A lot of this resonates with me right now. Im curious what your thoughts are about why there is lower enrollment for your teen programs? It seems like a very much needed niche.
So many theories! But to be clear, my programs have always struggled with low enrollment, in large part because every year is a blank canvas (no consistent yearly offerings that parents can plan around), I like to run programs with weird missions, I only run programs during the schoolyear, and I refuse to run very short programs of 1-2 weeks—go big or go home!
All that being said, I do think that I (and other program leaders) are running up against:
Can really relate to being in a place of wondering what is next/what is life going to look like going forward. I admire your willingness to embrace risk and uncertainty tu though. It’s something that I’m trying to wrestle with myself as I get older and life no longer is centered around just me, but has consequences on other people too.
Nietzsche did not end well, as you know. I am not saying his advice is bad...
You write well, keep it up. There are a lot of parallels between your life as a risk-taker / adventurer and mine. Keep up the good work and if you are ever in Berlin we might be able to host you.
Hi Blake, Thank you for sharing so deeply and authentically. I love how you are always listening for what inspires you, lights you up and calls to you. That is what I've been doing too which has meant letting go of some familiar work to make space for what's calling to me even though I don't even know exactly what it is. I truly believe that when we follow this inner guidance it always leads us to wonderful opportunities that we didn't even know we wanted until it comes to us. Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration for what it can look like to live a fully alive life, that continues to be fresh and vibrant!
Everything has a life and its rhythm of seasons… and that includes eventual death and demise. That sounds grim, but it’s not meant that way. We see birth/death/rebirth cycles all the time. Leaves fall in autumn and become food for new life in subsequent seasons. Childhood transitions to adolescence then midlife and then beyond—little deaths along the way bring us to new phases and aspects of what it means to be human. And vocations emerge, grow, and wane.
You are already piecing together threads and other bits of the life you made and remain from the last two decades. And I can see you are in the process of alchemically assembling them into what will become a new iteration of who you are in this world. This is not always easy (maybe if it’s too easy that should be seen as cautionary), but it’s always worth the effort… even when we don’t see why it has value in the moment.
Good travels and see you down the road… we anticipate that with excitement and glee.
Much applause for taking a leap and opening a space to see what emerges. It’s very difficult to do. But what is your emerging future calling to you? Needing you in order to come into the world? That can only be discovered via space.
If you are interested in a process and global community of people doing similar things, consider joining the U-lab via the Presencing Institute/MIT (it’s free, starts in a couple weeks). I discovered them last year and the ideas were life changing for me. It might really resonate with where you are right now.
Would you be interested in starting something like this but obviously with your expertise and field of interest? Instead of teaching perhaps it could be mentoring youth. Scale your existing coaching/indie guidance counselor work. For your purposes, this might serve as an example of how to pivot? https://kellydavis.xyz/learningcoach
Hi Iva, and thanks for the suggestion. I'm familiar with Kelly, and the offering she presents feels very close to the Indie Guidance Counselor coaching I've done in the past (https://www.blakeboles.com/coaching/). I've thought about group coaching a number of times, and a roadblock that I keep hitting is the scheduling aspect, as I'm hesitant to create a regular repeating scheduled call — I feel much more drawn toward one-off workshops and seminars, or one-off coaching calls. Right now I'm considering offering a one-time Outschool workshop called "How to Lead an Unconventional Life" that might draw some homeschoolers/school-schoolers into a different zeitgeist.
Anyways, the answer is yes, I'm interested in the broad possibility :D
A lot of this resonates with me right now. Im curious what your thoughts are about why there is lower enrollment for your teen programs? It seems like a very much needed niche.
So many theories! But to be clear, my programs have always struggled with low enrollment, in large part because every year is a blank canvas (no consistent yearly offerings that parents can plan around), I like to run programs with weird missions, I only run programs during the schoolyear, and I refuse to run very short programs of 1-2 weeks—go big or go home!
All that being said, I do think that I (and other program leaders) are running up against:
1) stagflation (stagnant economic growth + inflation)
2) downstream effects of Covid restrictions
3) more young people, even unschoolers, having academic year obligations
That all makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing! All the best to you on the scary unfolding of your adventures!!
Can really relate to being in a place of wondering what is next/what is life going to look like going forward. I admire your willingness to embrace risk and uncertainty tu though. It’s something that I’m trying to wrestle with myself as I get older and life no longer is centered around just me, but has consequences on other people too.
Nietzsche did not end well, as you know. I am not saying his advice is bad...
You write well, keep it up. There are a lot of parallels between your life as a risk-taker / adventurer and mine. Keep up the good work and if you are ever in Berlin we might be able to host you.
Hi Blake, Thank you for sharing so deeply and authentically. I love how you are always listening for what inspires you, lights you up and calls to you. That is what I've been doing too which has meant letting go of some familiar work to make space for what's calling to me even though I don't even know exactly what it is. I truly believe that when we follow this inner guidance it always leads us to wonderful opportunities that we didn't even know we wanted until it comes to us. Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration for what it can look like to live a fully alive life, that continues to be fresh and vibrant!
Everything has a life and its rhythm of seasons… and that includes eventual death and demise. That sounds grim, but it’s not meant that way. We see birth/death/rebirth cycles all the time. Leaves fall in autumn and become food for new life in subsequent seasons. Childhood transitions to adolescence then midlife and then beyond—little deaths along the way bring us to new phases and aspects of what it means to be human. And vocations emerge, grow, and wane.
You are already piecing together threads and other bits of the life you made and remain from the last two decades. And I can see you are in the process of alchemically assembling them into what will become a new iteration of who you are in this world. This is not always easy (maybe if it’s too easy that should be seen as cautionary), but it’s always worth the effort… even when we don’t see why it has value in the moment.
Good travels and see you down the road… we anticipate that with excitement and glee.
Rooting for you Blake 🙌
Great share Blake, and cheers to new beginnings, if you plan on passing through Barcelona at all let me know and we can get a ride in together!
Much applause for taking a leap and opening a space to see what emerges. It’s very difficult to do. But what is your emerging future calling to you? Needing you in order to come into the world? That can only be discovered via space.
If you are interested in a process and global community of people doing similar things, consider joining the U-lab via the Presencing Institute/MIT (it’s free, starts in a couple weeks). I discovered them last year and the ideas were life changing for me. It might really resonate with where you are right now.
Would you be interested in starting something like this but obviously with your expertise and field of interest? Instead of teaching perhaps it could be mentoring youth. Scale your existing coaching/indie guidance counselor work. For your purposes, this might serve as an example of how to pivot? https://kellydavis.xyz/learningcoach
Hi Iva, and thanks for the suggestion. I'm familiar with Kelly, and the offering she presents feels very close to the Indie Guidance Counselor coaching I've done in the past (https://www.blakeboles.com/coaching/). I've thought about group coaching a number of times, and a roadblock that I keep hitting is the scheduling aspect, as I'm hesitant to create a regular repeating scheduled call — I feel much more drawn toward one-off workshops and seminars, or one-off coaching calls. Right now I'm considering offering a one-time Outschool workshop called "How to Lead an Unconventional Life" that might draw some homeschoolers/school-schoolers into a different zeitgeist.
Anyways, the answer is yes, I'm interested in the broad possibility :D
Blake! Always an inspiration. Of course we’ll all be following and supporting whatever you do next.
How long will you be in Portland?
Any chance you want to schedule a workshop for PDX teens/young adults while you’re here? I can help make it happen if so. 😊