Gary Vaynerchuck - Social Media, Giving Back and Your Personal Brand

 

Picture Credit - www.inc.com

Gary Vaynerchuck is an author, speaker and entrepreneur. He is also a world renowned video blogger on the subject of wines and owns a social media brand consultancy business.  

Gary understands that social media channels are just platforms. He has found a way to use these platforms to bring extreme value to people in his niche market. He took personal responsibility to become a world expert on his subject and actually did so.

Get Up. Stand Up.

Picture Credit - www.billboard.com

On December 3rd, 1976 an assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley's life. Two days later on December 5th, 1976 he walked out on stage and played a live concert.

When asked why he did not rest, he responded,

"The people who are trying to make this world worse aren't taking the day off. Why should I?"

Ken Robinson and why students must think from the heart?

Based on a study of the work of the British educator Sir Ken Robinson (two books, five hours of lectures) here is a blog post on his views on Education and why they matter. It is vital educators, teachers, parents and students around the world get access to this information.

Firstly Three Ways Education can engage the student better according to Sir Ken Robinson
Creativity can be part of everyday Education. Thank you for showing the world so Mr Ken.

1. Foster Diversity – Encouraging students to customize their learning process and to provide broader curriculums.
2. Foster Creativity – This can be done through more creative teaching. This will depend on high quality teacher training and development.
3. Awaken Creativity – Without emphasis on the standardized as an only measure of student performance.

Seth Godin on Education

Seth Godin’s manifesto titled, ‘Stop Stealing Dreams’ showed me why Education is everyone's business. 

There are chefs, artists, engineers, sportspeople, scientists sitting in the classrooms of the world today. Then why must we ask only educationists about solutions to the problems of education. Not every student will get into education. Many of us have spent 10-15 years in the education system of our countries. So we all have a right to express our views on education whether we are an academic, an artist or just a student. Education is everyone's business!
 

In his TED Talk by the same name , he describes eight ways education can re-thought and here I have included a small commentary on each point mentioned.

Marva Collins and the teacher we all loved

“The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.”
― H.L. Mencken

Marva Collins was an American Educator who in 1975 started the Westside Preparatory School in Garsfield Park, in an impoverished neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Before that she taught school for two years in Alabama and for fourteen years in Chicago

She is most famous for applying classical education successfully to impoverished children.

Marva Collins was a proponent of the classical educational movement. The definition of a classical education embraced the study of literature, poetry, drama, philosophy, history, art and languages. 

Dr. Denis Littky and Passion Schools

Dr Denis Littky is the co-founder and co-director of Big Picture Learning. He has over 40 years in the education field and is known for his innovations in secondary education in rural, suburban and urban settings.

I have been studying Dr Littky’s work for this project. I saw an excellent talk by him online, at the New York Education TED Talks event where he spoke about the work he is doing and his passion for education.

Watch the TED Talk here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbpqVPtUIFQ

He starts the talk saying, ‘Every thirteen seconds, there are eight hundred students dropping out of school.’

I think about what the numbers are around the world and it scares me. The question to ask here is not why  students are dropping out but why are they not being engaged enough to stay in.

Dr. Denis Littky got together with a colleague and asked himself this question.

Your Goals are Important

"People with clear written goals, achieve far more in a short period of time, than people without them could ever imagine." - Brian Tracy

"Setting Goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." - Tony Robbins 

(Photo credit - www.michaelhyatt.com)

Goal Setting has become so vital in this modern day and age. In the rush and hurry of our daily lives we often forget what our most important priorities and highest values are. 

Goal Setting reconnects us to our source and provides us with a clear map for our life ahead. If implemented and tread upon well, it will help create the life of greatness we desire. Thus we must develop the habit of goal setting.