Month: March 2019

Capitalism and other libertarian principles are difficult ideas to market to others outside the liberty movement, but what can libertarians do to present their ideas in a better way?

Recently, I was in a webinar hosted by Dan Sanchez of FEE, the Foundation for Economic Education and he went over some do’s and don’ts of communicating capitalism to everyone, including socialists.

Here were some of the ideas Dan discussed.

Don’t act condescending and don’t be like Dwight Scrute or like Ben Shapiro talking over people. There’s no doubt that Ben Shapiro is well versed in logic, reason, and debate but even he is prone to committing errors like the smokescreen fallacy.

Don’t be like Ben and bombard your opponent with lots of verbiage and considerations thrown in, and not giving them a chance to sift through.

One of the libertarian stereotypes, which has turned into an inside joke, is the neckbeard. He acts condescending and is socially unaware of how others feel and think, and is quick to dismiss any points they make.

Have some emotional IQ and don’t immediately judge the other person’s character based on their economic and government views.

Do appeal to shared values and other common ground opinions. Presume the other person has good intentions, just a different way of solving problems.

Another interesting point made was being able to pass the ideological Turing test. The Turing test engages computers with humans and the machine has to emulate human responses. If it’s responses are indistinguishable from a human then it passes the test.

Similarly, if you engage in a debate, be able to know your opponent’s argument better than they do.

I had another exciting opportunity and this time it’s with Classical Conversations. I have a lot to thank my Praxis advisor and career coach, Johnny Roccia for finding these opportunities for me.

I interviewed with the COO of Classical Conversations, Keith Denton. It was also an informal interview and Keith described what I will be doing in my job, which is a systems-based role integrating HubSpot and then teach everyone how to use it.

I’ll also report to IT since this is a systems-based role but I’ll also be working closely with the marketing team. Keith explained why they want to switch to HubSpot because Insightly is user unfriendly and difficult for their directors to use. I would be expected to document my learning process and turn it into a training manual.

Keith and I had an hour-long conversation and I asked him about how CC’s program works. I also tried to create value for CC by offering them free books and resources from FEE and Mises.

Never miss an opportunity to create value for an employer.

Keith said I asked a lot of questions that he couldn’t write all of them down, so I take that as a good sign. He also set up a second interview with the head of their IT department, Chris Sanford. This surprised me since I never had a business do two consecutive interviews in one day!

Second interview was more specific, making sure I understood that this is more than just a marketing role but it’ll involve some coding and website building too. Pretty cool stuff.

I’ll be talking with the rest of the team next Friday.

Feel free to check out the resources Classical Conversations offers to homeschooling parents here.

Actually I landed two interviews this week, one today and tomorrow.

Today’s interview was with Keagan Henson, the CEO of BriteBee and tomorrow’s will be with Keith Denton, the COO of Classical Conversations.

The BriteBee interview was interesting in an unconventional way. Right off the bat, Keagan made it clear about his views on the interview process, “I hate formal interviews.”

I was actually relieved when he said that because it’s a good sign when the CEO of a startup walks the talk. What do I mean by this?

A lot of startups like to say they’re pioneers and make themselves to be an industry changing force. A break from rigid, traditional corporations. But some still hold on to outdated methods, like the formal interviews that Keagan mentioned. He explained how formal interviews don’t bring out the best in candidates and that it often causes people to put up an overly polished face.

Instead, Keagan approached our interview with a getting-to-know-you mindset.

He asked me a few questions pertaining to where I’m at in terms of career, what I’m doing currently, and where I see myself in five years.

BriteBee is looking for someone who has copywriting ability and has graphic design skills. Keagan also said don’t expect this to turn into an opportunity yet because his team is still deciding if they need new hires. They want to be sure they’ll grow after hiring someone instead of letting them go because the company plateaued or experienced a downturn.

However, I was told to put BriteBee on the table as an option. If it goes anywhere I’ll let you know.

Podcasts are a great way to learn on-the-go and it’s perfect for busy people. If you haven’t listened to one yet I highly recommend it to supplement self-led education.

Podcasts are basically radio shows except they’re more entertaining and you can listen to it whenever you want.

I also recommend them for people with ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities.

It’s a fantastic option for those who are learning English, like my dad.

I like to listen to them on long road trips and these are the ones I’ve subscribed to.

• The Tom Woods Show by Tom Woods
• Office Hours by TK Coleman and Isaac Morehouse
• Forward Tilt by Isaac Morehouse
• Kwik Brain by Jim Kwik
• Wellness Mama by Katie Wells
• Patterson in Pursuit by Steve Patterson

I’ve reached another milestone, I was on the radio for the first time! This was an amazing opportunity and I have David Gornoski to thank for bringing me onto his show, A Neighbor’s Choice Radio on 93.1 FM.

How did I get this opportunity?

A month ago I made a speech at a Mises Institute event, hosted on the campus of the University of Central Florida. I discussed my personal experiences with the broken college system and explored education alternatives. David Gornoski was also a speaker and he liked my speech enough to invite me on his show.

And not to brag but that was also my first time publicly speaking in front of 100 plus people.

During my radio appearance, I went into further detail about higher education alternatives and what high school graduates can do instead of college.

Speaking on the radio was also a learning experience for me. I was more pressed for time and I had to speak in shorter sound bites with punchy, impactful thoughts. It’s a little more difficult to elaborate on a specific drawn out thought but it encouraged me to explain my ideas in a more succinct manner.

I’d love to be on the radio again and it’s a genuinely fun time especially with the people calling in to voice their opinions and questions.