Note: This is the fifth post in a series called, “Five Lessons” for students in my personal branding class at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. Join the conversation with the hashtag, #PBandJterm.
Being a college professor, sometimes I feel like the Cheshire Cat in this exchange of dialogue from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland:
“Cat: Where are you going?
Alice: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don’t know.
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
Or, perhaps, you prefer Walt Disney’s adaptation:
Many of my students are in a hurry to get somewhere, but they’re not exactly sure where they’re going. They’re following someone, or some white rabbit, but they couldn’t tell you why.
(As an aside, the students might agree with this metaphor too — as many might interpret professors’ questions as “nonsense” — to which, I reply, fair enough. We’re all mad here.)
If you find yourself sitting in one of my classes, know you’re in for something other than the familiar lecture-then-test-model of learning. In our course syllabus for #PBandJterm, students usually chuckle a little after reading two of our eight course objectives:
“At the end of this 12-day, three-credit course, students should:
*Have a clue
*Escape their bubble”
What exactly do I mean by this business of having clues and escaping bubbles?
In my view, I’m here to flip the light on for you. Follow my lead, and we’ll find you some clues so you can pop your bubbles and escape.
In the last three weeks, this class of mostly communications students has done the following:
- reflected on life lessons about success, happiness and creativity
- networked with media professionals
- discovered inspiring people via Twitter
- developed new habits to maximize creative output by following the advice of their textbook authors
- strategized content pieces such as blog posts and presentations to demonstrate knowledge and communicate their personal brands
Hear that sound?
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
It’s the bubbles. They’ve popped.
Speaking to my students now, I ask this question:
Will you escape?
Popping the bubbles is one thing. Escaping is another. When the course ends this week, will you retreat back into the safe cocoon of your bubble, or will you escape into a world where you’re allowed to mastermind the creative life you want without fear?
In other words…when no one is forcing you to hustle, connect, share, and repeat, will you?
In this closing lesson, I challenge you to think about where you’re going and why you’re going there — now that you’ve found your clues and escaped your bubble.
About Rabbit Holes…
As our time together in this class comes to a close, I’m reminded of the movie, The Matrix (1999). In the famous “red pill blue pill scene,” Morpheus offers Neo a choice:
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” — Morpheus, The Matrix (1999)
(Ahem, channeling my inner Morpheus..)
You can finish your assignments, go home and leave the seeds from the last three weeks unwatered. You can forget everything you’ve learned.
Or, you can, like Neo, choose knowledge and discover how deep the rabbit hole goes. Through which, you can chart your own path.
You control your choices. Perhaps, you’ve seen this image, below; it’s called, the Holstee Manifesto. Take a moment and read it.
You may find the video version equally motivating.
Almost every word of this inspiring manifesto is about CHOICE.
Choice is often empowering and frightening at the same time.
But it doesn’t have to be.
You Can Choose…
to create
to be positive
to hear the muse
to write
to love
to give
to take responsibility for your actions
to challenge yourself
to hold yourself accountable
to give yourself a break
to hustle
to connect
to share
to repeat
to understand
to empathize
to be curious
to listen
to cultivate gratitude
to be light
That is the beauty of it all.
This is the last session of #PBandJterm. Thank you, students for being an inspiration to me. We are teachers because we love to learn. For what you’ve taught me these last three weeks, I am grateful.
In your responses, please reflect on whether or not you’ve achieved the two aforementioned course objectives of “having clues” and “escaping your bubble.” How will you apply what you’ve learned in these three weeks when no one is forcing you? What choices do you hope to make and why?
For links to our other lessons, see below. As part of class assignments, students reflected on the ideas presented. You can read their discussions in the responses section of each lesson.
Lesson #1: Success and happiness — the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of your journey
Lesson #2: Where did the box go?
Lesson #3: Hustle. Connect. Share. Repeat. — A Four-Step Formula for Achieving Your Goals
