{"id":150,"date":"2021-04-13T02:31:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T02:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/?p=150"},"modified":"2021-10-11T04:23:55","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T04:23:55","slug":"practical-entrepreneurship-and-work-life-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/practical-entrepreneurship-and-work-life-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical Entrepreneurship and Work-Life Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is an outline for a concept course I’ve been thinking about. I initially imagined this being an “in-person” class, but I think it can be easily converted to an online course roughly 2-3 hours in length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Foreword<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To fully appreciate the purpose and vision for this course, it may be helpful to understand what compelled me to propose it in the first place. Twenty-five years ago, when I attended BWS, it was no secret that I struggled academically. I thoroughly enjoyed my overall experience here, but my grades did not reflect that, nor did they reflect my actual intelligence. It wasn\u2019t until much later in life that I realized there were many definitions for success and many interpretations of happiness. Becoming an educator has been an expression of true success and happiness for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching entrepreneurship and customer development<\/a> these past two years. and participating in the Brentwood School community, has given me a unique perspective on student life here — academically, socially and personally. Some things have changed. Some things haven\u2019t. Last year I came to appreciate a deep rooted organizing principle for nearly every student at BWS, certainly in my course. This is the core assumption that the primary purpose of school is to get into college, and the primary purpose of college is to have a successful career. Of course this is a generalization and students vary, but I\u2019ve observed it to be fairly consistent among the student population here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not unique to Brentwood, it was the same in my day, and it\u2019s the same throughout the country. To be clear, this is not a bad characteristic of the education machine. Certainly getting into college and having a successful career has its merits. But it\u2019s not everything; and I fear it sets students down a life path that often leads to dissatisfaction and frustration. It did for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to this, I\u2019ve also observed something incredibly special and endearing about this school. Administrators, teachers and students alike share a passion for being good natured, well rounded and happy human beings. I\u2019ve seen this materialize in nearly every accept of school life, from curriculum to sports, cafeteria, to counseling, activities, arts and everything in-between. It\u2019s quite magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity is to develop more courses and a curriculum that aims to marry two ideas that are all too often divorced \u2014 happy life and life success. Most people like to think they are synonymous, but in reality few people find a true balance. This course, and my vision for a series of future courses, aspire to expose young people to this fact, and give them an early start at blurring the lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This course is designed for the most curios students at Brentwood. At the core, the work in this class will encourage students to question their understanding of what life is like and what it should be like after college and beyond. The class will be centered around a book by Tim Ferris called The Four Hour Workweek and adopts a seminar style framework focused on class participation, culminating in a final project and presentation. Much like our Entrepreneurship class, students will be pushed beyond their comfort zones. They will be asked to dig deep within to understand what really excites them. But we should not simply tell students to follow their passions and promise that success will follow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, people tend to discover they are passionate about something once they\u2019ve honed skills in a given area. This course will give students a framework for building practical skills that ultimately lead to a deeply satisfying life and successful career. Moreover, students will find themselves better prepared to examine their organizing principles and embrace the uncertainty they\u2019ll find in college and the years following. Perhaps most important however is this class is about grasping then practicing skills, not simply being asked study the concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Wikipedia;\u00a0The Four Hour Workweek<\/a> is a self-help book by Timothy Ferriss, an American writer, educational activist, and entrepreneur. The book has spent more than four years on The New York Times Best Seller List, has been translated into 35 languages and has sold more than 1,350,000 copies worldwide. It focuses on what Ferriss refers to as “lifestyle design” and a repudiation of the traditional “deferred” life plan in which people work grueling hours and take few vacations for decades and save money in order to relax after retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is of course as much protest for the book as there is praise. But the fact remains that Tim\u2019s work has become a bible for many and has spawned a movement among a wide range of people, crossing both social and economic lines. It is a source of inspiration for everything from personal passion exploration, to career opportunities and self actualization. It\u2019s a great book and it will serve as a perfect foundation for this course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students will read (or listen to) the entire text over the length of the course and coursework will be designed around principles and practices included in the book. But we will go quite beyond the basic premise that life is not about having a career that affords an luxury retirement. For me, this book, has awaken spirits that have acted as a catalyst more than an operating manual. Serving as motivation, this book will lead us to a variety of other authors, research and text that will foster both curiosity and passion for the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My vision for students who take this course is that they come to appreciate what took me more than half my life to begin to internalize \u2014 that there are many interpretations of success and that happiness is an inside job. Hopefully, they will do more than understand the work, they will actually begin to incorporate it into thier daily life and start on a path of lifestyle design that is in harmony with thier values, passions and pursuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student Comments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I recently interviewed a few students about the topics I plan to cover in this course. A few interesting soundbites are below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRetirement is when you stop having a job you don\u2019t enjoy.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to waste my youth doing something I don\u2019t like”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dad comes home and tells me how much he hates his job every day”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to make money so the rest of my life I can do what I want”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn no way am I being prepared to figure this stuff out”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Source Materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Students will read all or part of following books in addition to The Four Hour Workweek<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People<\/strong> – Stephen Covey<\/li>
  2. Think & Grow Rich<\/strong> – Napoleon Hill<\/li>
  3. Outliers<\/strong> – Malcolm Gladwell<\/li>
  4. The Power of Habit<\/strong> – Charles Duhigg<\/li>
  5. To Sell is Human<\/strong> – Dan Pink<\/li>
  6. Rich Dad Poor Dad<\/strong> – Robert Kiyosaki<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Specifically, the structure of this course will be as follows (assuming roughly 16 weeks of class):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Week 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Introduction to course work and core text, exploration of current belief systems and organizing principles, exercises that serve to break down resistance to new approaches and uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Weeks 2 – 4<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Read part one of core text, understand how people end up where they end up in life, explore Tim\u2019s examples and research others who have come to a realization and made change, develop a mini-project around a core passion, practice public speaking and work through constructive feedback from students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Weeks 5 – 8<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Read part two of core text, learn how Tim and others have incorporated passions, interests and impact into career, establish a baseline understanding of the concept of lifestyle design, develop a practical model that effectively balances work and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Weeks 9 – 12<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Read part three of the core text, examine the methods Tim uses to run an array of businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors, learn and practice various skills including research, delegation, planning, ideation, project development, fundraising, creative and pragmatic writing, public speaking, motivation, habit building and focus, begin a framework of a lifestyle design reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Weeks 13 – 16<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Explore and expand on personal passions, lifestyle pursuits, needs, and income goals, research and reflect on various people who have achieved success and happiness, develop a final project and in-class presentation for a functional lifestyle design plan and implementation simulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Homework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Homework will consist of weekly reading (or listening) to core text, various research and data collection exercises, video consumption, interviews, advanced search querying, outline development, video progress reports, project work, day dreaming. Students will also be required to start and maintain a blog with specific post assignments as well as updates on thier journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Skills<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Students will learn and practice the following skills:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Analytical reading<\/li>
    • Internet research<\/li>
    • Data compilation, validation, organization and normalization<\/li>
    • Surveys and interviewing<\/li>
    • Public speaking<\/li>
    • Presentation development<\/li>
    • Creative, business and pragmatic writing<\/li>
    • Project management<\/li>
    • Fundraising,<\/li>
    • Idea generation and exploration<\/li>
    • Resource allocation, assignment and delegation<\/li>
    • Various software tools: Slack, Evernote, Pivotal Tracker, Google Advanced Query, Keynote, Google Forms<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Grading<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Format: My thinking is that this class be offered as a non-credit elective in the first or second iteration as I flush out the curriculum. Later it could be made into a more traditional letter grade course as we better understand the rigor and value to students, particularly from a college requirements standpoint. I\u2019m very much open to discussion on this front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Assignments 25%<\/li>
      • Class Participation 20%<\/li>
      • Final Project 35%<\/li>
      • Growth and Risk Assessment\u00a020%<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Target Date:<\/strong> Fall 2017, full curriculum to be developed summer 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Duration of Course:<\/strong> Semester<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Prerequisites:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Grade Level:<\/strong> 11 & 12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Meetings\/Rotation:<\/strong> Normal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Course Difficulty\/Rigor:<\/strong> Simple, but not easy. Workload is moderate, but will be difficult for students to know exactly what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Grading Format:<\/strong> Letter Grade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Resources Needed:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Being an entrepreneur is partly about business, but it’s also about how one approaches their life. This course is about having a work-life balance while still achieving your goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,11],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts","tag-courses","tag-lifestyle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/work_life_balance.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":199,"url":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/startup-tip-product-market-fit\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":0},"title":"Startup Tips #2 – What Is Product-Market Fit","author":"Jeff Solomon","date":"March 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Using customer development to maximize startup success. Finding product-market fit is the holy grail for any startup. And not finding it is why so many startups fail. Achieving this goal can only be accomplished by applying the customer development framework before you begin building your product or service. https:\/\/youtu.be\/mPIGl7EIeHU What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Tips","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/category\/tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mPIGl7EIeHU\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":184,"url":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/10-works-smart-tips-serial-entrepreneur\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":1},"title":"10 Works Smart Tips from a Serial Entrepreneur","author":"Jeff Solomon","date":"September 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Serial entrepreneurs have likely tried it, failed at it, and succeeded at it. Here are 10 tips you can follow and skip the failing.","rel":"","context":"In "Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Posts","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/category\/posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Entrepreneurship Tips","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/10_tips_work_smarter.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/10_tips_work_smarter.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/10_tips_work_smarter.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/10_tips_work_smarter.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/10_tips_work_smarter.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":210,"url":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/startup-tip-why-startups-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":2},"title":"Startup Tips #5 – Why Startups Fail","author":"Jeff Solomon","date":"July 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A case study of OUYA and the entrepreneurs' trap The truth is that most startups fail. But this statistic would be much lower if founders simply embarked on the simple, but not easy, process of Customer Development. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs neglect to do this before launching their business \u2014 mostly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Tips","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/category\/tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/HsR7Ws41NNI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":54,"url":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/customer-development\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":3},"title":"What Is Customer Development?","author":"Jeff Solomon","date":"January 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Customer development is the most important skill for any entrepreneur when launching a business. Here's what it's all about.","rel":"","context":"In "Definitions"","block_context":{"text":"Definitions","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/category\/definitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Customer Development","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/customer_development.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/customer_development.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/customer_development.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/customer_development.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/customer_development.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":157,"url":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/failed-startup-to-successful-exit\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":4},"title":"The History of a Failed Startup to a Successful $128 Million Exit","author":"Jeff Solomon","date":"June 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's the story from startup crash and burn to $128 million exit in a step by step bullet point format.","rel":"","context":"In "Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Stories","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/category\/stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Startup Story Velocify","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/true_startup_stories.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/true_startup_stories.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/true_startup_stories.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/true_startup_stories.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/true_startup_stories.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134,"url":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/startup-problems-found-in-the-why\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":5},"title":"Startup Problems are Found in the “Why”","author":"Jeff Solomon","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Identifying a significant customer problem is critical when starting a company. Learn how the \"why\" is they key to uncover meaningful problems.","rel":"","context":"In "Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Posts","link":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/category\/posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Problems Found in \"Why\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/understand_the_why.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/understand_the_why.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/understand_the_why.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/understand_the_why.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/understand_the_why.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions\/152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bak.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}