The Friday Mindset - Issue #29

October 22, 2021

It's half-term Friday!

And you're still here, loitering on campus? Really? Well you're not alone! All across the country, solitary folk just like you have been left behind as fleet-footed colleagues speed pubwards. We salute you.

Just before you go for your well-deserved week off, a few things to ponder:

Something to try...

Back in 2019 Steve and I were asked to contribute to a conference, but by the time it rolled around, Covid was laying waste to everything and our updated instructions were to pre-record our session instead. We ended up in this weird situation where we had to set up a Zoom meeting, talk to no-one at all and record what we'd done... before, a few weeks later, finally being offered the chance to present live. Well, we grabbed that with both hands. All of which means we have a clunky recording of a one-hour conference session sitting around our desktops which has never seen the light of day. We thought we'd share an 8 minute section of it with you today.

We're talking about proactivity. What does proactivity mean? What are we looking for when we urge students to 'be more proactive'? How can we subdivide what is a nebulous construct and try to make sense of it?

We think we've made some progress with this, and in the short section of the presentation below, we talk about what we've discovered, and share an early version of an unpublished Effort activity called The Present Moment. Hope you enjoy! (Link at the bottom)

Something we're reading...

Stephen Pressfield's Turning Pro is written is very short (mostly single page) mini-essays that build slowly and inevitably towards a superb conclusion. His premise is to explore the difference between the amateur and the pro through a series of descriptions and examples (One page simply reads, "The amateur tweets. The professional works.") , and to urge each of us to 'turn pro'.

The sections are so short and powerful, not only have they been a big influence on us, we've had some real success exploring the ideas with students too.

We couldn't recommend Pressfield's work more highly, and Turning Pro is a quick but powerful read. Check out the link at the bottom of the page to find out more.

Our latest offer(s)…

It's reminder-time!

  • For the last time... our free webinar on Practice - a repeat session - will be on Thursday 4th November; we’ll start as usual at 3:45pm and run for about an hour. You get a copy of the powerpoint to share and re-use at work. Email us ay [email protected] and we’ll send you the Zoom link. See you there!

  • Our London training day happens on December 14th. We’ll be exploring the model, discussing implementation, covering coaching, sharing new resources and answering any questions too. For newcomers and early adopters alike, it should be a good day. Details at the end of the newsletter.

And finally... let's talk about the School of Life's resource pack, 'What Should I Do With My Life'. It's a cool little pack of cards that give frank and sometimes funny career advice. We've used them with students before. There's a picture below to give you a flavour.

Why are we showing you this? Well, Martin's got a copy to give away! Not a freebie; his own copy. First person to email us at [email protected] asking for it gets it posted. This is for realsies, we're just feeling generous and having a bit of a clear out. Think of it as a half-term treat. Go!

And that's it from us. We'll take a week off now, and see you on Friday 5th.

Rest up folks,

Steve and Martin

p.s. If you've not visited the School of Life's video channel, get in there and check it out. We've often dipped in and out of videos to help explore particular ideas or introduce activities.

Right at the bottom there, is a nice one to start with if you've never watched before. How to Find Fulfilling Work; 6 minutes of balanced, thoughtful analysis... it's an assembly waiting to happen, folks!

“Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits.” Read this book right after The War of Art. It gets deeply into the question, “Exactly how do we overcome Resistance?”

Eventbrite - Steve Oakes & Martin Griffin presents VESPA - Full Day (London Course) - Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at Union Jack Club, London, England. Find event and ticket information.

The key to finding fulfilling work is to think a lot, analyse one's fears, understand the market, reflect on capitalism. Find out more by attending our one-d...