Catch-up week

[Joshua]

No formal assignment this week, after exercise 4, before exercise 5.

But please share reflections anyway.

I’ll email prompts later this week.

[Olivia Ong]

Reflection:

• How has this workshop compared with your expectations or other classes, if any, on similar subjects?

This workshop so far is experience by doing, which I was anticipating coming into it. It resembles other ‘learn by doing’ experiences that I’ve been exposed to. However, this methodology is sparse compared to that of traditional education. I think it’s very valuable to learn by action as it helps to desensitize people to the fear of reaching out to people.

• How has interacting with each other factored in?

Interacting with each other has led to interesting conversations. It definitely helps to have people to work with to complete the exercises, especially when there are 10+ iterations required.

• Any suggestions to improve the experience?

If this is not included already or will not be covered by future exercises, perhaps consider including some commentary, interlude, or guidance on how/when people ought to switch projects would be helpful.

• What have been your biggest surprises so far?

My biggest surprises are that friends and family who I don’t expect jump in to help, and strangers enjoy giving advice too. The emotional journey has been interesting as well. Much of this workshop I’ve felt neutral. I’m committed to completing the exercises because I know that the learning happens during and after the actions. I have struggled with some of the exercises and anticipated that. At the same time, I’m not experiencing as much clarity as I thought I would by this point, and that is definitely both surprising and frustrating.

• What do you think the rest of the class will be like? Or the leadership part?

I think the rest of the class will be about fleshing out the project and bringing it to life. I think the leadership part will be about continuing to take inspired action and inspiring others to do the same in regards to our specific project.

[Hayden Kessinger]

Catch-up week reflections

How has this workshop compared with your expectations or other classes, if any, on similar subjects?

I haven’t been a part of a class like this before, aside from the Sustainability Simplified course with Josh. I definitely haven’t taken a course or workshop about entrepreneurship or centered around taking initiative. It’s going much better than I expected. I’ve enjoyed the exercises and have been rewarded by each. My network is expanding literally every day. I have used the inertia from the exercises to make more connections, build on existing relationships, and improve the work I was already doing. It rarely feels like a class; I almost always want to do the work.

How has interacting with each other factored in?

Although our weekly hour-long zoom calls seem to fly by, and we don’t get to interact much, knowing there are 7 others completing the same exercises at the same time has helped a lot. It’s great to share my difficulties and successes while hearing others share theirs. I genuinely feel inspired by my classmates projects and want to help them as much as possible. I’m not sure I would’ve made it this far if I was doing these exercises on my own.

Any suggestions to improve the experience?

I think we could all benefit from more discussion in the meetings. It’s always hard to manage, but I think sometimes one or two people talk a lot while others only get to share a little. Maybe set a timer for each person? I’ve gotten value from listening to only a couple of people talk for longer periods, though, so I’m not sure if setting a timer would be a good thing.

What have been your biggest surprises so far?

I have been surprised by my own initiative, motivation, and commitment to the exercises and work. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to initiate, schedule, and follow through with conversations. I’ve also been surprised by how much one conversation can change (and usually improve) things: my thoughts, the project, my interests, my motivation, and more. With close to 20 conversations behind me at this point, that’s a lot of change!

What do you think the rest of the class will be like? Or the leadership part?

I have a feeling it will get a bit more complicated and difficult. I say this because I think we’re still in the honeymoon phase of our projects. We’re still developing them, changing them… it’s exciting and new. Soon, I imagine it’ll be time to kick it up a notch and get into the nitty gritty of making our exciting ideas reality. I’m sure this will be enjoyable too, but probably harder and maybe a little frustrating. I’ll be happy to be surprised more, though.

I have no expectations for the leadership part yet. I think it’ll be great, though. And I’m sure it’ll make the running of my project (assuming I create it) a lot better. I hope the rest of Initiative and the leadership course will continue to help me discover my passions and have the courage to act on them for the benefit of myself and others.

With the way I’m heading right now, in- and outside of the class, I have a very good feeling that I’m creating a life I will be proud of and very happy to live.

More reflections

Once again, leaning into feelings of uncertainty and fear has proven to be very valuable. A few years ago, I wrote some quotes on sticky notes and put them on my bedroom door. I don’t remember all of them, but one that has rarely left my mind reads “commit now, figure the rest out later.” I don’t know if someone especially interesting or credible said this, or if it was just some random person on the internet. Whoever it was, I have to thank them. I also have to thank podcaster, Rich Roll, for consistently touting the phrase “mood follows action.” These two mantras put together have helped me overcome emotions that would otherwise prevent me from doing cool things and reaching my potential. I’m not always able to embody them but when I do, good stuff happens.

Josh pushes a similar message in Initiative and in his efforts to be more sustainable. More often than not, we don’t need to come up with the perfect plan. It’s impossible to get everything right the first time anyway, so why not get started now, and learn along the way? I have enough brains to not apply this mindset to everything. Neglecting to plan past day one of a three day hike, for example, would probably end quite poorly. I love planning things and there’s nothing wrong with a well-thought-out plan. However, over the last couple of years, I’ve been getting better and better at avoiding “analysis paralysis” and learning how to plan after committing to the thing and/or adjusting on the fly.

[Beth]

Catch up week reflections

How has this workshop compared with your expectations or other classes, if any, on similar subjects?

I think I was expecting this to be a workshop of “doing the thing” not “talking about the thing” and it has been just that. The group interaction has been supportive, which I expected, and the guest speakers have been incredibly inspiring in the passion and the results they achieved from their projects. I didn’t know we would have the opportunity to hear from them and it was a welcomed surprise. This is more like workshops I have taken to learn something specific vs. any classes I have taken. When I was in an administrative position in the county, we had a “Leadership” program that used workshops for learning and practicing but it was a top down imposed program. The adoption of this program didn’t include any working staff and so it didn’t connect to anyone’s real passion.

I don’t think I expected to feel the amount of pressure I feel about the assignments. It is more challenging to get them done than I thought. I have truly enjoyed every conversation that I have had and getting them scheduled around the normal life things has been more challenging than I expected. The week of 10 interviews left me feeling exhausted and uncertain I would be able to maintain this for 30 weeks. Having the assignment ready for posting on Saturday morning at 10 am my time feels like a huge crunch to do the work, write the work, reflect on the writing, post the writing.

How has interacting with others factored in?

People are my main interest. Listening to/reading their ideas of projects motivates me and stimulates my curiosity. I truly enjoyed my advice conversations with every one of the participants I spoke to. I not only enjoyed their advice, but liked having the time to hear more directly about their projects from them. It was fascinating to me how being asked for advice sparked my thinking in fun ways.

Any suggestions for improving the experience?

I don’t know how to make it feel less like a marathon but I still don’t know that I can do this for 30 weeks. Having just been out of the loop for a week leaves me feeling really jammed to even start thinking about anything again. I’m running at about 25% energy right now, not able to be upright more than a few minutes at a time and I don’t know if I’m coming out of it or still in the middle of it. I also have a pile of life things that have to be handled that didn’t get handled last week. I realize this isn’t concrete suggestion about how to improve, but my brain doesn’t have a concrete idea to suggest.

What have been your biggest surprises so far?

Something I didn’t anticipate was how much I would be deeply looking at my own sense of purpose. I, like Jim shared today, am probably closer to the end of my timeline than most in the class (recognizing that none of us know and the end could be at any moment). So, how I spend these moments with which I have been blessed has been my major pondering. I am realizing that I care about the trash situation in Merida, but that isn’t my passion. Connecting with people as I pick up trash is the gold for me. Looking into someone else’s eyes and connecting as a human who cares to another who cares, that makes my heart sing.

What do you think the rest of the class will be like? Or the leadership part?

Thinking too far ahead makes me anxious. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do about interviewing five people with “the problem” because I’m having a hard time defining who that is. I have some ideas but my mind is on this week’s assignment, not next week’s. I can say I’m excited to watch my friends and how they evolve in their ideas.

Confession: I am typing this directly into the forum and am not sitting on it overnight. I need to get this done so I can continue to the next assignment. I have the energy right now. I don’t know if I’ll have the energy in an hour or tomorrow.

[Hayden Kessinger]

Hey Beth,

I felt that same spark of curiosity and excitement when you and others asked me for advice! I’m sorry you’ve been hit with illness and hope that you’re feeling better now. I think your strategy to focus on the current assignment is great — there’s no reason to worry about the end. You said yourself you’ve enjoyed the work, so just keep doing what’s in front of you (I’m speaking to myself here more than you, lol… thank you for the reminder)!

Also, I smiled when you wrote about your heart singing. My unsolicited advice would be to really listen to that passion. And ask if your current project idea is really what you want to spend your energy on.

Looking forward to hearing more in class today 🙂

[Bonnie]

Catch up week reflection:

This workshop allows us the freedom to choose a project we are passionate about or care deeply about. Unlike other classes I have taken, where professors usually predefined the topics or provided a selection of projects for team assignments, this class offers more flexibility. In those previous classes, I often chose the easiest project that required the least effort and offered the highest chance of getting a good grade. That was my main motivation to stay engaged with the project. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about those projects because the topics were not of personal interest to me.

This class, however, is conducted in a discussion format where everyone has the chance to share their experiences, and others are encouraged to chime in with their perspectives. It is much more engaging. Unlike other classes, which were primarily lecture-based and didn’t offer many opportunities to share our thoughts or discuss our assignments from the previous week, this format encourages active participation.

I remember one project in graduate school where we needed to reach out to a nonprofit manager. It was difficult to schedule an interview with them due to their busy schedule and priorities, which impacted the overall timeline of our project. Unlike that graduate project, in this current project, we have the opportunity to talk to many people. If one person isn’t available, we can move on to the next. We also get to interact with our classmates during the workshop and hear about their experiences. Everyone is very encouraging. It is a safe space to share what we have learned, what worked well, and what could be improved upon. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences so that we can learn from each other.

Josh’s book provides some scripts as examples of how to talk to our interviewees, which is incredibly helpful. People also shared their experiences and responses from the interviewees, and Josh offered his advice on how to handle certain situations. I think it would be helpful if we could pair up to practice and get real-time feedback from Josh and our classmates.

The biggest surprise I have had is that I can’t believe I am finally working on the projects I have had in mind for years. I am proud of my dedication and the thoughtfulness I am putting into my reflections and assignments. In today’s class, we discussed having a healthy relationship with failure. I think it is something I need to spend more time considering so that I can embrace failure and move on, as I tend to feel stuck.

I think for the rest of the class, we will continue to learn more about the problems we are trying to solve and refine our definitions and solutions. There might be roadblocks in moving to the next phase, or I might feel anxious about talking to more experienced people in the field I am working in. Turning ideas into reality could also be challenging. However, after practicing, I believe we will become better at facilitating conversations and leading efforts to make changes.

[Hayden Kessinger]

Hey Bonnie,

I like that you mention the workaround to contacting busy people… just try someone else! I think we give up because of things like this way too often. It’s almost a relief when we realize we don’t have to actually do the work. There’s an easy excuse: the person is busy! That’s hardly a surprise, so why not just talk to someone else? It seems so silly that this solution has always been available but, at least for me, rarely utilized because I’d rather take the path of least resistance. Now, a small roadblock like that hardly makes me think, I just move on.

[Olivia Ong]

Yesssss, celebrating your wins and progress, Bonnie! 🙂

I enjoyed hearing your enthusiasm around ‘FINALLY working on the projects you’ve always wanted to’!!

[Jim Jenkins]

Catch up week Reflections

1. How has this workshop compared with your expectations or other classes, if any, on similar subjects?

Was comfortable with the exercise, fairly matter of fact. No concerns about carrying it out except time required and accessing people. The asking for advice approach was indeed a great means to lower the inhibition to say yes to my request. Will add this to my conversation template. Knowing the material and being able to do it are two different things and the structure of this workshop has really helped improve the doing it factor.

2. How has interacting with each other factored in?

It has been valuable to hear the perceptions of others in the group. It’s made me realize the value of some skills I take for granted and where I need to focus more. We all have a unique mix of experiences and levels of learning and no one is starting from zero. It’s making me take better stock of the skills I do have and how to utilize them more. I’ve participated in learning lab groups previously and this experience is a close example to that.
Interacting with those in the conversations definitely enriched the depth and many nuances of the problem and solution that I wasn’t seeing. It is easy to get blinded by your own thinking. The AHA factor is stronger and more frequent.

3. Any suggestions to improve the experience?

People want to talk about new things they learned and experienced, some don’t need as much air time as others so it is a hard task facilitate. One method to help is to set a bit of structure with some standard questions like, what was each person’s biggest AHA, and once everyone has had a turn it can be more open discussion. I don’t think anyone in this group is monopolizing the time over others. There is always something to be learned by listening.

4. What have been your biggest surprises so far?

Taking stock of the skills I have and noticing where I procrastinate on some parts of the homework and thinking about why I am doing that. I think it has to do with overcoming fears.

5. What do you think the rest of the class will be like? Or the leadership part?

The ante is raised each week so I anticipate more discomfort but also faster progress as our confidence builds. Looking forward to leadership work.

[Beth]

Hayden, I have just now seen your response and encouragement on this weeks topic. Thank you so much! I remain in catch up mode as I’ve been unable to do anything this week, either, but I am letting go of the PUSH.

[Author]

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