DISCOVER PRAXIS
My experience with Praxis, recapped.
Over the last nine months, I’ve had the pleasure of working my way through the personal and professional career development program called Praxis. During this time I learned the ins and outs of business and entrepreneurship while building new skills and projects to showcase them. Here is a recap of what I’ve learned, created, read, and more!
What I Created
Praxis was split into three phases: career foundations, professional development, and the capstone project. Each phase was packed full of valuable information. Here is an overview of the topics we covered in each phase, along with my favorite projects to showcase what I learned.
Career Foundations
Phase one was directed towards the business basics. The topics we covered include:
Career Vision
Content Creation
Professional Performance
Personal Habits
Copywriting
Personal Finance
and more! My favorite projects from this phase include my blog post on discipline and this website. To learn more about phase one, I’ve included a link to my recap.
Professional Development
In phase two we got to choose four topics that interested us and spend a month learning all about each one. The modules I chose were:
Sales
Content Marketing
Content Creation
Life Skills
My favorite projects from phase two are my marketing content and travel blog, however, all of my projects can be found in my portfolio.
Capstone
The final phase of Praxis was the capstone project. This project was three months of self-directed work focused on career, personal, and professional development goals. My work from this phase included:
Job Hunt module
Building my Content Creation Portfolio
Google’s Project Management Course
Following a Health and Fitness Plan
Improving my Guitar Skills
I dive more into the struggles I faced and what I accomplished over the 90 days in my recap. I’m very proud of my review, so check it out if you’re interested!
What I’ve Read
Along the phases of Praxis, we were sent a new book each month to read. I highly recommend all of these books if you are looking to grow your knowledge of business or personal development. I’m not going to share my thoughts on each one, but my top picks are highlighted.
The Concise Mastery by Robert Greene
Atomic Habits by James Clear
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Your Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen
Overall, my favorite read was The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. This book was all about tapping into your creative nature and seeing the world through a different lens. Rubin’s writing is easily digestible with each chapter covering a new idea. I can’t recommend it enough!
What I’ve Learned
I used to be crippled by my fear of change. However, as I look back over the past nine months, I am so grateful for how I’ve grown and the lessons I’ve learned. Change is inevitable, so instead of running from it, lean into it.
Although I had once-in-a-lifetime experiences with my travels, it was amidst my family making two big moves and I didn’t have a place I could call home.
It still feels like I’m floating, unsure of where I’m going to land.
This lack of stability would’ve terrified me nine months ago. Now, I’ve shifted my perspective to view it as a blessing. I’m not tied to one place. My options are endless, and I find it beautiful.
Throughout this program I have also been exposed to so many new ideas that have altered my perceptions, the most notable being the idea of being 1% better every day. As humans, we want to improve as much as we can as fast as possible. While this ambition is admirable, it can also be suffocating, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction. Instead of trying to change my whole life at once, Praxis has taught me the importance of compounding and how small improvements are what matter most.
My vision for the future has been directly impacted as a result of this program. My eyes have been opened to the truly endless amount of opportunities that exist in the professional realm. Creating a life of your design has always been a core value of mine, but this year I saw firsthand how I can build a life that I wake up excited to live. Being able to travel during my studies was my first glimpse into what is possible. I am forever grateful for the way Praxis has opened the door to the rest of my life.
What’s Next?
Like I said, I now know how feasible it is to go after my dreams and follow my passions. As for what’s next, I hope more of this!
More learning, more exploration, more value being produced, more breathtaking experiences, more connection.
Navigating life as a young adult isn’t easy. I feel the pressure to have it all figured out which is incredibly unrealistic. But the truth is, no one has it all figured out. All that matters is making the next right step, whatever that is.
If you are worried about making a mistake, know that it’s a part of life and what truly meant for you won’t miss you, as long as you give it your all.
Thank you to everyone who has been closely following along on this wild journey of mine. Thank you to my teachers, mentors, peers, family, and friends who have always been there to support me. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the relationships that I share.
I don’t have a clear answer to what my life will bring in the coming months… but boy am I excited to find out!