University Reinvented: Mindvalley University

I like to wonder about the world today and why we work and study and play in the ways we do. For example, have you ever wondered why is it that universities are typically four years? Why is it that we graduate and then we go on to this other aspect of our life that is about work? Why is it that parents can't go to school with their kids and learn in a classroom with their kids? Why is it that in an era where we know lifelong learning is important, we still create this huge partition in our lives between our schooling years and our work years? So with these wonderings, I decided to see if I could hack the system, in a sense, and get thousands of people to create a new type of university together with me. And I did this not because it was a fancy business project or anything, but because I wanted this for my children. So two years ago, I released a video that spoke about a new vision for what education could look like. This video led to an idea called Mindvalley University City Campus. And before you watch this video, let me tell you, investors told me, I quote, this is the stupidest idea I've ever heard. But still, this idea took off first in Barcelona, where 300 people came together to build a campus from scratch. And then a year later, it multiplied three when 1100 people came to Tallinn, Estonia again to create a new type of university from scratch. A one month university for people of all ages. We're not stopping there. The next event is happening in Pula, Croatia. I'd like you, if you're interested, to watch this original video to see if you're one of the crazy ones that would like to take part in this radical new idea of hacking the way we live. Alan Watts, the great Zen philosopher, once said, no literate, inquisitive and imaginative person needs to go to college unless in need of a union card or degree as a certified physician, lawyer or teacher, or unless he requires access to certain heavy and expensive equipment for scientific research. Yet when Watts wrote that in 1972, he couldn't even have imagined what would be happening in the world today with new technologies, rapid change, and shifts in how companies recruit. That would all combine to further make college kind of useless. But the thing is, college has numerous good points. We grow up, we mature, we make deep, meaningful connections, we meet the friends and find the interests that ultimately define us. So how can we completely re engineer college to keep all of the good and disrupt all of the bad, obsolete points, while we think we have an idea, a new model that radically rethinks college, that questions all the rules about how we've been conditioned to believe education should look like and takes advantage of emerging technologies, new social movements, new types of knowledge accessibility, and new research on what truly creates happy, successful, fulfilled lives. Ready to catch a glimpse? Okay, before I reveal this new model, first you gotta know what makes modern college so absurd in the first place. Let's start with the length of time. So you take a teenager and you plant him in a bubble for four years. Same campus surrounded by other 19 year olds. Problem is, in today's world, things are changing at an exponential pace. Peter Diamandis said that between 2016 and 22, there will be as many new changes in the world due to exponential technology growth as between all of 1900 to 2000. Wow. So we have kids coming out of college with knowledge that has become totally obsolete in their four years on campus. So what if we got rid of this four year model? What if instead kids went to college for one month of the year and then spent 11 months in the field, you know, doing real work, like having a job or starting a business. And then they come back for one month every year? What if this did not stop when you're 22? What if it continued? What if this four years was stretched out so you come back one month every year for 48 years? Sounds crazy. Hold on. We are just getting started. Second, what if we got rid of expensive campuses? Think about all of that. Wasted tuition fees. I was stuck on the same campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan for four years. But the world is so much bigger. What if we did away with fixed campuses and instead move this college to a different city every year? What if we picked international amazing cities like Berlin, Singapore, Barcelona? Places filled with culture. Places you dream of visiting. Next. What if we could drop the price by tenfold? No campus means huge cost savings. But now let's look at another odd design about college. They say you are the sum of the five people closest to you. But at college you're hanging out with other 19 year olds. What could you learn from the average 19 year old if you're 19? When I went to college, I remember my freshman year, the coolest guys were the ones that could sneak us into frat parties or buy us liquor. Not exactly brilliant. So what if we disrupted this? What if age did not matter? Your friends could be 19 or 30 or 50. We learn from the wisdom of our elders. They learn from you. Age becomes irrelevant. But then there's the curriculum itself. Neil Gaiman, the legendary writer, said of I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing. And you know what I'm talking about. Yes, you get a four year degree, but does it need four years More and more of the job related aspects of college are free online. Harvard, Berkeley, MIT. Their courses are now online. Just go to edx.org, you can. You can learn anything from app development to physics for free. Study the classes you need for your chosen career. But why do we waste four years on a fixed campus hanging out with 19 year olds trying to get enough credits to fill some arbitrary degree that we might never ever use? The world is changing so fast. Many of the top jobs today were not available as college degrees a mere five years ago. So what do you teach? You teach what Neil Gaiman preached. Real world skills. How to lead. How to create a vision for your life. How to be a better parent, spouse, lover. How to have healthy self esteem and emotional intelligence. Goal setting, crafting a vision for your life. Entrepreneurship, Personal growth skills like how to keep fit and healthy, Practice, meditation and mindfulness. These are the skills that truly lead to happy, successful lives. But you do not learn these in college. Which brings us to the teachers are the best teachers in the world today. In the world's universities? Not always. And here's why. Teachers today have their hands tied more than ever to survive as a teacher in a classical system, you are often rewarded for the research much, much more than your actual teachings. So as a student you don't always get the best learning experience. Books offered are quite dry and classes not too engaging, leading you to disconnect and not truly retain the knowledge you you've been given. Those who have a true passion for teaching find themselves gravitating out of the traditional system. The very best teachers are the ones writing best selling books, building their businesses, speaking at large seminars, speaking on the TED stage. They have transcended the need to be stuck on a singular campus. Colleges may have great researchers and scientists, but not necessarily the best teachers. So what if you could learn from these people? What if your teacher was someone whose work was so profound he had sold 20 million books or broken a Guinness record or was the New York Times best selling author the best India feels so let's recap. No more four years. It's now one month a year. No fixed campus. You move to a different spectacular city every year. No fixed age. Your peers come from all around the world and are of all ages. No outdated curriculums. You learn the skills that actually matter, the happiness and success in making an impact on the planet and and your teachers are the best in the world. But wait. Despite all of this, college does have some good bits. You meet some of your best friends in the world. You form your character, find your community and create incredible memories. So what if we can retain and amplify these good parts and disrupt and reinvent all the obsolete parts? What would education look like then? You can choose to live an ordinary life. Same city, same job, same style of parenting and relationships and daily nine to five as everyone else. Or you can choose to question everything. Welcome to a new style of education and a new style of living. So if you found these ideas interesting, comment and let us know your thoughts and I'll see you in Pula, Croatia this year. It.