Purpose in the Process

Learning is about asking the right questions….and it's also about knowing there is not always one right answer. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss learning and living a life of meaning with Jamie Matthews, a Master Teacher at the Acton School of Business in Austin, Texas. In addition to having found his calling as a world-class teacher, Jamie is a successful entrepreneur, experienced investor, and purposeful philanthropist. More importantly, he is one of those rare people whose positive energy and gratitude for living is irresistibly contagious, even on his "bad" days.

We touched on a variety of related topics, including:

• The importance of mentoring and teaching others (hint: it doesn't only benefit the student)

• The difference between lessons that are felt, versus those that remain on the surface

• Gaining comfort with ambiguity

• How to live with less regrets

• Why being a high achiever can make it more challenging to take risks

• How to formulate the right questions

• Finding and living your purpose, as opposed to following the "planned life" of others

• Practical tips for living in a way that matters

• Staying on the path

• The necessity of gratitude and acceptance

Learning about the world, and ourselves, can be a lot of fun…but sometimes, it's not. Join us as we discuss how to formulate the right questions, why it's essential to push past comfort zones in the process of lifelong learning, and how to find purpose in our own unique journeys as students of ourselves.

I hope you enjoy this show as we look into the purpose in the process of lifelong learning!

Jamie's bio.

Explore Austin, the mentoring and outdoor adventure organization co-founded by Jamie that focuses on coming alongside youth from low-income communities to help them reach their full potential.

Information about the revolutionary Acton School of Business in Austin, Texas.

Check out the Pond Hockey Club. Whether you have a child wanting to get into the sport of ice hockey, or you're an adult who has just always wanted to try it out, I can vouch for this place. Top coaching, great facility, welcoming staff, and an all-around healthier approach to youth sports in general.

Acton Academy, a truly unique alternative to traditional K-12 education for kids and families looking to apply the independent learning principles taught at the Acton School of Business.

Man's Search for Meaning, by psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl. This powerful and potentially life-changing read is a memoir based on Frankl's own life in Nazi death camps, wherein he explains how our ability to cope with suffering is what matters most. Being the grandson of holocaust survivors myself, I learned early in life the importance of Frankl's message in this book, and recommend it to others constantly. There's also a young adult edition available.

Dr. Madeline Levine's book, The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids. Dr. Levine is a clinical psychologist who writes, in-part, about the emotional dysfunction of modern American youth contributed to by parents who prevent their children from experiencing and owning the consequences of their choices.

I hope you enjoyed the show! You can sign-up at shilohcoleman.com to learn first about upcoming guests, special shows, and other inside news. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get the podcast, share with your friends, and spread the news - thanks!!

Why is it so difficult for people to find compromise? Have we forgotten how to truly listen to opposing views?

In this episode, we dive deep into these questions with Professor Walter Wright, an expert in mediation and conflict resolution, who takes the time to explain how to resolve differences with other people…or at least how to try.

In addition to talking about the basic principles of interests based negotiation, we also summarize and explain techniques used by professionals in the field of conflict resolution to help people recognize humanity in those with whom they disagree. Every day, people who never thought they'd see eye to eye are able to reach compromises in a way that preserves relationships - it really is possible! But as Professor Wright explains, it takes work, and a big part of that is just learning how to approach conflicts in a different, more thoughtful way.

This was a wide ranging conversation, touching on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, restorative justice in schools, and even how cultural norms impact the way we approach and resolve disputes.

Choosing a new way to approach disagreements can truly be life changing. As Professor Wright explains, it starts by taking the time to listen to each other…even when we disagree.

I hope you enjoy this show about finding the purpose in the process of resolving disagreements!

Links and More Information on this Topic:

Click here for Professor Wright's info and bio, and here for his extensive curriculum vitae.

The Kraybill inventory (used to help understand and reveal preferred style of conflict management).

Getting to Yes by Fisher/Ury. We briefly reviewed the interests based process in this book, but there's a lot of detail we didn't have time to cover. If you want to take the next step in learning how to resolve disagreements in any environment (or even just how to negotiate better) I highly recommend it.

Getting Past No is the follow-up book by Ury and is a good add-on for dealing with difficult people.

Tribe by Sebastian Junger is the fantastic book I mentioned when we were discussing the importance of being accepted back into a community. That's just one of the many interesting topics in this book that is totally worth your time.

The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace by John Paul Lederach is the author's latest book on faith based conciliation and mediation. His work was highly recommended by Professor Wright!

If you're interested in learning more about how cultural norms impact our approaches to each other, here's a link to a well known book Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind by the Dutch father and son duo, the Hofstede's (Prof. Wright briefly mentioned them toward the end of the interview when discussing how cultural norms impact dispute resolution).

Do you live in Austin and want to learn more about community dispute resolution? Check out the Austin DRC at https://austindrc.org - this is where I met Prof. Wright and an entire class of fun folks who were all wanting to learn more about resolving disagreements. You can become a trained community mediator and volunteer your time (no, you don't have to be a lawyer!). If you're outside of Austin, chances are there is some type of community dispute resolution center near you - just google "dispute resolution center" with your city and state.

Finally, if you want to learn more about attorneys focused on offering an innovative, less relationally disruptive, and confidential way to resolve disputes, check out the Global Collaborative Law Council at https://globalcollaborativelaw.com/.

I hope you enjoyed the show! You can sign-up to learn first about upcoming guests, special shows, and inside news at shilohcoleman.com. Finally, forget to subscribe, share with your friends, and spread the news - thanks!!