Learning Diary

Context

I have taken an education path that is unconventional. Leaving high school at the end of year 11, starting university but deferring soon after - you could say I'm not a big believer in traditional education.

I'll write more on this story soon, but I feel the biggest piece of my educational journey has instead been my own "curriculum", with a focus on real-world practitioners and a bias towards action.

I'm documenting it here both as a running memory for me, and hopefully as a good recommendations list for your learning.

The longer-form learning resources below have really shaped my skills and understanding. Of course, there's also been a great number of shorter-form videos, articles, eBooks, webinars, talks, newsletters and, of course, conversations on specific topics and ideas along the way.

Together with applied, experiential learning, these resources have built my capacity both in breadth and depth. This approach is more closely aligned to my personal approach to education, which is less about chasing the paper and more about building tangible skills, applied knowledge and gut instinct.

If you'd like to create your own learning curriculum, my friend Max Marchione wrote about his "learning gap year" and has some wicked tips.

Courses

Strategic/Interpersonal

altMBA - by Seth Godin/Akimbo
"A 31-day online leadership workshop that provides students with the skills they need to be impactful leaders and make meaningful change."

Design Thinking Certification - by Skills of the Modern Age
"A 2-day, immersive learning experience covering all things design thinking, service design, and experience design."

Nail Your Strategic Plan - by Alicia McKay
"Meaningful support for running a strategic planning process that prepares your company for the future, builds alignment and engagement and helps you lead critical strategic conversations."

Build Once, Sell Twice - by Visualize Value
"The productization playbook. A digital curriculum that helps you identify your specific knowledge, take it to market, and divorce your time from your income."

Business Strategy & Leadership - by Bob Iger, Masterclass
"Through case studies and lessons from 45 years in media, Bob teaches you how to evolve your business and career. Learn strategies for expanding a brand, leading with integrity, risk management and making big moves."

Mindfulness Training Seminar - by Eric Harrison
"A full-day training on doing short, frequent meditations, emphasising the value of meditating ‘on the spot’, whenever you can. Learning how to easily calm down and focus your mind whenever you walk, wait or do exercise."

Mental Health Leadership Training - by zero2hero
"Camp Hero MHL is the first of its kind in Australia, a 5-day camp in nature, created in response to a need to provide young people with a space to discover how to better support themselves, their peers, and the world around them."

Technical

Digital Marketing Fundamentals - by Google
"40+ hours on mastering the basics of digital marketing, taught by industry leaders and accredited by IABE and The Open University."

The Web Developer Bootcamp - by Colt Steele
"The only course you need to learn web development - HTML, CSS, JS, Node, APIs, Databases, AJAX, NPM and more."

Product Analytics Fundamentals - by Mixpanel
"Written in collaboration with dozens of product leaders, this course is for anyone who wants to deeply understand how people use products, so that you can move faster, build better products, and create more value for everyone."

Ultimate Web Design Course - by Webflow
"From the fundamentals to advanced topics — learn how to build sites in Webflow and use web principles (like HTML, CSS and JS) to create incredible websites."

SEO and Webflow - by Pait Digital
"The #1 SEO course for Webflow designers who want to scale their client's traffic and their own revenue."

The LinkedIn Operating System - by Justin Welsh
"Learn to grow & monetize your LinkedIn audience, through understanding your audience, creating valuable content and designing your brand for success."

Books

The Right It - by Albert Salvoia

Atomic Habits - by James Clear

Catch of the Decade - by Gabby & Hezi Leibovich

Give and Take - by Adam Grant

The Personal MBA - by Josh Kaufman

Business Model Generation - by David Bland & Alex Osterwalder

This is Marketing - by Seth Godin

The 1-Page Marketing Plan - by Allan Dib

The Barefoot Investor - by Scott Pape

Designing Your Life - by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Start with Why - by Simon Sinek

TED Talks (guide to public speaking) - by Chris Anderson

Thanks for the Feedback - by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen

Affected - by Cara Wrigley & Karla Straker

How to Talk to Absolutely Anybody - by Mark Rhodes

Dot Com Secrets - by Russell Brunson

Sell Like Crazy - by Sabri Suby

Events/experiences

West Tech Fest - Perth, Australia
"An annual celebration of Asia Pacific's start-up ecosystem showcasing innovation, investment and entrepreneurship."

LEAP Week - California, USA
"An in-person, 5 day motivational leadership program which equips students from around the world with the knowledge, life skills, and confidence to achieve higher personal, academic, and professional goals."

Social Impact Summit - Perth, Australia
"The Centre for Social Impact's annual conference focusing on the NFP and social impact sector in Perth and WA, with a growing national / international audience."

Last updated Monday, 7th Oct 2021