HUDDLEMIND

You're never too old to rediscover the magic...

"You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians.

Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in that web of magic, connected by silver filaments of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve years old, the world was my magic lantern, and by its green spirit glow I saw the past, the present and into the future.

You probably did too; you just don’t recall it.

See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand.

But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we were told that?

- Robert. R. McCamman


I was watching a TED talk video by the absolutely brilliant Sir Ken Robinson, titled: Bring on the Learning Revolution!  Not only did he make me smile, nod my head in agreement and laugh but I also found myself raising my hand to answer one of his questions (much to the amusement of my colleagues).
Sir Robinson asked something which struck a familiar chord within me: “Do you love what you do?”

So here's my story: I got into bed one evening and felt like something within me had died.  The next day I submitted my resignation.  I had spent ten years of my life within an industry and eight of those with one company. Why did I do it?  Well..besides not adding any value to myself or to the company I was working for, the most deciding factor was this: I stopped learning!  I did what I had to do with my eyes closed.  I pushed paper and counted down to the weekend every day. I became as dull as the colour beige! Not only did I lack passion and drive during office hours, but sadly, the beigeness consumed every other aspect of my life too.

That was three months ago.  After finally building up the courage to leave that comfortable rut, I am now doing something I love. What changed?  I am learning. And I don’t mean in that traditional textbook way. I’m talking about being surrounded by an extremely brilliant group of people - who inspire, delve and arouse curiosity. They teach without even being aware of it.  Learning inspires a curiosity that ignites a spark within us. It makes us feel alive.

I wondered about all the other people out there who are stuck in ruts, and about why we all somehow end up going nowhere slowly. As children we were invincible. At what point do we lose that spark?  Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?  Are you doing that now?  If not, then why not?    

 

Over to you, Sir Ken..

Views: 6

Tags: Education, Inspiration, Learning

Comment by Jonathan Millward on February 8, 2011 at 1:33pm
Inspiring stuff! Loved the revolution in education talk. Thank you.
Comment by Natalie Govender on February 8, 2011 at 3:10pm

Thanks Jonathan.  I loved that talk too.  Sir Ken rocks!

Inspiration and happiness have been flowing since joining Huddlemind - so a big thank you to Max and Dave.  I don't feel beige anymore!

Comment by Dave Duarte on February 8, 2011 at 3:13pm
Yay! What a delight to have you with us, Nats.
Comment by Jonathan Millward on February 8, 2011 at 3:41pm
I was wondering which organisation could be so inspiring and energising...had to be Huddlemind!
Comment by Maximillian Kaizen on February 8, 2011 at 3:49pm

Nats oh it's such a treasure having you on our team.
You've NEVER been beige, you radiate with interestingness, full-colour thoughts and curiosity and you're bringing that life to Huddlemind.

Comment by Elaine Rumboll on February 8, 2011 at 5:41pm
Wonderfully frank and heartfelt. Really enjoyed reading about your journey and so delighted you have found the courage to do work which resonates.
Comment by Ingrid Fourie on February 9, 2011 at 11:04am

Yes I do remember what I wanted to do. When I was six we had to write an essay on what we wanted to do for careers. I said (emphatically) that I want to be an architect and earn R30,000 per month! Gradually it evolved into wanting to be an engineer, then a designer, then a writer... Unfortunately being good at different things sometimes make a good career choice difficult. But I believe, when you discover something a bit later in life, you are even better equipped because in doing what you didn't like, you strengthened your areas of weakness, making you even more brilliant at what comes naturally. Inspiring article, loved it! 

Comment by Sukaina Walji on February 9, 2011 at 11:59am

What a great post. The bit about spending time with people who really want to learn, are curious, like to argue and work as individuals as well as a team resonates with me.

 

And I don't think it is 'ever too late' to discover what it is you want to do. In fact, as Ingrid says, you probably have a greater level of self-knowledge.

Comment by Natalie Govender on February 10, 2011 at 4:57pm
Thanks so much.  I do believe that inspiration and curiosity are contagious - so we should all do our best to infect as many people as possible.

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