learning is like a wildflower, something that can be grown anywhere, between narrow cracks in concrete jungles, or in nice meadows. here are more resources for us autodidacts to use in the pursuit of knowledge:

http://mashable.com/2010/05/11/science-websites/

where i come from motivation derives from survival. survival itself is the instinct that you just develop along the way when interacting in very stressful worlds. survival is a test, some win some lose. now that i live outside that type of world i find it difficult to stay motivated. when i have already kicked into high-gear in terms of survival, how do i get that feeling of motivation that i once had?

purpose

finding purpose behind a desk and on a computer rather than on the streets trying to eat is very different. previously my mode was survival, success out of spite, but now what is my purpose? well re-purposing is something that is not that difficult. in my particular situation i think of what i went through, and how i can help those people going through similar things.

so my new purpose in saving other people is kind of like saving myself once more. instead of losing focus, eating steak and gaining weight i have an objective in mind; save as many as i can.

the way that i save people is through my day job in education, and re-telling my story through writing.

re-imagining your world

i believe firmly that the sky is very grey when it comes to people’s worth. for instance what i learned from being involved in a drug-centric world was not all negative. while illegal that particular craft has people or dealers who have qualities like being hard working, intelligent, innovative and resilient. these skills seem to be transferable.

so now that i am behind a desk i get to bring those qualities to the table. the mentality is no different, but the world is. i can be all of those things, and more in a world that is centered on the education of others. before it seemed like everyday was a struggle mainly because of the risk, but risk is something unknown. if i center my world on the unknown that does breed hope. so how do i find that behind a desk?

being the best

to find risk behind a desk i simply tell myself that i want to be the best at what i do. this relates to risk because being the “best” implies not being the same. individual behavior change relies on the fact that you do not repeat something that did not work out for you in the first place, you do something different. well the dynamics of the professional environment plays on the same thing, if you want to be the best or improve do something different than everyone else. of course the thing is, being different is taking a risk. people tend to be more comfortable with routine, so trying to be the best is how i create that sense of risk for myself now.

motivators

by now you get the sense that i feel that motivation exists outside of whatever world you exist in. so even though no one is exactly like you, or has had exact experiences, motivation has some of the same factors, so why not find those qualities in the stories of others. i often find motivation from film, music, or lectures. when i look to be motivated lately i will play the song “over” by drake.

this song motivates me in the same way that the ghosts of the past do. i think of the things that motivated my grandfather to overcome slavery, to own his own farm. i think of the odds that faced my old man in the korean war, or his journey in his legal and illegal businesses. these stories whether in film or through the past inspire me to do better to improve. so i make use of them, i remind myself of them often to gain perspective on what i am doing now.

when drake says “….that’s what imma do til it’s over, but it’s far from over.” he is speaking on legacy. when it is over what will your name look like, how will your children perceive it. your legacy is something worth exceeding expectations for.  find someone who would like to leave things better than they found it, then you have found one person who is motivated.

“you can look me in the eyes, see i’m ready for whatever, anything don’t kill me make me better.” – t.i. motivation

in the classic star wars saga the way to teach another the religion, and practices of being a jedi was through apprenticeship. in most cases in history the apprenticeship is free. the learner typically lived under the patronage of the teacher, it was an all expenses paid education, well at least financially. it would be difficult to find a decent apprenticeship these days for pay. regardless one of the best benefits of learning is that it is so fundamental and inherent, that it’s free.

free education is mostly spoken of as some ideal, but the reality is that it is not an ideal but something real very real. being an autodidact means that you learn for free. learning is one of the few  abilities that we are actually born with. previously in the autodidact post i stressed that learning has happened far before formal school systems existed. the free price tag is one of the greatest benefits of being self-taught.

the cost benefit of the college student is insane. looking at the chart below (from a columbia university study) you see that the college graduate’s salary contributes more financially to the system. this is a cost benefit to society, having a productive member contribute ideas, new thinking, and consuming products.

well college students pay time and money into the system for that benefit, but it is possible to get the same benefits without paying the money. the autodidact knows this, but the cost is not what drives them, it is the learning itself.

this idea is becoming more and more prominent due to the web, the hope is that it becomes highly practiced. in my autodidact post i listed sites that led in open courseware. the new york times recently did something similar in it’s article learning something for nothing.

the other day i came across this gem of an interview with a guy that plays on the hit tv show mad men. he talks about his extreme turn to minimalism lately.

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/26/the-extreme-minimali.html

being a minimalist i evaluate my spending habits often. by far one of my biggest expenses and passions is food. i make things myself and also eat out. when it comes to food i like variation. when considering ways to cut down on this expense i could not figure out the proper way to minimize cost but increase the quality of my food experience.

the other day when speaking to a colleague it hit me. my colleague told me that they followed the sales each week.

variation

by following the sales your sense of wonder increases. having a sense of wonder is one of my favorite things about eating and cooking. if i went to the grocery store i would normally make dinners based on what i usually eat; steak, yams, potatoes, etc…. i would get the typical southern style food, which i love, but i like excitement in meals. why would i pigeon hole myself? well grocery shopping is a cognitive experience. with large numbers of options it’s difficult to make a decision, therefore mentally i go with the simplest categorization; past instances. even though i am willing to try new things when shopping without planning i have sensory overload, therefore logically scramble to organize my thoughts in a way that makes shopping easier.

if i follow the sales each week this gives me the opportunity to experience foods i would not otherwise experience. through eating it will open up my palate and my creativity through cooking. it is a win win scenario lower costs with a sense of adventure in the world of food.

savings

following the deals you receive in the mail is an easy way to grocery shop. before i could not stand receiving something on paper that i never used, but now i look forward to it. finding sales provided by restaurants may be difficult, but possible. good sources include local newspapers, or their websites. the local paper where i live is always recommending places to eat while providing financial incentives for going. browsing the web for deals near your location is the other option.

i found some more helpful ways to save in a post over at zen habits called 50 tips for grocery shopping. i found some of it useful, so check it out if you like me, spend more money on food than you care to spend.

the walkabout is actually a ritualistic journey native to early cultures of aborigines in Australia. Walkabouts lead young men to live in the wilderness for a period of six months. it is a rite of passage for the culture.

the walkabout is basically a manifestation of solitude and soul searching. for modern day purposes the walkabout does not have to be that intense. the idea should be the same though, getting solitude to find purpose for your present direction.

individuality and autonomy

“i search but never find, hurt but never cry
i work and forever try, but i’m cursed, so never mind”

-lil wayne

we should take notes from this early culture while trying to escape what mc lil wayne describes in this quote. in order to really feel like “yourself,” truly express who you are you must be able to understand yourself in the present. the walkabout may be what you need. feeling as if others drive you is not healthy, nor is it productive.

getting control of your situation is beneficial, people love to feel like they are the captain of their own ship. for instance solitude in some of my social circles seems to be frowned upon, but i need it. if I had no solitude when would i have the opportunity to work on myself? nobody will feel the need to work on you in all facets expect for you. the walkabout will help you as an individual find something inside yourself, that will send you in a new direction.

spontaneity

when was the last time you were spontaneous, doing something substantial that was completely unplanned? if it was a big transition there was some sense of anxiety before it. even if it was suddenly going to have fun in leu of some obligation even if for just an hour, there was still anxiety, but there was also a feeling of freedom.

most often people feel freedom when they bring themselves closer to non-material things. the fact that you walk; something done sense the dawn of time makes you feel power. walking costs nothing, but you are able to do it for entertainment, therapy, and excitement; there is great power in that thought.

i will embark on my own journey shortly and I encourage you to do the same.

 

“destiny is no matter of chance. it is a matter of choice: it is not a thing to be waited for it is a thing to be achieved.” -william jennings bryan

 

the idea is that you email me questions that you have on the topics of minimalism, success, innovation, well you get the picture, then i will submit the responses during the next post.

send questions to:

minimalistthought@gmail.com

previously i posted about what an autodidact was; someone who is self-taught. one quality of this type of person that i mentioned was the disposition or the willingness to learn. speaking for myself, i have always had a disposition for learning. question is, if you don’t have a disposition, how do you get one?

motivation

developing a disposition is possible, but it depends on what you are trying to learn. based on what we know about motivation there has to be ownership involved. you must feel like you have the greatest benefit from what you are learning. starting in a place of interest would be a great idea.

finding interests could be a difficult task so prepare to try and fail. interest is only gaining access to what could potentially make you feel purpose while learning. purpose is the key.

this young man is the prime example of having a purpose. this is william kamkwamba the boy who harnessed the wind. william on his own learned different aspects of physics, and irrigation. going to a library he set out on a quest to make his village better, something he achieved. this is a picture of his windmill which brought power to a village that had little.

william is an autodidact that distributed his disposition into something that gave purpose. people in his village thought that he was insane, but soon realized that he was embarking on something that would change life for their village.

think of the gift that is in this story what does it mean to be self-taught, to direct your own learning? well, it means that what matters to you takes you to new heights of understanding.

devising a world take over could not happen without the disposition for learning.

the toughest thing about being lost is not knowing when you will find yourself. in film today; like the popular tv show lost, and dating back to plato’s republic, finding yourself and finding truth are related to the cave.

of course we all know that the cave throughout history has enlightened people. dating back centuries wall paintings have been found in caves. naturally telling stories that depicted venturing into the unknown (outside the cave).

in order to find yourself you first have to know that you are lost. you have to know what parts of you are lost. the method by which a cave is created takes time, but for most specialists; those who study caves think they are something wonderful, somewhat of a masterpiece. this is no different than man or woman. you have a whole lifetime of experience that people must study, and examine to truly understand who you are. you will never be able to sum yourself up in a paragraph or phrase, nor should people sum you up that way.

why then do most people feel the need to search. i find myself in this place all of the time, just wondering what purpose i have, believing that there is something more. if i wonder then i am lost, am i not?

plato in his allegory of the cave speaks of a set of prisoners who only see shadows on the wall coming from the light outside of the cave. they cannot move, they don’t remember anything before the shadows, then the question becomes whether they are truly seeing the world. some argue of perspective, some defend the idea of the outside world as truly seeing the world.

think of this in your own life, are you truly seeing the world the way it was meant to be seen. does it matter in what way you see the world? well the truth is, that everyone should have a cave, a place they go to in solitude to evaluate what is happening in their world.

and now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: -

behold!  human beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light

and reaching all along the den;  here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and

necks chained so that they cannot move and can only see before them, being prevented by the

chains from turning round their heads.  above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and

between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall

built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which

they show the puppets.

i see.

and do you see, i said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels and statues and

figures of animals made out of wood and stone and various materials which appear over the wall?

some of them are talking, others silent.

you have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.

like ourselves, i replied; and they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another

which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?

true, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed

to move their heads?

and of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?

yes, he said.

and if they were able to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were

naming what was actually before them?

very true.

and suppose further that the prison has an echo which came from the other side, would they

not be sure to fancy when one of the passers-by spoke that the voice which they heard came from

the passing shadow?

no question, he replied.

to them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.

that is certain.

and now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and

disabused of their error.  at first, when any one of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to

stand up and turn his neck around and walk and look towards the fire light, he will suffer sharp

pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former

state he had seen in the shadows; and then conceive someone saying to him that what he saw

before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned

towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision – - -What will be his reply?  As you may

further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to

name them, will he not be perplexed?  will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw

are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?

for the full writing of the allegory of the cave go here