Author: Lolita Allgyer

From Mennonite Kid to Self-Educator

I have always enjoyed learning. Many kids hated school; I loved every minute. However, I never went to a traditional public school. The first six years of my life were spent in a small private school in association with the Mennonite church my father was a pastor of. Continue reading From Mennonite Kid to Self-Educator

Perfection or Constant Growth?

I haven’t read the book Art and Fear, but I have learned a valuable lesson from the book without even opening its cover. There’s an anecdote about an art teacher that holds a valuable lesson for all of life, not just content creation:

“The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality.

His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot – albeit a perfect one – to get an “A”.

Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes – the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.” (Source)

We’ve been told all our lives to look at the big picture; there’s nothing wrong with that. But in the process of trying to see the big picture, we have begun obsessing over what it should look like.

Here’s the big deal: spending time worrying about making something perfect takes time away from actually creating value in life. But when you are focused on building and creating, you can’t help but to advance each day. Perfection is an illusion. But constant growth is not. The people who are obsessed with the illusion are the ones who will grow the least.

Maybe, instead of trying to make one perfect big picture, we should focus on each day as a figurative lump of clay ready to be molded. Each project, every idea, each relationship is its own work of art. Instead of sitting around spending time theorizing about what exactly your life’s masterpiece should be, create value on the canvas in front of you.

You’re the artist; go find your canvases.

Photo by Anna Jahn on Unsplash

Curiosity: an Education in Itself

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” -Albert Einstein

One of the greatest minds of all time gives the credit for his genius to being passionately curious. Learning, at its core, consists of being curious about something and building new pathways due to this curiosity.

Then how did humanity get off track? I can’t count how many times I have heard parents shut down their inquisitive 6 year olds by saying, “You ask too many questions.” (Normally, this answer is also a cover for, “I don’t know the answer to your question but I don’t want to admit it.”) Continue reading Curiosity: an Education in Itself

Networking: my Learning Trend

It’s interesting to watch the trends of information that flow through my life. Sometimes it’s intentional: I’m learning a lot about Mark Twain because of working on a research project with my sister. Other times, the trends are entirely unintentional: all of a sudden a flood of knowledge on a certain subject comes from numerous sources.

I can’t explain the trends. Maybe it’s simply that when my interest is piqued, I start to notice new information that I wouldn’t have seen before. Maybe, subconsciously, I am searching out for the certain knowledge that attracts me. Maybe it’s just God’s divine hand guiding my learning process. Regardless of the cause, I love it. It’s exhilarating to take a step back and watch the process of learning become real in my life.

One of these trends has been the concept of tribe. When I read about tribe in the book The Last Safe Investment, I immediately connected with the idea. Tribe refers to the close group of individuals with whom you share much in common. Tribe is not just a friend group: it is a close circle of people who are committed to growing together.

This started the trend of networking information in my head. It awakened within me the passion to make each connection that I make as strong as possible. Instead of simply thinking of a friend as a friend, I choose to actively grow them and help them succeed. Being intentional with connections makes for strong, healthy friendships and partnerships.

Soon after reading the book I listened to a networking talk by Evan Le at a Praxis conference. Over the next several months, random people reached out to me because of things I wrote or people we both knew, and I realized anew how important it was to strengthen each connection, both business and personal.

This isn’t hard to do. I naturally relate to people, and I have always sought to bring out the best in everyone I am with. However, the difference lies in intentionality. I can’t just wait for people to reach out to me and expect to build a strong network. I have to actively seek to build relationships.

It’s this trend that has led me to pursue direct connection with everyone who chooses to join my podcast mailing list. And I am enjoying it to the full.

What learning trends have you seen in your life? Drop a comment or reach out to me!

It’s All in the Name

I google myself randomly, often. I want to be kept up to date with what comes up when people search for me.

Today, I realized something. I have an edge on the blade of search engine optimization. Nobody else has my name. At least, I haven’t seen any other “Lolita Allgyer” pop up on a Google search. Continue reading It’s All in the Name

My Time is Now

Month 2 of the Praxis bootcamp is focused on building a portfolio project. I love this module: it falls perfectly into my education ideal of project-based learning. My project is a podcast, focused on education. Read my previous project update here.

A key part of my project experience is focused on the marketing and sales aspect of the podcast.

Continue reading My Time is Now