Reach for the top
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Reach for the top
How can you teach someone to aim their sights higher?
If last week was the weekend of vibes, this was the weekend of conversation. As students started to warm up and engage with the content and each other, we were able to have great discussions in each of our session. Every day I’m surprised by the thoughtfulness and curiosity our students bring to the table. I’m sure one day I’ll get used to it.
For now, I revel in it.
Session 2: Understanding TKS
Each week I’ll give you a recap of the important ideas we cover in the sessions.
1) Mindsets
Mindsets are a multiplier on your trajectory and something few people give a moment’s thought. People get caught up in things like short-term thinking, pessimism, insecurity which limit your own potential. It takes deliberate effort to change your mindset and find opportunities for growth. This is why we spend so much time on mindset with our students.
🧠 The mindset of the week was Unconventional Thinking 🧠
As we talked about in our last session, to achieve new and novel things requires thinking differently than others. We can’t expect to get somewhere new following the same path as everyone else.
To think unconventionally usually requires you to pause.
Take a beat.
Take a step back.
Remind yourself what you’re trying to accomplish and ask if the path you’re currently on is the only one.
What are some ways you can practice unconventional thinking in your life this week?
2) The Focus Process
How is it that we have students becoming the youngest interns at companies like Neuralink or OpenAI? Or students raising tens of millions of dollars for their startups? Or speaking on conference stages around the world?
The Focus process. This shit works™.
The Focus process is one of our top priorities. It is the primary individual project that gets students building things in an area of interest, meeting experts in the field, and developing real knowledge on the topic.
The process itself is not that different than what you might expect a hands-on learning experience to be.
First, we expect students to immerse themselves in the topic area and share what they learn in an article. From there, they push themselves to actually build something in the field. It doesn’t have to be original, they are meant to copy existing experiments, prototypes, or products to get their feet wet and comfortable with the technology. From there, they find an opportunity to contribute something unique to the field. Combining their personal interests, the problems the world faces, and their knowledge of the technology, they build a prototype or experiment that is unique and impactful. As part of the process they are speaking with mentors and advisors working at the cutting edge of the field.
Sounds like a lot? It is.
It’s meant to be challenging. It’s meant to stretch the students and help them grow. Part of our approach is to help break the school mindset. But it’s hard. We won’t deny that. School trains you to be, well, good at school. To be good at tests. Not to do hard things. We don’t want students to be “great at TKS”. We want them to be great period. And so we take extra effort to set and enforce high standards.
We constantly remind them this is not school. If they go through the process just ticking the boxes, they are doing it wrong. Just like in the real world, there is no award for “completing” TKS. It’s my job this year to make sure students don’t just understand this, but internalize it. Once you do, the world changes.
Here’s a secret for you, TKS observer: this is how you get opportunities in the real world too. Start building and learning in public. Share your findings. Challenge yourself to do hard things and grow. Meet people in your field. You’ll be surprised how lucky you get just by taking action.
3) The Pyramid
The final part of our session is an important one. This discussion is critical to the mindsets we aim to impart at TKS. I want students to question the world around them, and as a result, my perspective might rub some folks and readers the wrong way. Let me dive in.
In most of society, there is an implicit hierarchy that exists for jobs based on your level of education. We have unskilled workers, semi-skilled workers, and skilled workers.
Society’s view of success and the pinnacle of “making it” is a field of skilled workers. Doctors. Lawyers. Bankers. Engineers. The things you hear most ambitious students aiming for. This is where parents push students. This is what traditional education optimizes for. This is where 99.9% of people spend their careers.
But what if I told you there’s more to the pyramid than that?
There’s a higher ambition available.
To move up in the traditional pyramid, it’s straightforward. You just get more education. You get good grades, do your debate club, go to a good university, and get your degree. Congrats, you’re in the conventional majority.
But what’s above the line?
My view is that above the line is where our students should aim. There are 3 different groups that exist above the line.
An environment of smart, ambitious people. This is a dense group of smart and highly ambitious individuals – something you usually only get at top-tier universities. How can you join this environment?
Smart people (SP) working on legit things. This means not just a group of smart, ambitious people, but applying that horsepower to impactful work. To the world’s hardest problems.
Activating smart people working on legit things. These are the people starting the companies or helping others work on meaningful, challenging problems.
This area of the pyramid is where I think highly ambitious people should set their sights. It takes intention to get to the top. You can’t follow the traditional path or simply get more education, otherwise everyone would get there.
So what’s the secret?
How do you break through and get above the line?
There are at least 3 key things that separate the top of the pyramid from the bottom:
Character – The right mindsets, likability as a collaborator, and the ability to figure things out.
Network – Meaningful relationships with others who are already working in these areas.
Skills and Knowledge – You still need a deep understanding of the things you’re working on.
The pyramid is the driving force of TKS in many ways. TKS was created to have more young people working on the world’s hardest problems. Our programming is designed to help students not only develop the skills and knowledge required, but to help them build their network and adopt the mindsets required of somebody destined for greatness.
With a sprinkle of intention and a healthy dose of work, you can grow in all three of these areas. The best way is to optimize for uniqueness in your life. When given two options, choose the one that gives you access to unique experience, a unique person, or a unique experience.
Boom.
This week was really thought-provoking as we shared our own philosophical views of ambition with students. I enjoyed hearing the different conversations around ambition and equity that students brought up, recognizing that opportunity is highly dependent on your circumstance. With a global student base we’re able to hear many different perspectives on each topic we discuss, something I’m grateful for. I can’t wait to keep growing with the students.
And next week, everything changes.
✌🏼