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30-Day Modules
Each month Praxis participants are expected to complete a Personal Development Project consisting of at least one concrete action each day.
The modules below are designed to take 30 days each to complete as long as you are diligent and work on them every day.
Don’t just breeze through the content. Take notes and carefully consider each section. If you can’t explain the concepts you learn to someone else, you don’t understand them.
Beyond just reading the content, you should actively engage with the ideas and skills you learn:
- Blog about the ideas. Question and wrestle with them. Tease out implications.
- Host a group discussion with others going through the same module.
- Create a portfolio project to apply and test the skills you are learning.
Philosophy
We created this course to help Praxis participants learn how to think critically and engage with philosophy. Our participants are entrepreneurial by nature, and this philosophy curriculum is traditionally their first step into thinking like entrepreneurs.
Thinking entrepreneurially is all about creative problem solving. That means philosophy – the pursuit of wisdom and truth – doesn’t get to stay in the classroom. We’ll be inviting you not only to learn philosophy but to do philosophy wherever you are, from work to school to family gatherings.
This curriculum will help you do that. It draws on some of the best resources we know on the questions and ideas that have been influential in how the world thinks about truth, the universe, and the human situation. Among other things, you’ll learn:
- Why philosophy is important (and how to use it)
- How to think critically and avoid common logical fallacies
- How to engage with famous thought experiments like the Monty Hall Problem
- Ways to think about some of the fundamental questions of political philosophy and how just societies should work
- The ins and outs of metaphysics, from the supernatural to naturalism to viewpoints in the middle
- The relationship between science and the philosophy of science
- Questions (and some answers) about where morality comes from
- How to think about art and beauty like a philosopher
- Why you should (or shouldn’t) follow your passion, and how to apply philosophy in your everyday work
History and Culture
“The study of the past is essential for ‘rooting’ people in time. And why should that matter? The answer is that people who feel themselves to be rootless live rootless lives, often causing a lot of damage to themselves and others in the process.” -Penelope J. Corfield, All People are Living Histories
Books, lectures, and articles from primary sources and leading historians guide you through the history of where we’ve been and where we might be going. Learn which patterns have emerged through history and why. Explore why history matters, different ways of seeing the past, and issues like political history, war, technology, art, progress, and capitalism.
Economics
The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups. – Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson
This module covers everything from basic economic thinking to economic theory and the consequences of economic policy.
Economics is about more than money, banks, and finances. Economics is about humans, the choices they make, and how those choices influence the world around us.
From a video academy designed specifically for newcomers, to articles explaining core concepts in depth, you will explore how incentives, institutions, and individuals shape the world we live in.
Public Speaking
The videos in each section are meant to convey basic tips and ideas for you to get your technique dialed in. The content may seem overwhelming, but the point is not for you to memorize every tip and do them all at once. It’s for you to gain a few best practices that really apply to you. If they don’t ease your mind, they’re probably not that helpful!
The main value isn’t from the tips themselves, but for how you implement them! Submitting video of your own speech for feedback at the conclusion of the tips is where the real magic happens!
Facebook Advertising
“Your customer is on Facebook. You just need to find them.”
Gordon Leslie, growth expert & CEO of Client Magnet, will be taking you through this module, from creating your first ads account to analyzing campaign performance.
This course will familiarize you with the Facebook Advertising platform, how the algorithms work, how to set up an advertisement, how to run and test campaigns, how to interpret the metrics to determine whether or not the ad campaign is successful or if you should end it, find out what the cost per customer acquisition is, and ultimately determine whether or not Facebook is a good platform for your business.
Master a Big Idea
Focus on an intellectual interest and learn how to learn.
Success isn’t only about the product. It’s also about ways of seeing the world and ability to engage in abstract thinking and explore big, bold ideas. In month 7 you dive deep into some big ideas that drive you and actively engage in discussions and forums on the topic. It’s about turning your curiosity into a discipline and pursuing it fully.
Deliverables
- Each week ask and answer one question on Quora related to your topic.
- Each week write a review of a book on Amazon.
- Each week write a blog post about your experience for that week and share your Quora/Amazon work.
NOTE: This month is not broken into weeks. You’ll need to pace yourself so you can accomplish your goals on time. We recommend starting out by looking at the examples and videos in this month.
Establish Yourself as an Expert
Becoming an expert in a field has never been as easy at it is today, with or without a degree. In month eight, you’ll be putting in the time to establish yourself as an expert in a skill or field of knowledge.
Deliverable
Create a complete a project that will showcase your expertise to the world. This project should essentially be a product that you can promote. It can be an e-book, an Udemy course, an online tutorial (or series of tutorials), a software app, a niche blog post or podcast series (i.e. Breaking Smart, Startup Podcast).
There are no hard and fast rules on what kind of product it needs to be, but at the end of this month you want to be able to say “I am the creator of X.”
NOTE: This month is not broken into weeks. You’ll need to pace yourself so you can accomplish your goals on time. We recommend starting out by looking at the examples and videos in this month.
Unlock Your Next Opportunity
Exit the program at full-speed into the next stage of your career and life.
Participants receive their full-time job offer, learn how to hunt down other job opportunities, launch their own companies or projects, and develop a 6-month post-program personal development plan with their program advisor.
Deliverables
Here are the basic paths you can take through Month 9. Discuss which path is best for you with your advisor and get started!
- Portfolio Project
- Because you absolutely love working at your business partner and want to enter your full-time role by dropping a bomb of value creation on them.
- Because you absolutely love working at your business partner, you have the value-creation bomb covered already, and you want to focus on another project. Maybe it’s time to explore starting a business yourself.
- Job Hunting – The Praxis Way
- Because you had an awesome experience at your business partner and it’s now time to find the next challenging opportunity.