Challenge Your Assumptions: The Practical Value of Philosophy
A number of Praxis participants are currently completing our Philosophy module and blogging everyday about the content. Today’s post is republished from Praxis participant Ryan Ferguson’s personal blog on his 2nd day going through philosophy module. You can’t ignore the big questions in life. You can only run from them. But eventually they will find […]
Why Work Hard? and Other Questions You’ve Never Asked: Defining Your Philosophy of Work
“To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We’ve got it down to four words: “Do what you love.” But it’s not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated.” – YCombinator Founder Paul Graham,”How To Do What You Love“ Ever wondered about why […]
Why A College Internship Isn’t Enough
I don’t need more work experience, I had an internship in college! — Famous Last Words of the Underemployed College Graduate In my path talking with prospective Praxis applicants and with prospective Praxis business partners, I am often asked why the Praxis business partner experience is ten months and not just three, four, or six […]
Dropouts and Opt-Outs: Travis Kalanick
“Stand by your principles and be comfortable with confrontation. So few people are, so when the people with the red tape come, it becomes a negotiation.” Travis Cordell Kalanick (August 6, 1976 – ) is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of the wildly successful ride-sharing service, Uber. Kalanick was like many entrepreneurs, a self-starter looking for […]
What I Do When I Feel Too Tired To Create
“I’m too tired.” Too many of my blog post drafts have died an early death because of that sentence. This is an excuse that neatly covers failure for just about any work. It’s so easy to justify. But just because an excuse is justifiable doesn’t mean it’s worthwhile. Because I can always imagine a time when I’ll feel […]
Dropouts and Opt-Outs: Richard Branson
“Looking back, I believe that the qualities that make for a great entrepreneur – such as boundless energy, a curious nature and, sometimes, an obstinate streak – are not often attributes demonstrated by top students in the classroom.” – Richard Branson, Entrepreneur Article When Richard Branson was four years old, his mother dropped him off in the […]
Why You Should Apply to Praxis
Praxis requires the right people. It’s a challenging program. It’s not for everyone. So who’s a good fit? If you or someone you know fits any of these descriptions, it might be a match made in heaven… You’re good, but you’re bored You can do well in school. You’re typically one of the best students. […]
Dropouts and Opt-Outs: Thomas Edison
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) ended his time in school after three months. If he fit the mold of what most people expect of dropouts, his story would end there. It didn’t. Edison built […]
From College Dropout to Full-Time Startup Employee | Meet Praxis Participant Tamina Zaheri
We’re kicking off our Fall 2015 class next month and I’m excited to continue to welcome the new participants into the Praxis program. Tamina Zaheri comes to Praxis with a natural entrepreneurial mindset and strong work ethic that we look for in all our successful applicants. She has never been satisfied with learning in a typical […]
Dropouts and Opt-Outs: Wilbur and Orville Wright
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.” – Orville Wright Think science and innovation are closed to people without engineering degrees? The Wright brothers challenge that notion. Neither brother graduated from high school. Both were self-taught and well-read. The […]
Life Is A Hackathon
It’s often said that life is a marathon, rather than a sprint. This is sound advice, but I don’t think the marathon is the best analogy for the entrepreneur. If we’re interested in building lives defined by purposeful creativity, we need to look to a different kind of competition. I had the chance to attend my first […]
Your Resume is Boring. Do These Five Things Instead
The following article is excerpted from our book, How to Get Any Job You Want: Advice for Future Career Seekers. Want a free PDF copy of the full book? You can download it here! The resume is supposed to be a relatively quick way for someone to get to know your personal and professional accomplishments, […]
How I Achieved My Four-Year Goals In Ten Months
I’ve always had fairly large goals. When it came to actually accomplishing them, I wasn’t much different from many people my age. That is to say, I was getting nothing important done. I was keeping my head down and working hard to do well in school and have a “normal” teenage life. I had done well at […]
Advice to Ambitious Young People: Just Build Something!
“I’m an ambitious young person who wants to always be moving forward in my education and career. What should I be doing?” Building something. The best thing that an ambitious young person can do at age 18, 19, or 20 is to be building something. They should be spending as much of their free time as possible […]
How To Be Fascinating: The (Apparent) Contradictions of Interesting People
“He’s a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.” – Kris Kristofferson An aristocrat who joins a peasant revolution. An atheist who enjoys liturgical music. A janitor who makes a breakthrough scientific discovery. If these sound like they would be excellent characters for a novel, that’s because they would. We are fascinated by people who defy […]