James Walpole, Author at Praxis

Can I do Praxis as a gap year?

You don’t have to skip college to do Praxis. Some of our participants choose to do Praxis as a gap year after high school, during a four-year college stint, or right after graduation. Why should …

Written by James Walpole

What is it like to move for the Praxis program?

Short answer: it’s pretty awesome. Many of our business partners are located in major startup hubs like Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Austin, or San Francisco. That means participants often choose to pick up and move to …

Written by James Walpole

Doing Things That Don’t Scale (While You’re an Employee)

“[T]he unscalable things you have to do to get started are not merely a necessary evil, but change the company permanently for the better… if you have to work hard to delight users when …

Written by James Walpole

Finding Fellow Travelers in the Self-Directed Life

In every great story of every great quest, there are fellow travelers, hosts, and wise people who help the heroes out. The Fellowship of the Ring wouldn’t have gotten far without the help of …

Written by James Walpole

You Could Have Tried Harder: Thinking Differently About Effort and Responsibility

“At least I did my best.” This is the most common and the most effective excuse in the world. It’s very dangerous. There are two important things we need to know about this statement: There …

Written by James Walpole

Stop Trying To Imitate Successful People

“Successful people wake up at 4AM every morning.” “Successful people dress to impress.” “Successful people go to college.” “Successful people read every day.” “Successful people routinely work 60 hours a week.” “Be like this …

Written by James Walpole

Two Questions and a Challenge for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Many of you who read this blog are probably aspiring entrepreneurs. I count myself among your number. What we all know is that “aspiring entrepreneur” is a tough gig*. We have to spend a lot …

Written by James Walpole

What My High School Business Teacher Taught Me About Entrepreneurship (and Business Classes)

There aren’t too many hours spent in class that I wouldn’t take back if I could. But like most people, I have one or two classroom experiences that I look back on fondly. Business …

Written by James Walpole

Wikihow, Kissing, and the Search Engine Mindset

Do you remember high school? If you don’t, I’m sorry to remind you, but I was thinking the other day about lessons I learned there. I particularly remember when one of my friends started …

Written by James Walpole

Stop Trying to Optimize Your Life

“Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty.” -Nassim Nicolas Taleb, Antifragile Speedreading. Virtual assistants. Mind-enhancing supplements. Ice-cold baths. Soylent diets …

Written by James Walpole

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