Imposter Syndrome, Building Relationships and Changing The World

Welcome to?The?Art?of?The?Impossible, a weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces?of?content which I hope will both inspire?and?embolden you.

PODCAST

This week’s guest is Chrisman Frank – co-founder and CEO of Synthesis – the online platform that teaches kids how to solve complex problems and think critically. Born out of the school Elon Musk set up with Chrisman’s co-founder Joshua Dahn (interview with Josh here ), ?Synthesis has two main products – teams where kids learn as a group to work on complex problems, and its AI tutor which was born out of some incredible DARPA research which we talk about in today’s episode. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts from.

We also talk about why Elon wanted to disrupt education and his views on teaching kids how to think vs what to think, what DARPA showed us when it comes to the potential of AI in learning and why John Holt’s adage that kids love to learn but hate to be taught is true.

I have followed the Synthesis journey since the beginning and am constantly blown away by their mission so I encourage you to listen to this episode in its entirety to learn how we can educate children in a way that will enable them to thrive in this ever-changing world of ours.?

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Enjoy!

Also, if you don’t know the Acquired podcast, you are missing out - their latest episode is a deep dive on the history of Microsoft - check it out here.

QUOTE

Earlier today, I posted on LinkedIn here about Imposter Syndrome and a response reminded me of this quote from Steve Jobs.

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”

Andy Hertzfeld also mentioned the saying from Steve when I interviewed him for the podcast - listen to the episode here . Clip here:

INTERVIEW

I follow Black Ambition (founded by Pharrell Williams) and its CEO Felecia Hatcher on Instagram and I am so impressed with their journey.

The Black Ambition Opportunity Fund invests in diverse entrepreneurs with capital, mentorship and access to resources and opportunities. Through her work over the past eight years, Felecia has helped entrepreneurs connect to over 100M in funding.

In this interview, Felecia sits down with Forbes Assistant Managing Editor, Jabari Young to discuss her entrepreneurial background, what they look for in the founders they invest in and the VC funding that is needed for Black and Brown entrepreneurs.

Watch the interview here.

BOOK

Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends & Colleagues by Carole Robin and David Bradford

David Bradford and Carole Robin taught interpersonal skills to MBA candidates for decades on their legendary Stanford Graduate School of Business course, "Interpersonal Dynamics."

Now, in Connect, they share their time-tested strategies for developing the interpersonal skills which have become fundamental to success at work, and in our everyday lives such as building trust, giving feedback and navigating conflict. Connect shows why relationship-building is crucial to becoming a more effective manager and leader and living a fulfilled life, from highlighting the importance of curiosity and empathy to demonstrating how to break logjams and negotiate boundaries. Filled with research-backed insights, useful concepts and thought-provoking exercises, Connect is an important resource for anyone hoping to build and sustain relationships, providing tools to make relationships robust, even exceptional.

Buy the book here.

Watch Carole’s recent interview with Lenny Rachitsky here.

FILM

The Blue Angels

I am looking forward to this! I think there are so many lessons to be learned from elite athletes and based on what these pilots do, I consider them elite athletes!

The Blue Angels is a documentary that chronicles a year with the Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron distributed by Amazon Studios.

The Blue Angels (equivalent to our Red Arrows) have been enthralling people, across the globe for more than 75 years. Now, Amazon MGM Studios and IMAX bring a brand new documentary – The Blue Angels – that will take audiences soaring with the Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron as never before. Filmed for IMAX, the immersive footage puts you in the cockpit for a firsthand view of the Blue Angels’ precision flying, while the aerial shots deliver a spectacular showcase of the breathtaking maneuvers that have made them the world’s premier jet team.

The Blue Angels also takes audiences behind the scenes for a revealing, in-depth look at what it takes to become a Blue Angel—from the careful selection process to the challenging training regimen, and on through the demanding eight-month show season.

The film is a tribute to the extraordinary teamwork, passion and pride of the hundreds of outstanding men and women of the Navy and Marine Corps who have had the honor to serve in the Blue Angels squadron... past, present and future. The film will be released in IMAX cinemas from 17th May with the documentary premiering on May 23rd on Amazon Prime Video.

Watch the trailer here.

Thank you for reading?the?newsletter?and?for listening to?the?podcast , and?if you enjoy them, please do share with your network - my goal is to have these stories reach as many as possible so that others can be inspired too. And if you have two minutes, please do leave a review for the podcast - it would mean the world to me and helps others to find it too.

Danielle