Introduction

* No quick tip or r/college portion of show today, straight to the interview

Today’s Topic: Interview with Amy Spagnolo on Mentorship and Goals

Just us today as we discuss:

* How Amy got into the mental health field, and her story of making the leap to academia

* My version of how our relationship evolved from the protege perspective

* Amy’s version of the evolution of the relationship as the mentor

* How Amy’s mentorship relationships started, and what she’s gotten out of them

* How should students seek out mentorship opportunities?

* Amy’s personal goal setting process

* Her advice for college students that are struggling with goal achievement

Dimensions of wellness: http://www.samhsa.gov/wellness-initiative/eight-dimensions-wellness

Home Exercise

* Brainstorm 1-2 people you can target as mentors to help you reach the goal you’re working on, or some other goal that you have on your radar. This exercise is meant to be long-term in that it might not relate right now to what you’re working on, but my pay off down the road. Start laying the groundwork now.

Previous Week’s Home Exercises

 

* Write down you goal for this semester. It should be one single goal, something you really, really want, and something you can achieve in 3 months.

* Now that you have a goal, it’s time to map it out. Begin to break the goal down in chunks. Each chunk can be broken down further into steps (not all at once if you don’t want). Give at least one chunk a deadline.

* Take something you’ve been procrastinating on, and “put it to bed.” Either do it, or figure out why you’re not doing it, and take care of that issue. Or don’t do it, and be fine with the fact that you’ve changed directions, or it’s really not due yet.

* How does online learning relate to your goal this semester? It might not currently, but is there a way you can leverage any low cost/free online resources? Think about the lifelong learner.

* Pick one of the Wealth-Building Principles and determine how it can help your goal become a reality. This might be more of a long-term play for many, but consider these principles and which ones you might want to better embrace as you focus on your goals.

* Take stock of where you’re at with your goal progress so far. Make adjustments as needed.

* Evaluate your need to seek help. Do you need help with your goal? Where would you expect to find that help? Write down your possible solutions and make a plan to get that help.

* Figure out one way to build resiliency and anti-fragility in your life. Is there any way that the goal you’re working on will make you more resilient or anti-fragile?

Housekeeping

If you have mental health issues and a success story to tell (current college student or former), I’d like to interview you about your goal achievement quest, the struggles/adversity you faced, as well the recovery strategies you learned, let me know!

 

Email me at: [email protected]

 

Are you a college student who is brand new to online learning? Or maybe you struggled in your first go-around with your online course and can’t figure out the mindset behind online learning?

Introduction

* New microphone!

* Week #8 of the semester

* Looking for college students who want to tell their stories of success

Topic of the day from r/college

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/58ham8/what_was_your_lowest_point_in_college/?st=iuizbeyh&sh=eb0083e9

Today’s Topic: Resiliency and Anti-Fragility for College Students with Mental Health Issues

First we will tackle Resiliency, what does it mean?

Dr. Martin Seligman helped discover learned helplessness, is also the “Father of Positive Psychology”, which triggered a memory in me as to why I remembered his name. I interviewed Dr. Dan Tomasulo back in Episode 32, who completed the Master of Applied Positive Psychology at UPenn degree program that Dr. Seligman founded.

TED Talk with Martin Seligman: https://www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology

Another UPenn program that is closely affiliated with positive psychology is the Duckworth Lab, home of Angela Duckworth’s research on grit. I also did a podcast about Grit using interview snippets from Ms. Duckworth in Episode 36.

Harvard Business Review article written by Dr. Seligman:

https://hbr.org/2011/04/building-resilience

Master Resiliency Training

* Build mental toughness – CBT techniques

* Build signature strengths – strengths-based focus overlap with PSR

* Build strong relationships – communication techniques

Now the real reason I chose to talk about this topic this week. I just finished Anti-Fragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Taleb’s website: http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/

Anti-Fragile: “It’s an admittedly awkward word, but that’s because it is easiest to understand first what it does not describe. It refers to something that is unbreakable, yes, but not because it is impervious to assault. Something that is antifragile, Taleb explains, actually grows and flourishes because it is stressed and then allowed to order itself in response. Antifragility allows an entity not merely to withstand all the black swans coming its way but to absorb their forceful volatility and emerge only stronger. Fragile things have their real opposite not in durable things, Taleb says, but in “things that gain from disorder.”

https://hbr.org/2012/11/nassim-talebs-cure-for-fragili

Examples of Anti-Fragility

* Evolution (trial and error, natural selection)

* Broken bones, building muscle

* Hydra

* Post traumatic Growth

Asymmetric Optionality: Accepting the idea that we should use the majority of our assets to protect solidly against the downside, how do we decide to invest our money, time, or energies to maximize the upside?  Taleb’s answer is to create asymmetric options.  An option is not just any “investment” — it is something you can chose to act on, but have no obligation to act upon.  Taleb’s idea is to seek out or create options that have a strong upside, but very low cost or downside. He cites the example of the Greek philosopher Thales, who bought the rights to use idle olive oil presses for a very low fee.  When an unusually good olive harvest came, he reaped a fortune by renting out the oil presses to growers who had to come to him.  Look for asymmetric options in areas besides just investing.  For example,

Introduction

Topic of the day from r/college

Declaring a minor, is it worth it?

Today’s Topic: Interview with Kat Glick of Talkspace

Just us today as we discuss:

* What is Talkspace?

* How does it work? If I was brand new, and had never seen any kind of counselor/therapist before, what could I expect the process to be like?

* How is payment and insurance handled?

* Why Talkspace might be a good option for college students

* The issues of selecting a traditional therapist, and how Talkspace resolves some of those issues

* Kat’s advice for college students with mental health issues that are struggling to achieve goals that are really important to them

* Talkspace – www.talkspace.com

* Kat’s Talkspace Bio Page – https://www.talkspace.com/blog/2016/07/meet-our-therapists-katherine-glick/

* Kat’s personal website – www.personalevolutionllc.com

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TALKSPACE AND ALPHA TAU OMEGA NATIONAL FRATERNITY PLEDGE

TO MAKE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES MORE ACCESSIBLE ON CAMPUS

By making therapy more available, affordable and less stigmatized, this partnership

addresses the epidemic of mental health among college students

NEW YORK — Talkspace (www.talkspace.com), the global leader in online therapy, announced today a partnership with Alpha Tau Omega National Fraternity (www.ato.org), to offer its members across U.S. campuses access to Unlimited Messaging Therapy, a program used by more than 350,000 people to communicate with licensed therapists via text messages as well as asynchronous audio, photo, video messages, and live video sessions.

 

According to a NAMI report, more than 45 percent of young adults stop attending college because of mental health related reasons. The lack of access to mental health resources and support on campus adds to a growing list of shortcomings that could’ve prevented college students from leaving school. This year, a report that surveyed 139 college and university counseling centers showed that college students are seeking help for mental health issues at a rate of growth in enrollment by five-fold.

Due to ongoing budget cuts, long wait times to get appointments and lack of resources to provide on-campus mental health support, new ways of delivering mental health services and support directly to students are being introduced.

“If mental illness is left untreated, it can become crippling for students — both in school and for the rest of their lives,” said Oren Frank, co-founder and CEO at Talkspace. “Talkspace has been successful in bringing better and more affordable access to therapy, and this partnership with ATO will allow us the opportunity to help college students as well.”

ATO, which has 140 active chapters and 10,000 college students in the United States, aims to remove barriers for its members with the help of Talkspace. Through Talkspace’s web and mobile apps, college students can connect with their dedicated therapist from their smartphones at anytime, bringing the traditional therapy experience into the modern age while eliminating wait times and appointments.

“Fraternity chapters are ready-made communities that provide members a strong support system,” said ATO Chief Executive Officer Wynn Smiley. “At the same time, we want to provide the opportunity for any of our members who feel the need for some assistance the added benefit of professional counseling that is easily accessible. By effectively eliminating wait times, appointments and the anxiety of seeking mental health support,

Introduction

Sorry for recent technical issues (cracks/hiss end of last podcast). I will be getting a new microphone to correct the problem. This interview audio quality is not the best, I apologize and will work harder on this in the future!

Quick tip

For some mental health tips read my first ever guest blog post about how to deal with depression in college:  http://www.takeyoursuccess.com/dealing-with-depression-in-college/

Topic of the day from r/college

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/56pgke/ive_hit_a_new_obstacle_study_tips_needed/?st=iu3eqxud&sh=e451e275

my not-so-similar story, but you’ll see how it relates

my response

additional ideas: dictation software, typing, creative accommodation requests (flash cards)

Today’s Topic: Interview with Fae

* What it was like for Fae to manage a mental illness while being a student in college

* What were some of the biggest obstacles related to school she’s had to overcome

* What recovery means to Fae

* Support networks, and how they impact the timeline of recovery

* How age, and being older than many peers, has impacted Fae in her academic career

* Advice for college students with mental health issues that have big goals/dreams and might be struggling right now to make any progress on them

* How I see Fae when it comes to Passion/Value/Leverage/Accountability/Sustainability

Home Exercise

* Take stock of where you’re at with your goal progress so far

* Progress with my current goal

* A recent moment of clarity I had about one of my previous podcast goals

Previous Week’s Home Exercises

 

* Write down you goal for this semester. It should be one single goal, something you really, really want, and something you can achieve in 3 months.

* Now that you have a goal, it’s time to map it out. Begin to break the goal down in chunks. Each chunk can be broken down further into steps (not all at once if you don’t want). Give at least one chunk a deadline.

* Take something you’ve been procrastinating on, and “put it to bed.” Either do it, or figure out why you’re not doing it, and take care of that issue. Or don’t do it, and be fine with the fact that you’ve changed directions, or it’s really not due yet.

* How does online learning relate to your goal this semester? It might not currently, but is there a way you can leverage any low cost/free online resources? Think about the lifelong learner.

* Pick one of the Wealth-Building Principles and determine how it can help your goal become a reality. This might be more of a long-term play for many, but consider these principles and which ones you might want to better embrace as you focus on your goals.

Housekeeping

If you have mental health issues and a success story to tell (current college student or former), I’d like to interview you about your goal achievement quest, the struggles/adversity you faced, as well the recovery strategies you learned, let me know!

 

Email me at: [email protected]

 

Introduction

Welcome to Week #5

Not your typical interview with a money manager

Quick tip

1/3rd of semester is done already!

Check your grades!

Midterms a comin’

Start the dialogue now with Profs if you are struggling or not getting what you need from them

Topics of the day from r/college

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/55lytl/thinking_of_dropping_out/?st=itu7tqx4&sh=b59feaa5

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/55mc89/looking_to_continue/?st=itu7rr8c&sh=856c179c

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/55moup/not_sure_if_i_want_to_stay_in_college/?st=itu7q2t7&sh=baf80cfb

Are these people asking the right question? Perhaps, but there might in fact be a more important question to ask in each of these situations.

Today’s Topic: Interview with John Pugliano of Investable Wealth

John’s 10 Wealth-Building Principles

1. Wealth is Freedom

2. Live Debt Free

3. Production is the Source of Wealth

4. Identify Value

5. Embrace Technology & Innovation

6. Profit from Trends

7. Profit from Nature

8. Decrypt Propaganda

9. Be a Giver

10. Wealth is a Lifestyle

* What lead John to establish his 10 wealth-building principles, the most important for college students to be focusing on? http://www.wealthsteading.com/category/wealth-building-principle/

* The “Millionaire Next Door” concept and why it’s an important one for college students to be aware of

* John’s 3-step (EARN+SAVE+INVEST) process to building financial wealth, and where college students fit in process

* Apprenticeship and how it can fit into the college experience

* Pursue your passion, or go to college? Or can it be both?

* John’s advice for college students that might be struggling with anxiety and depression as they work to achieve goals?

* John’s website can be found at: http://www.investablewealth.com/

* The Wealthsteading Podcast can be found in iTunes here.

Home Exercise

* Pick one of the Wealth-Building Principles and determine how it can help your goal become a reality. This might be more of a long-term play for many, but consider these principles and which ones you might want to better embrace as you focus on your goals.

Previous Week’s Home Exercises

* Write down you goal for this semester. It should be one single goal, something you really, really want, and something you can achieve in 3 months.

* Now that you have a goal, it’s time to map it out. Begin to break the goal down in chunks. Each chunk can be broken down further into steps (not all at once if you don’t want).

Introduction

Welcome to Week #4

The lifelong learner concept

Quick tip

It’s all about the professor. Don’t just sign up for a course with a professor you’ve never heard of if at all possible. How good a professor is will usually impact your interest in course, which impacts overall grade.

* Use ratemyprofessors.com

* Talk to students who have taken them previously

* Use reddit/google

 

Topic of the day from r/college

What’s the most interesting college class you’ve taken and why?

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/54nnr5/whats_the_most_interesting_class_youve_taken_and/?st=itlgj402&sh=357eb889

Today’s Topic: Online Learning

 

* A passion of mine, as evidenced by the goal I set on this podcast in the Spring

* A brief history of my online learning experience

* Back when I was a student…

* My teaching experiences

* Ace Your Online Class

* My view of the future of online learning

* How online learning ties into value/leverage/sustainability for me

* Online Learning vs. Traditional Learning

* What You Need to be a Good Online Student

* Some Strategies, Tips, and Tricks I want to share

* It’s all about routine

* Schedule when you read, answer forums, take exams etc

* If the class has a routine, customize yours to match

* Forum tips

* Content tips

* LMS tips

* How you can get more tips and strategies via taking my course at a discount

Home Exercise

* How does online learning relate to your goal this semester? It might not currently, but is there a way you can leverage any low cost/free online resources? Think about the lifelong learner.

Previous Week’s Home Exercises

 

* Write down you goal for this semester. It should be one single goal, something you really, really want, and something you can achieve in 3 months.

* Now that you have a goal, it’s time to map it out. Begin to break the goal down in chunks. Each chunk can be broken down further into steps (not all at once if you don’t want). Give at least one chunk a deadline.

* Take something you’ve been procrastinating on, and “put it to bed.” Either do it, or figure out why you’re not doing it, and take care of that issue. Or don’t do it, and be fine with the fact that you’ve changed directions, or it’s really not due yet.

Housekeeping

If you have mental health issues and a success story to tell (current college student or former), I’d like to interview you about your goal achievement quest, the struggles/adversity you faced, as well the recovery strategies you learned, let me know!

 

Email me at: [email protected]

 

Are you a college student who is brand new to online learning? Or maybe you struggled in your first go-around with your online course and can’t figure out the mindset behind online learning? Please be sure to check out this course I made: https://aceyouronlineclass.thinkific.com Price is now $19, podcast listeners may email me for a coupon code for an additional $9 off, so get at me!

Introduction

 

Today’s intro song has been huge inspiration for my brother and I as we work to overcome procrastination in the ways that are meaningful to us. We urge you to join us in breaking the fucking spell today!

Reason why I decided to talk about today’s topic

* Natural interest, relates to my work

* Procrastination really impacts goal achievement

* Importance of paying attention to themes that pop up repeatedly in areas of life that appear unrelated

Quick tip

 

Boolean logic for searching databases and the Internet

http://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=175963&p=1158594

 

Topic of the day (from r/rutgers today instead of r/college)

https://www.reddit.com/r/rutgers/comments/531oi6/anxiety_and_just_other_mental_issues_holding_me/?st=it61hnjq&sh=adbf9ced

Today’s Topic: Procrastination

 

Touched on this in Episode #33 with Zachary Sexton. “evil productivity monster”

I’ve been thinking about this topic a great deal, and recently began to read some research about procrastination. Here are some excerpts

Procrastination increases when:

* Students fear failure related to prospects of goal achievement

* Pursuit of the goal is aversive* to them

* Students doubt their abilities to perform the assigned task

Procrastination negatively correlated with:

* task completion rate

* final exam grade

* course grades

* well-being (guilt, discomfort)

* “a form of short-term mood repair that comes at a cost for the future self-esteem”

Positively correlated with:

* stress

Research stats came from literature review in this article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291184741_It’s_in_the_means_Process_focus_helps_against_procrastination_in_the_academic_context

When an assignment is presented in more concrete terms, students procrastinate less (McCrea et al., 2008)

https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/handle/123456789/10533/mccreaetal2008_PsycSci.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

With all that in mind, you might find it strange that I’m now going to talk about Procrastinating on Purpose, a concept made famous by Rory Vaden

http://roryvaden.com/blog/the-focus-funnel/

Last, I want to talk about Nassim Nicholas Taleb and his thoughts on procrastination:

“Few understand that procrastination is our natural defense, letting things take care of themselves and exercise their antifragility; it results from some ecological or naturalistic wisdom, and is not always bad — at an existential level, it is my body rebelling against its entrapment.” From “Anti-Fragile” which I am currently reading/listening to.

Home Exercise

* Take something you’ve been procrastinating on, and “put it to bed.” Either do it, or figure out why you’re not doing it, and take care of that issue. Or don’t do it,

Introduction

National Suicide Awareness Week – September 5th-11th, 2016 – http://www.suicidology.org/about-aas/national-suicide-prevention-week

World Suicide Awareness Day – Saturday September 10th, 2016 – https://www.iasp.info/wspd/

Quick tip

How do you remember the Warning Signs of Suicide?

Here’s an easy-to-remember mnemonic:IS PATH WARM? I  Ideation

S  Substance AbuseP  Purposelessness

A  Anxiety

T  Trapped

H  HopelessnessW  Withdrawal

A  Anger

R  Recklessness

M  Mood Changes

Taken from: http://www.suicidology.org/resources/warning-signs

 

 

Topic of the day from r/college

https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/527vqa/my_friends_are_convinced_i_wont_make_any_friends/?st=isynd5xg&sh=a0b32829

Today’s Topic: Interview with Brian Robben

 

Join me today as we discuss:

 

* What made Brian want to come on the show

* What people can find on Brian’s website TakeYourSuccess.com

*  Why should college students should not wait to begin thinking and developing their entrepreneurial spirit

* How we see building a brand relating to being a successful college student in today’s day and age

* Goal-setting strategies for curiosities and passions

* Positive habits/routines Brian relies on for success and recommends for college students

* Advice for college students out there that might be going through some kind of mental health issues and having a hard time following through on the goals of their dreams at this point

* To learn more about Brian’s website check out: http://www.takeyoursuccess.com/

* To check out his new book “How to College” on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-College-Brian-Robben-ebook/dp/B01L2VFYWE/

Home Exercise

* Now that you have a goal, it’s time to map it out.

* Wherever you wrote down you goal last week, return to it now.

* What are the major parts of the goal that jump out at you?

* Begin to break the goal down in chunks.

* Each chunk can be broken down further into steps (not all at once if you don’t want).

* You may benefit from giving each chunk a deadline as well.

Previous Week’s Home Exercises

 

* Write down you goal for this semester. It should be one single goal, something you really, really want, and something you can achieve in 3 months.

Housekeeping

If you have mental health issues and a success story to tell (current college student or former), I’d like to interview you about your goal achievement quest,

Introduction

* So primed to be back for this semester!

* Goal achieved (Ace Your Online Class released on Thinkific, link below)

* $70 donated to Jed Foundation/Active Minds

* Recap of my summer

Quick tip

 

Cite This For Me – great website, even better as a Chrome extension!

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cite-this-for-me-web-cite/nnnmhgkokpalnmbeighfomegjfkklkle?hl=en

 

 

Topic of the day from r/college

Will be returning this semester, but not until next week. Stay tuned!

Today’s Topic: Passion for Curiosity

 

Review of PVLAS (Passion, Value, Leverage, Accountability, Sustainability

 

I’ve done some thinking this summer about passion. I’ve also watched some Cal Newport videos – He is known to many as being “anti-passion”

He says that “Follow Your Passion” assumes:

* You already have some predefined passion

* Matching what you like to a potential job that does it will always lead to long-term satisfaction

Watch more at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIMu1PGbG-0

 

Cal Newport’s advice: Build a unique skill and leverage it into something you do end up loving.

 

The most interesting book I read this summer was “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat Pray Love fame). Her book helped me reconcile why I still favor passion, but with a twist now.

A quote from Elizabeth Gilbert’s blog:

“I am a big advocate for the pursuit of curiosity. You’ve maybe heard me talk about this before? We are constantly being told to pursue our passions in life, but there are times when passion is a TALL ORDER, and really hard to reach. In seasons of confusion, of loss, of boredom, of insecurity, of distraction, the idea of “passion” can feel completely inaccessible and impossible. In such times, you are lucky to be able to get your laundry done (that sometimes feels as high as you can aim) and when someone tells you to follow your passion, you want to give them the middle finger. (Go ahead and do it, by the way. But wait till their back is turned, out of civility.)

But curiosity, I have found, is always within reach.

Passion is a tower of flame, but curiosity is a tiny tap on the shoulder — a little whisper in the ear that says, “Hey, that’s kind of interesting…”

Passion is rare; curiosity is everyday.

Curiosity is therefore a lot easier to reach at at times than full-on passion — and the stakes are lower, easier to manage.

The trick is to just follow your small moments of curiosity. It doesn’t take a massive effort. Just turn your head an inch. Pause for a instant. Respond to what has caught your attention. Look into it a bit. Is there something there for you? A piece of information?

For me, a lifetime devoted to creativity is nothing but a scavenger hunt — where each successive clue is another tiny little hit of curiosity. Pick each one up, unfold it, see where it leads you next.

Small steps.

 

Keep doing that, and I promise you: The curiosity will eventually lead you to the passion.”

Link to blog post

* Last week of the semester

* Last episode of the podcast for awhile

* ‘Write a review, I donate money” movement is underway

* https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/college-student-success-podcast/id1034403046

* Leave a review, for each review I will donate $10 to Active Minds and the Jed Foundation, to be split evenly between the two organizations.

 

* What I learned from doing this podcast

* Where I was a year ago

* WordPress

* Podcasting

* Audio editing

* Podcast led me to research

* Books I’ve read

* People I’ve interviewed

* New goals I’ve been inspired to tackle

* Development of an online course

* Which led to new skills learned

* Screencasting

* Video editing and most recently…

* Captioning

* In the end, the podcast has really firmed up for me the importance of Passion, Value, Leverage, Accountability, &  Sustainability, how these 5 factors impact one another, and how they encourage or discourage goal attainment.

* My biggest piece of advice from doing all of this – “Action cures fear.” Every damn time.

* Things I didn’t do so well

* Other postings

* Promoting the podcast

* Getting that “big guest”

* Plans for the future

Last Home Exercise

 

Take stock of what you’ve achieved this semester. Recognize the great stuff you’ve accomplished. Note the things you thought you’d achieve but fell short, why that might have happened, and what you can learn from

Previous Week’s Home Exercises

Week 1: Set a goal and think about it considering my 5 Factors (Passion, Value, Leverage, Accountability, Sustainability), and areas where you may need to pay special attention to (Passion).

Week 2: Think about what you need for your happiness and well-being. Consider what happiness achieving your goal will bring you. Write down your goal, and why you want it (Accountability).

Week 3: Pick one thing Zack and I talked about in the interview that will help you in reaching your goal, block out space in your calendar this week to do that one thing, and do it (Sustainability).

Week 4: Examine lack of progress more closely if needed, look at your life’s defaults through an honest lens (Value).

Week 5: Try out one of the note-taking suggestions/tips talked about in the episode in one of your classes over the next week (Accountability).

Week 6: Complete a study plan for the one midterm that is currently stressing you the most. If your goal does not relate to school, take a step back, see how you’re progressing, and re-evaluate your To-Do list (Accountability).

Week 7: Consider your “brand.” Think about how your brand could impact you as a potential employee down the road. If you are not in a position to start branding yourself now, at least write down your personal brand idea and file it somewhere you won’t forget it (Passion).

Week 8: If you’re struggling to achieve your goal, confirm you are truly in the preparation/action stage when it comes to the goal you set in the beginning of the semester (Sustainability).

Week 9: Think back to a time in your life when you persevered and succeeded. It could be a memory from a long time ago, or a recent event, but think about your own personal qualities and what you showed to yourself and others when making that achievement. Write about it if you can.