interest them, it not only provides context with regard of how to learn the things that are asked of us to learn, but it also allows them to start exploring and creating their own education. Thus Project:IDWIL’s intent is not to change the existing educational systems in place, but to supplement them so that students/people become more proactive in understanding their motivations. From there, they have, at least, a starting point for a plan to align their passions with their work in life.
**image used via Flickr Creative Commons:seanmichaelragan
If you enjoy these blog posts, support what +Project:IDWIL is about, or even just know Jake, please use the tools/icons in the top right of the page to Add this to your circles; Subscribe to the blog; Like Project:IDWIL on Facebook; Follow @ProjectIDWIL on Twitter; Follow on Pinterest
You can be anything you want to be!
If I tell my daughters that they can be anything they want to be in this world, am I helping them or hurting them? Of course, the obvious answer is that I am helping them - it helps them build self-confidence and understand that hard work, natural talent, and even a little luck can get them to places that they can’t even imagine. That covers the ‘becoming anything they want’ part. However, let’s not gloss over the “anything they want to be” part. I don’t say this to add limits; I say this because just saying “anything they want to be” is almost paralyzing in that it is so vague.
Project:IDWIL is my tool to help bridge that gap - to bring some context to that vagueness. I want to take that extra step to say “Mia and Lola, you can be anything you want to be in this world. And to help you along, here is a collection of stories of people talking about what they love to do - what they decided that they wanted to be in this world. You don’t have to copy them and you may not care about some of them, but if there is even one that inspires you - that clicks with you, then let’s listen to what they have to say and try to figure out why you connect with him/her. From there, we can start to learn more about what s/he was talking about.”
If it just happens that this tool is something that also helps other people, regardless of age or station in life, then that would be about the best icing on a cake EVER!
If you enjoy these blog posts, support what +Project:IDWIL is about, or even just know Jake, please use the tools/icons in the top right of the page to Add this to your circles; Subscribe to the blog; Like Project:IDWIL on Facebook; Follow @ProjectIDWIL on Twitter; Follow on Pinterest