Why Do We Need More Admission Address And Not Commencement Address!
Edition #130
Introduction
Welcome to The ContraMind Code.
The ContraMind Code provides you with a system of principles, signals, and ideas to aid you in your pursuit of excellence.
The newsletter shares the source code through quick snapshots for a systems thinking approach to be the best in what you do.
The Code helps you reboot and reimagine your thinking by learning from the best and enables you to draw a blueprint on what it takes to get extraordinary things done. Please share your valuable thoughts and comments and start a conversation.
Take a journey to www.contraminds.com. Listen and watch some great minds talking to us about their journey of discovery of what went into making them craftsmen of their profession to drive peak performance.
“Finding Your Own Vision”.
This article appeared in James Clear’s blog. It is a speech originally delivered by Arno Rafael Minkkinen as the 2004 commencement address at the New England School of Photography. He shares some very profound thoughts during this speech, “The Helsinki Bus Station Theory: Finding Your Own Vision in Photography.” It has lessons for anyone who wants to build excellence, how it is a lifelong journey and what it takes to achieve it.
Here is a mix of interpretations and thoughts that Rafael has shared, which you can think about and reflect on:
First, find and discover all the people you admire and their work in any field you are in. Do you have a reference of what’s great work in the field that you have chosen? Soon, as Rafael says, “It’s the separation that makes all the difference, and once you start to see that difference in your work from the work you so admire….it’s time to look for your breakthrough.”
When you start to see the difference between what you do versus who or what you admire or are influenced by, your vision starts to take off.
Do you have a portfolio of work that you can look back to over the years? When your resume is not about where you worked, in what role or designation, for how many years, etc., but what work you created there, then what Rafael says begins to happen, “You regain the whole bus route, in fact.”
“We find out what we will do by knowing what we will not do.”
“Stand back, stand back, far enough so you can see your own mountain top, then head straight for it, knowing it will disappear from sight for most of your life..”
“There will be those special occasions, and may there be many of them, when the fruits of your labors are suddenly made visible…when you will again see that peak, only closer now..”
Read the entire article here.
Ananyo Bhattacharya's "The Man From The Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neumann".
The Point Blank Show has a lovely conversation with Ananyo Bhattacharya's "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neumann”, a fascinating book about the Hungarian-American mathematician. Dr.Bhattacharya digs deep into the mathematician's early days and how he went on to have a lasting impact on the world of mathematics and digital advertising.
Here are the key takeaways from the conversation:
The importance of mathematics in everything that we do and how many industries today have a John Von Neumann influence.
The importance of learning how to apply mathematical concepts to everyday things and needs.
Creating the right environment in a household can deeply influence how a child grows and thinks.
How John Von Neumann did not waste time when he was 22! Also, as a mathematician, he also learnt chemistry during this time and the importance of interdisciplinary learning.
His influence on the open-source movement.
The importance of seeing 50/60/70 years ahead and inspiring people around him with his vision. As a mathematician, he was also a great manager of people with talent.
John Von Neumann worked on the brain and the computer even when he was in bed suffering from bone cancer before his death.
John Von Neuman’s lasting influence on the modern world of digital advertising using game theory is legendary.
You can also listen to the full episode on:
How To Find The One Thing To Focus On To Achieve Continuous Improvement.
In this video, Dr.Alan Barnard, CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, discusses the Theory Of Constraints(TOC) and how it can help you approach and find solutions to any problem through a systems approach.
Here are some takeaways from his presentation that has some very compelling ideas:
A constraint is one that is inherent but remains invisible because of its simplicity in finding a solution. It’s about how you decode the problem.
Every goal we set has a constraint that will stop us from achieving it.
Every constraint has a problem or many problems. Identify them.
Find the most important problem amongst the many you know, and if it is resolved, you can solve your most important constraint.
Pick that one problem and think about how you can innovate to solve the problem.
Don’t implement completely, but try an experiment with some innovation to see the results and then scale up the innovation.
Before considering a minimum viable product(MVP), consider a minimum viable experiment(MVE).
You can watch the entire video by clicking on the above link.
Why Do We Need More Admission Address And Not Commencement Address!
There are many fantastic commencement address in blogs and YouTube, offering phenomenal advice and life lessons for graduating students from stalwarts and legends who are the best in their work. These speeches are shared, listened to, and watched by many.
Would there be more value if there were more admission addresses rather than commencement addresses? Here are the reasons why this may be more vital and relevant:
An admission address can set a context, especially at this crucial early stage in life, of what it takes to be a great scientist, doctor, engineer, architect, teacher, musician, etc. You can open the students’ minds, help them select their heroes and make them dream of a profession they want to pursue. It can present options in their minds, help them know what rigour or discipline it takes to get to the top, understand the why of what they would be learning, and trigger a whole new set of possibilities in their minds.
Admission address must be arranged starting at the school level when students join or move grades or classes once a year or when they join a college as first-year students. This is when they need to be genuinely inspired as they are looking to choose a field, profession, or subject area they would like to pursue, nudge them to become passionate and generate the drive to be excellent at what they do.
Admission address can have a metaphor similar to the Helsinki Bus Station theory, which was mentioned by Arno Rafael Minkkinen in his speech. When these kids or students start their early learning journey, there are many buses that they can take, which are parked on the platform. They can take a scientist bus no. 21 or a hardware engineer bus no. 32, or a musician bus no. 45, or a doctor bus no. 57, etc. It can help them get onto the right bus they may want to take.
Admission address can help them understand, more vividly, the direction they want to take on one of these buses, experience the roads it is taking them through, help them meet many similar people who took this path along the way, etc. Finally, they may take a detour and find their own unique path in any field. It can also help them get inspired by many legends in the field they may have chosen and understand what these great people have contributed and worked on. They can work further on the path laid by them. Today, most of them travel in a numberless bus until they come close to joining a college, which is no fault of theirs, but it’s the system's failure around them.
Admission address can also create a larger context for learning for these kids or students when their minds are young and fresh. It can help them imagine, understand, and have a real-life context for the subjects they are studying. They can also change how teachers teach the subjects by adding context to the theoretical concepts.
Commencement address are too late for many of these students, who are right at the finish line. Of course, these speeches give them new, real-world perspectives that they need to be ready for. However, today, they only serve as a good marketing message for colleges with no real value to students, as this must have been done right when they start to learn or when they come in as first-year students to the college.
When the right destination and context are set up during the early part of anybody’s learning journey, it is bound to create more interest, imagination, and involvement.
Some lessons we learnt from this week’s missions:
Your own vision begins with the people you admire and are influenced by and then with the unique path you take that is different from theirs.
Strive for interdisciplinary learning if you want to invent and innovate.
Consider conducting a MVE(Minimum Viable Experiment) before you build a Minimum Viable Product(MVP).
Why admission address can create more value for students than commencement address.