Presentation by Blake Boles at Knowmads Business School, Amsterdam, Netherlands. February 13, 2014.

1. by Blake Boles
!
blakeboles.com
facebook.com/blakeboles
@blakeboles

2. Have you ever taken a class
about…
!
learning how to learn?

5. What is
“self-directed learning”?

7. What Self-Directed
Learners Do

8. What Self-Directed
Learners Don’t Do
•
vilify teaching or structure
•
hang around
unchallenging places and
with bored people
•
hide their passions and
interests to please others
•
learn in total isolation
•
worry that if they don’t
learn something right now,
it will be too late

9. Self-motivation

10. Discipline,
Dissected
Are you avoiding work
or
are you working on the
wrong thing?
•
If you don’t do this
work, will you feel
physically ill?
•
Do you feel like
you’re making a
difference?
•
Does self-motivation
take over after the
first hump?

11. Cages
and
Keys

12. Cage
Key
I can’t
I could if I
I should
I choose to
I don’t know
I’ll find out
I wish
I’ll make a plan
I hate
I prefer
I have to
I get to
One Right Answer —> Multiple Right Answers

13. 52 Weeks,
52 Jobs

14. The Writing
Retreat

16. Ultimately, how do self-directed
learners motivate themselves?
!
They get consent.
•
Understand what you’re committing to
•
Know what the alternatives are
•
Retain the power to say “No”
(even after you’ve said “Yes”)

17. Don't you make your children learn anything?!
!
Make? No. I don't make them learn anything. I inquire.
I suggest. I offer incentives. But I do not make. I am
not their central planner. That job is taken. My job isn't
to decree what they will be good at or what they will
do or how they will do it. I am not king in their lives.
They are sovereign. Their minds belong to them. It is
their property, after all.

18. My job is to approach them with humility and know
that my ability to discern what they are to be or to do
or to excel in is nothing compared to theirs. My job is
to assist them in their discernment. To make
experiences, work, play, resources, teachers,
mentors, and collaborators available to them to help
them as they construct themselves. To talk things
through with them, but not talk it all to death. My job is
to sit down, shut up, and serve when I can. I direct
nothing. Less of me. More of them.
!
—Ana Martin
(“The Libertarian Homeschooler” on Facebook)

19. “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely
exercised for the good of its victims may
be the most oppressive.”
–C.S. Lewis

20. Learning online

21. lmgtfy.com

22. There are no stupid
questions
just “you couldn’t f***ing
google that?” questions.

23. Can You Use Google to…
•
Prepare for a job interview?
•
Find someone’s email address?
•
Learn how to change an oil filter, butcher a
chicken, or install a window?
•
Find any place of business and its hours,
customer reviews, and driving directions?

24. Can You…
•
Read five different perspectives on the same piece
of news?
•
Figure out the cheapest way to buy a flight, book, or
any other consumer product?
•
Use search operators like: “quotes” -minus site: ?
(Not sure where to start?)
Just google it.

25. The
Power
of an
E-mail

26. The Power of a Smartphone

27. The Power of a Digital Paper Trail

28. (girl walk video)

29. A Few Digital Paper Trails
•
Videos
•
Images (digital or analog)
•
Audio (podcasts, interviews)
•
Writing (blogs, articles, books, how-to)
•
Social media (e.g. tweets)
•
Functional things: websites, programs, apps

30. Learning offline

31. MOOCs
(Massive Open Online Courses)

32. Want to learn what love is?
Throw yourself into relationships.
!
Want to discuss novels?
Find other book lovers.
!
Want to tell science fact from science fiction?
Meet an actual scientist.

33. The Fall
Retreat

34. Only humans can teach: work habits, self-regulation,
conscientiousness, grit, and focus.
!
Only humans can serve as: motivational coaches,
entertainers, and role models.
“We are the music makers, and we are the
dreamers of dreams.”
—Arthur O’Shaughnessy
(or, Willy Wonka)

35. Practice,
Deliberately

36. Deliberate Practice is:
•
focused on a very specific goal
•
designed to nudge you just past your current level of
performance: not too hard, not too easy
•
repeatable
•
dependent on constant feedback
•
mentally demanding (5 hours per day, max)
•
not much fun: it’s strenuous and painful

37. To Find A Good Deliberate
Practice Coach:
(source: Daniel Coyle)
•
Avoid someone who reminds you of a courteous
waiter. They should scare you a little.
•
Find someone who watches you closely, prefers
jumping into activities over extensive talking, and
gives honest feedback.
•
Seek someone who gives short, clear directions.
•
Seek someone who loves teaching fundamentals.
•
Other things being equal, pick the older person.

38. From self-directed
learning to
“the real world”

39. Carsie Blanton & The Kickstarter MBA
•
•
What are you building?
•
What are you offering?
•
Who cares?
•
How might you fail?
•
Jazz Is for Everybody
Who are you?
Do other people trust
you?
•
How can I trust you?

40. Live Below Your Means
(become
time-wealthy)

41. Minimum Viable Personality
MOST IMPORTANT STEP
FOR BUILD PRODUCT IS
BUILD PRODUCT
SECOND MOST
IMPORTANT IS BUILD
PERSONALITY FOR
PRODUCT.
@FAKEGRIMLOCK
NO HAVE PERSONALITY?
PRODUCT BORING, NO
ONE WANT.

42. 1. HOW YOU CHANGE
CUSTOMER'S LIFE?
2. WHAT YOU STAND FOR?
3. WHO OR WHAT YOU HATE?
NOW HAVE MISSION, VALUES, ENEMY.
THAT ENOUGH FOR MINIMUM VIABLE
PERSONALITY.

43. My MVP:
•
How would change people’s lives? By
showing them new educational paths.
•
What did I stand for? Self-directed learning.
•
What did I hate? Wasting young people’s time
in compulsory schooling when there are so
many other engaging, productive, and
enjoyable things to do.
(Carsie, Sean, Jonah, too)

44. “An organization filled with honest, motivated,
connected, eager, learning, experimenting, ethical and
driven people will always defeat the one that merely
has talent. Every time.”
!
—Seth Godin

45. That’s some of…

46. Connect with me!
@ blakeboles.com
•
Cat on laptop: sskennel
•
Violinists: agullalee
•
Laptop group: Saad Faruque
•
Austin Kleon: Austin Kleon
•
(all other images used with
permission or fair use)