Like most other people I know, I spent a decade of my life as a child at the hands of educators on the state payroll. Unfortunately, we can’t get those lost years back, nor can we tear the offending system down. We can, however, take Buckminster Fuller’s advice and instead make it obsolete by developing a new and better model with which to replace it…
Headfirst
In 2014, I participated in a radical new program here in Chile called Exosphere. All I knew going into it was that it would be an environment that would nurture my inner entrepreneur and facilitate my quest for personal economic freedom. Little did I know that what awaited me was so much more. Much of the first month was spent on introspection and personal development. The director, Skinner Layne, poured his heart and soul into the group and guided us through a rich selection of literature chosen to promote self-reliance and an entrepreneurial mindset. We learned web coding and practiced the arts of public speaking and presenting while discovering our true inner passions and devising business ventures around them. Along the way, I gave birth to a little on-demand custom video production business and watched as the other participants began start-ups of their own. It was pretty obvious that we had all stumbled into something very special…
Surprises
What I couldn’t have anticipated beforehand is how much focus there was on developing those parts of ourselves that aren’t so obviously related directly to regular business activities. We discussed dogma, philosophy, belief systems, our childhoods, relationships, and matters of love and community-building. The pieces were all there and it was just a matter of choosing whether or not to embrace and use them. Nothing was forced upon any of the participants and there was no curriculum to adhere to. The staff were all of a voluntaryist mindset and the learning we did was a very fluid and organic process rather than something pre-designed and pushed squarely upon students. At its heart, Exosphere is a cleverly-crafted chaos from which a clearly-purposed order can grow and flourish. In other words, it’s exactly my kind of environment. Ten years of childhood may have been taken from me by the state, but here, I almost felt like I was getting them back. I wish I could quantify and express that feeling with some kind of objective numerical value but I just can’t. The value may be obvious, but it can't really be measured until some time has passed and the effects begin to stack up. It has been two years already and I'm waist-deep in an exciting real estate business with friends I met there so at least that much is measurable and I wouldn't trade it away for anything. Those three months were a key part of my personal journey and I know that many of the others that were in the program with me feel the same.
Can One Size Really Fit All?
In a word, no. Of course not. If you require a course outline, clearly-defined structure, and detailed foreknowledge in order to function, this is definitely not the place for you. There’s a reason they call it a bootcamp, after all. Despite the gorgeous seaside locale, it’s a place of hard work and should not be thought of as any kind of vacation. You will be tested, your sacred beliefs will be shaken, and if you make it out the other side (not everyone does), it won’t be as the same person you entered as.