The Institute of You

22 April 10   /   business, design, freelance, life, misc   /  Comment

I am currently engaged in a subscription service that guides professionals to their next stage of career growth. A project called “The Institute of You,” developed by the extremely talented Trish Papadakos.

From The Institute of You:

What is the Institute and how will it help me?
It’s been proven, we find more fulfillment in good work than in great leisure; after all, we work for at least one third of our lives. This is an era of self-actualization through work, where abundance and diversity of choice in our profession can lead to confusion or — with strategy and focus — to fulfillment.
We are a subscription service that guides professionals to their next stage of career growth.

Passionate people who’ve answered their calling aren’t just serving themselves,
they’re better serving the world.

The materials are absolutely gorgeous, and when I open the packages, I have to be careful to “Read this First!” because my first instinct is to immediately open up all the beautiful envelopes and unfold each booklet/brochure to find out what exercises are next, as well as to explore the type and visuals that Trish has so lusciously combined to invite dialogue, reflection and discussion.

Part of the process involves gathering insights from friends, family, teachers, mentors, and people you have worked with. I thought it would be fun to share some of the enjoyable, strange, intriguing, and insightful responses I received through this process. From the first exercise, I sent out a PDF to my contacts with a few fill in the blank questions…

Q: I think one day she might become…

A: an actual Ninja / a TED Talk speaker / a teacher or an author / a jewellery designer part time

Q: If it were up to me, I would put her in charge of…

A: dispensing life advice / killing bad websites / talkin’ to people, caring for folks / any type of leadership role where she can share her knowledge with others

Q: She was born to…

A: move forward, inspire, collaborate and create / explore / be deeply connected to people and share her knowledge with the world / be amazing, and a hard worker with a lot of drive who is obviously a pleasure to work with

I’m leaning toward becoming an actual Ninja…

You also dive into past expectations, reflecting on what things you were told you were good at or encouraged (or discouraged from) doing when you were young.

Anyway, I just received my second package in the mail, and can’t wait to see what the Institute has for me next…