Introducing 'Modern Life Skills'

a newsletter by Damian Matheson; Director, Special Projects at myBlueprint

Author

Damian Matheson
September 25, 2024

Welcome to Modern Life Skills, your essential resource for equipping young people with the life skills they need to confidently take on the world today, and tomorrow.

The Problem (AKA Why You're Here)

Schools are playing the wrong game. They're optimizing for test scores when they should be optimizing for life scores.

The result? We're churning out a generation that can:

  • Recite Shakespeare ✅

  • Calculate compound interest 🚫

  • Explain photosynthesis ✅

  • Negotiate a salary 🚫

  • Tell you who won the war of 1812 ✅

  • Build meaningful relationships 🚫

The Solution: [Modern Life Skills]

Your weekly shot of "why didn't anyone tell me this earlier?" wisdom.

Who's this for?

  • Parents who want their kids to have cheat codes for life

  • Educators who are looking for the resources to make these conversations easier

What You Get

Every week, I'll send you:

  1. The mindset/mental model of the week for you and your kids to reflect on

  2. Non-obvious career advice for young people

  3. A peek into the future of work, industry, and/or technology - and how that affects the next generation

No fluff. No BS. Just high-leverage ideas you can share with the young people in your life. 


🏈 Think of this newsletter like a football game. 

You’re the veteran quarterback. The teams leader.

Your kids are your position players. You’re guiding them on which route to take, and what they should keep an eye out for.

I’m the mic’d up coach on the sidelines who has the scouting report on what the defense might try to do next. 

We make a great team, but let’s be honest … Brady > Belichick all day.

⭐️ You’re the star here.


Why Listen to Me?

I've spent a decade now working with educators to help prepare young people for life after high school. I’ve seen what works, and a lot of what doesn’t.

Educators intrinsically want their students to succeed, but they’re often not given the tools, time, or resources to effectively focus on future readiness. This newsletter won’t be a silver bullet, but it will help.

Most recently, I spent the last 3 years at TKS (The Knowledge Society) coaching a few hundred of the most driven, ambitious teenagers in the world to leverage emerging technologies, mindsets, and modern life skills to create asymmetric, unfair advantages for their futures. 

I’ve seen what works. It’s not rocket science. It’s just a different conversation.

Because we’re living in a different time.

And doing the same thing we’ve been doing, clearly ain’t cutting it.

You Ready?

Hit that subscribe button faster than a teenager double-taps on Instagram.