Human Intelligence (HI) creating ripples in the world
Exceptional is the way
When your teen says “I’ll go to university”, they have some ideas, some variables and a lot of questions.
When your teen says “I’ll go to university”, you have a lot of ideas. A lot of variables. And a lot of opinions, am I correct? And while you have the benefit of hindsight / experience, your teen does not.
You obviously want to help, to smooth out rough edges, to lay out the red carpet. That’s normal and it’s commendable. But does your son/daughter want your help?
Regardless where you are in the world, admission to university is basically a job interview. Your teen applies for the job as a student, and the university may or may not take him/her on, that’s their prerogative, based on their specific criteria.
And while there are many (many!) career coaches and student advisors who do a very good job of showing you and your teen the ropes and hacks and strategies of getting in, very few (very, very few!) actually start at the correct end: your teen - who they are and where their interests and skills lie. So that college time feels easy and fun, instead of a complete and utter drag. Confidence and standing tall and being teachable are the three keys that unlock opportunities - which in their turn unlock your teen’s exceptional future.
When a professor sees potential and interest in a student, when they hear more about their extracurricular activities, they immediately start connecting them to pathways and people and rooms that will remain roped-off forever to disinterested and low-potential students.
I know I do that with my students; I make it a point to ask, to be present in their quest, to indicate potential directions, to connect them with people who might help push them farther on their way.
I also know many (many!) other professors do the same. We, too, are the products of someone before us paying it forward by promoting us. So we keep it alive.
But we only do it for and with the students who come in prepared to learn.
Prepared to become.
Prepared to be curious about the world, the topics they studied -and more!-, and the opportunities that grow from here.
Prepared to be exceptional.
I can help you and your teen start at the correct end
You see, there’s a system to the madness…
How are you supposed to understand which buttons to push to help your teen make good, informed decisions about their college major?
How can you help course-correct your teen's future from played by the ear to played in tune with their strengths?
And how can you help your teen avoid being “so-so” in life and work, and instead be excellent, exceptional even?
Exceptional pays dividends over a lifetime, while "so-so", "I don't know" and even "good enough" are the proverbial Emperor's new clothes.
Michelangelo, the Renaissance sculptor, believed that every block of marble held a particular figure inside, and that he did not sculpt, he did not create something from that block of marble, but rather he only removed the excess stone from around that beautiful figure, to uncover it for the world to admire.
I believe this is true for your teen as well, and my mission is to uncover your teen’s excellence and let him or her flaunt it to the world. When they learn which of their many qualities can move mountains and how they can combine them to move those mountains, my job is done!
I believe in human intelligence applied skilfully, applied with intent to serve and be exceptional. A category of one - the best. Your teen, the future leader.
I believe your teen has what it takes, and I believe I have what they need to fine-tune their skills.
Letter to the student (to-be)
How can you get the best college degree for you?
How can you easily decide on your college major right now, and decide exactly what's right for you?
Seth Godin says it best:
“People don’t hire you, buy from you or recommend you because you’re indifferently average and well-rounded. They do it because you’re exceptional at something. Invest the energy, it’s worth it.”
A. Thousand. Times. Over.
You know, university professors can spot The One-students from the I’ll Be Average, Please-students from the second time they meet in class.
There’s this energy radiating from a student who has a plan, who has put in the work, who comes in with a backpack full of knowledge and curiosity, and it transmits to the teacher, stat. During the exact same moments, the other students realise, “oh, sh*t, this is not gonna be as easy as I thought. What have I gotten myself into?” Sadly, they are right.
There are no easy majors, and there are no difficult majors.
It’s all you.
If you have the knowledge,
if you know yourself,
if you know WHY you chose this over that,
you’re in the right place.
CHOSE, not found, not raffled, not picked, not went-with-the-trend.
I can help you choose, but I don’t believe in “one size fits all”. It rarely does. Your excellence is tailored exactly to you, and nobody else - and so is my help.
In English, German and Romanian (French and Spanish to follow soon), however is easiest for you.
So, who made me queen of all things college?
Nobody, of course.
I'm a college professor, turned executive advisor to CEOs, turned entrepreneur.
Right out of college and for 11 years I taught Conference Interpreting (German) and also freelanced as an interpreter. Especially in the later years of my tenure I noticed that more and more students were clearly in the wrong field, and clueless about it. But I was deep inside the box and didn't know how I could help them.
So, I quit my job at university. Cold turkey.
As it so happened, my freelance conference interpreting gigs led me to work with wonderful people in a multinational corporation, and soon I found myself advising CEOs. I learned a ton, I broadened my horizons beyond belief and I grew up in so many ways! But after 16+ years, all that growing and learning led me in another direction entirely: entrepreneurship. And while I learned about entrepreneurship and set up shop (oh, the learning curve!), I again helped out in my alma mater, in my old department, as Visiting Professor.
And guess what?
Those students I had left behind more than 16 years ago? They were all still there. Different names and different faces, of course, but the same type. The ones who go by "I don't know" and by “I'm here now, do something with me". And normally, as a college professor, what you do is fail them in the exams. Really, that’s pretty much all you can do to encourage them to seek a different path, one that they can actually thrive in. Such is the system. For now. Because I set out to change it radically. Watch me! Or better yet, help me.
This time around I did know what to do to actually help my students. I started mentoring them on how to make informed choices about their major, their life in university and the what ifs.
They loved it.
I loved it.
Will you love it? I most certainly hope so!
Because me, I'm committed to excellence, to helping your teen become The One In Demand, nothing less. I'm all in!
I believe that, like Cinderella, we have to wear our own shoes. The ones that fit us perfectly, the ones which will help, not hinder us at going our way.
I believe that college education is worth pursuing, but I don't believe college education is for everybody.
I believe it can be for your teen, if they are teachable, and most importantly, if they take those teachings and enrich them and pass them on in the linchpin work they do. It’s how they become the linchpin.
Join the club and find out exactly what your teen needs! (hint: it’s not butter!)
I work with a simple hike-that-mountain 4-leg approach which helps your teen:
understand what college really is (it's NOT a higher high school!)
untangle the mess and mental blocks and fine-tune their approach with their future plans
make their future, craft it, create it, because here’s the Godawful truth: the “dream job” doesn’t exist. They will have to create it! If they know how.
connect the dots and design their very own plan to becoming the linchpin in their chosen field
be bold and go their way. As the saying goes, everybody else is taken
be exceptional in what they do. Good-enough and below won’t cut it in the world they’ll be living in and shaping. Most especially not as tomorrow’s leaders.
I work exclusively with Human Intelligence, not with artificial ones.
I want your teen to walk with me, to work with me, to focus with me.
You should want me to weave seamlessly in and out of my know-how about the higher education system and how it operates, so that your teen can follow along, understand the deeper levels of the system, and so that your teen can make a highly informed decision. They need to be the pilot, I’ll be the instructor showing them how an adventure is born.
You and your teen can choose 4 ways to access the adventure that is university
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It’s university-endorsed.
It’s a compelling read (though I say so myself).
It goes deep behind the curtains, with examples and all the jazz.
It contains the hike-that-mountain 4-leg approach, it busts myths and misconceptions about university.
It’s in English only.
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It’s the 4-leg approach, stripped of any fluff, only what your teen needs to make a good, informed decision about their major.
It’s constructed so that you, the parent, can work with them, if you (and they!) want to; so you, too, can be part of the adventure.
It’s meant to be downloaded and worked ON it, IN it, not around it, in different files. It is a course and workbook, 2-in-1.
It’s structured so your teen can stay focused on the task, so they want to move to the next leg, because that’s where things tie in together better, stronger, easier, clearer.
It’s a map that your teen draws towards their very own treasure - that they define as treasure.
It has the College Majors Playbook sent to you automatically, as an added bonus.
It’s in English, German and Romanian (French and Spanish to follow mid-August).
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It’s 1 (one) day of course-correcting, of deciding, of being clear about what higher education is all about and how to make an informed decision.
It’s a group of 6-10 of your teen’s peers. It’s me and my know-how, my eyes and my experience, my stories of students past, as well as your teen’s curiosity.
It’s live and on-location, in various locations and various dates.
It’s in various languages, depending on location and date.
It’s fun and serious at the same time.
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It’s me and your teen during 2 days.
It’s the 4-leg approach plus my eyes, brain, heart and know-how invested deep into these 2 days.
It’s your teen’s focus and willingness to work invested in these 2 days.
It’s our collective interest and fun and anecdotes that flow into these 2 days, so that your teen comes out with a spring in his/her step and a clear plan forward.
It’s a snapshot of your teen’s future self, the self-assured one, the open-minded one, the strong one.
It’s in English, German, Romanian, French and Spanish, whichever your teen chooses.
It’s a “hell, yes!” or a “hell, no!”, no in-betweens; shared decision.
It’s on the Plan A page.
It’s priceless (though it does have a price).
