The number one question you must ask yourself if you want to think entrepreneurially is:
How can I do this faster, better, and cheaper than the standard options?
That’s it.
All of the best products out there are able to do something the other people are doing but do it better, faster, and cheaper. Uber is a prime example. Uber X is better, faster, and cheaper than waiting for a taxi. Airbnb gives you better, faster, and cheaper options than hotels or bed and breakfasts. Google gives you better results faster than Yahoo or Bing can, and at no price. The best coffeeshop in town will give you better coffee at a relatively lower price with a short wait time.
You have to think this way about your career if you want to lead it entrepreneurially, too.
You can follow the motions and do what everybody else is doing, paying the same exorbitant prices for degrees that you hope will land you a job, going through an education that is barely relevant to what you want to do, and take what is essentially a sabbatical from the workforce in hopes it lands you a great career when you are done. After all, that’s what everybody else you look up to had to do to get their good careers.
Or, you can do something that is faster, better, and cheaper than the standard path.
Better
Something better would get you where you want to go more directly. If you want to work directly with a founder and work at a startup, it’s going to put you right into the midst of that environment. If you want to be the one in control of your career, it will put you in the negotiating seat, not your student loan bills or your parents. If you want to launch your own company someday, it’s going to build a definite path to get you there, not put you on a general trajectory and say, “good luck figuring that out!”
Something better than just going through the motions is something that will put you on track for your career. If you don’t know what you want to do, don’t fret — a better option is one that will help you discover it by building a system to figure it out — trying new things, checking off things you don’t like, and building a path towards those things you do like.
All the while, intellectual development mustn’t be ignored. Going immediately into the workforce without an intellectual reinforcement or education runs one the danger of losing their passion for learning. But school rarely offers a way to be truly intellectually engaged. Save the occasional professor who helps students discover their passions, most classes bore students and leave them asking, “why am I here?” Better options would be learner-oriented — allowing the learner to nurture and support their intellectual growth.
Faster
Whether it’s graduate school, a crappy-post graduation internship, or an undergraduate degree, the typical path to getting started in a career moves slowly when compared to the marketplace. In four years’ time, you’ll have learned bounds more on the job than in four years studying marketing or communications at college. A faster option gets somebody immersed in a career immediately, allowing them to learn while working and gaining the skills they need to succeed.
Cheaper
It’s no secret that the traditional path to getting started — going to college — is absurdly expensive. With over $1.3 trillion in outstanding student loans today, the US economy is burying itself under the cost of getting people started in their careers.
This can be done cheaper without compromising speed and quality.
Praxis is this better, faster, cheaper option for the service that is getting young people into careers they love. Putting ambitious young people at growing companies and startups, helping them accelerate their careers, and doing it at a net-zero cost to them allows them to find a career they love, without the fear of having to fend entirely for oneself.
We have a number of opportunities open now for Summer 2016 across the country in cities like Denver, Austin, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh.
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PRAXIS EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
The participant is in control of this experience. With the assistance and coaching of Praxis advisors, participants create a professional development course to accelerate their growth. Between access to a world-class curriculum library, connections with entrepreneurs and intellectuals, and all the resources of the Praxis network, the education experience can’t be beat by sitting in a classroom. Learn more about the Praxis Education Experience.
A Look At Your Praxis Advisors:
Meet T.K. – T.K. Coleman is an entrepreneur, writer, public speaker, philosopher, and the Education Director at Praxis. Participants will work with T.K. throughout the program to complete personal development plans, grow professionally, and become more valuable, more marketable individuals.
Meet Cameron – Cameron Sorsby is a Praxis graduate and a Participant Advisor at Praxis. Participants connect with Cameron weekly to meet with entrepreneurs all around the country, develop plans to achieve their program goals, and learn hard and soft skills.
STILL INTERESTED?
Wonderful!
Praxis classes start every month now, and we’d love to have you on board. Participants from our most recent graduating class were hired by business partners, went on to start their own businesses, and created portfolios of valuable skills and experiences that will stay with them their entire lives.
You can find out more about Praxis here, or you go ahead and apply now.
