Required Reading: What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World by Tina Seelig

What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World by Tina Seelig

Book Description

Major life transitions such as leaving the protected environment of school or starting a new career can be daunting. It is scary to face a wall of choices, knowing that no one is going to tell us whether or not we are making the right decision. There is no clearly delineated path or recipe for success. Even figuring out how and where to start can be a challenge. That is, until now.

As executive director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Tina Seelig guides her students as they make the difficult transition from the academic environment to the professional world, providing tangible skills and insights that will last a lifetime. Seelig is an entrepreneur, neuroscientist, and popular teacher, and in What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 she shares with us what she offers her students—provocative stories, inspiring advice, and a big dose of humility and humor.

These pages are filled with fascinating examples, from the classroom to the boardroom, of individuals defying expectations, challenging assumptions, and achieving amazing success. Seelig throws out the old rules and provides a new model for reaching our highest potential. We discover how to have a healthy disregard for the impossible, how to recover from failure, and how most problems are remarkable opportunities in disguise.

What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 is a much-needed book for everyone looking to make their mark on the world.

I have not posted about the books I have been reading and realized it is time to share some great titles with you.

Today I would like to suggest that you read this book by Tina Seelig. Tina is quickly becoming another one of my favorite people who I go to for information, new ideas, and fresh perspective. This book has been around a few years, but it is not one to miss.

I always know I have a book of greatness when I have to stop highlighting and just fold the corner of the pages because there is just too many great ideas. I fond myself doing this with this book. When this happens I always give the book a few days rest after reading and then go back to the book to see if the material I marked still stands out to me. If it does, then I record my thoughts and book ideas into Evernote. This book required some serious typing because there were so many great ideas.

I have done an online MOOC with Tina and read this book. What I like about her is that not only does she give popular culture examples(we always have to read about Apple and Google), but she provides her classroom examples as well. There are two ideas that I plan on using with my students this year when discussing brainstorming and group work. 

This is the essence of great books. Information that challenges our thinking, but also providing practical ideas that can be implemented right away. 

On a personal level, I am huge right now on presenting and reading up on passion. One section of this book really challenged my thinking on passion and actually helped me to put into words ideas I have been grappling with. I am able to chew on her thoughts a bit to find my personal vision of using passion in the classroom and life.

I have my Evernote folder loaded with content. I am always willing to share. I know that some of her ideas from this book are going to roll over to this blog and my teaching. I feel like I learned more about myself and how others operate.

Please read this book. This is another one to add to your shelf.