Navyug Mohnot on LinkedIn: It was staring at us in plain sight, and we missed it. For the first time… (2024)

Announcing and introducing the first set of Stanford-trained Life Design Educators, sponsored by the Foundation.And a Call for Applications for the next Batch.I am glad to announce that the Life Design Foundation has facilitated and funded four highly accomplished individuals who attended the Stanford Life Design Studio and are now Life Design Educators. With this, we will now be able to teach DYL at many more colleges than I have managed to do over the last few years and, thus, scale the impact of one aspect of our mission.If you would like to be sponsored to get trained and become a Life Design Educator, you may apply by filling out this form:https://lnkd.in/gmZ5zSGRMeet the Trained Educators:@S Guruprasad:Guruprasad is a Faculty member at the National Institute of Design (NID) in Strategic Design Management.After becoming an educator, Prof Guru has already taught Life Design at NID…and reports that it was incredibly well received.Nandana Chakraborty:An alumnus of the National Institute of Design, is a Visiting Faculty and a Jury member across top design institutes in India, including NID, Indian Institute of Art & Design, and Symbiosis.Dr Avijit ChakravartiAvijit pursued a PhD in Social Entrepreneurship and has taught at premier institutions like IIM Ahmedabad, Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Banaras Hindu University, Ambedkar University and TERI University.Srishti Bajaj:Srishti is an Alumnus of the National Institute of Fashion Technology and the Royal College of Art. She is the former Dean of the design school at GD Goenka University and the former Head of Department at Pearl Academy. She is currently the Director at the Alliance School of Design & Creative Arts.Join the tribe. Apply if you would like to become a Life Design Educator.Kathy Davies Bill Burnett Susan Burnett Dave Evans#designingyourlife #lifedesign

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I am delighted to announce the formation of the Life Design Foundation: Your Life, Your Design, Our Mission.The “Life Design Foundation”empowers students at schools and universities, educators, educational institutions, and social impact organizations with the tools and knowledge to apply, teach, research, and explore Life Design principles at scale. Through its initiatives and partnerships, the Foundation will engage various stakeholders so they might embark on the transformative journey to greater well-being—for themselves or their constituents.Going forward, the Foundation will sponsor Life Design Educators, establish fellowships for researching well-being theory, support the creation of Life Design Labs at Universities and High Schools, work with Social impact, and engage with Policymakers and NGOs to disseminate effective curricula, coaching and tools.We eagerly anticipate your support and participation. Your involvement is not only welcomed but crucial. If you're interested in joining us, please feel free to reach out.We are grateful to Kathy Davies at the Stanford University Life Design Lab, Bill Burnett and @Dave Evans, the authors, and Susan Burnett at DYL Consulting for all their amazing support in my journey of bringing Designing Your Life to this part of the world.

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When the conversation is with co-hosts Abhinav (a consummate “way-finder” and life designer) and Megha (a PhD in biopsychology who is now a post-doc scholar in computational neuroscience in USA), it had to be engaging.Thanks, Abhinav and Megha, for hosting me. I enjoyed the interaction…and kudos to you two for the "I See India" podcast.Abhinav Banerjee Megha Ghosh

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Statutory Warning: "Follow Your Passion" is a lie.This is something we talk about, animatedly discussand debate, in the Designing Your Life programmes and the Life Design Lab course. Sharing from another thread, and more, here's why one believes follow your passion is dangerous advice!Because, you don't find your passionand then follow it; you "build it" slowly by putting great effort into something that lights you up and makes you feel strongly about it until you get some level of mastery. Passion is an "output" and not an "input." (general excitement and interest in something are inputsa starting points.)Because, if you start pursuing your passion(actualky, that exciting thing) it will sustain ONLY if you continue to do well in it in some relative terms. It then develops into being a passion worth following. Because, Passion fades soon if "what one loves doesn't match what one is good at". And if one isn't good at it, making it a profession is risky—only to be disappointed later.Wishing you a flourishing life. Post Script: What are the Archetypesof Passion?(Quoting Steve Rose (SR)):"Passion means sacrificial suffering as well as strong sexual desire. Referring to both sex and death, passion encompasses the cycle of life in one word.The Latin origin of passion is “pati,” meaning “suffer,” and the word gained popularity in Christian theology referring to the sacrificial suffering of martyrs.Although passion can still refer to pain and suffering – as seen inThe Passion of the Christ– today, the word mainly conjures up strong connotations of pleasure and desire.Both passionate martyrs and passionate lovers share the ability to lose themselves in an act. One suffers the cost of great pain, while the other derives pleasure. The martyr and the lover are the archetypes of passion and we need them both when developing a passion.Losing oneself in one’s work is not an eternal bliss. The pain and pleasure of passion are intertwined, rewarding those on the journey who persevere."

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The three images that stayed (with me) from the World Cup win - are about one’s flag, one’s family and one’s vocation.One often draws on, for much of one’s identity and fulfilment, from these. Blessed are the ones who get from all three.

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Ifeven one person in a cohort has a shift, it's all worth it. I am so glad, Megha, to witness your journey since the programme. More power to you. Keep designing your way forward.

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The program “Designing Your Life ( DYL) for Adults” is focused on designing a great, well-designed life and, inside it, a great career.The program “Designing Your Future (DYF) for High Schoolers,” based on the DYL framework ( from Stanford University) is focused on designing the “discovery” process so that students can better understand what a great life for them might look and feel like and what the first few next steps might be.And it’s not just the "discovery of"but also a "process for" ( this discovery) that we delve into. By learning this, the young can “meander” towards discovering and building a great life and an witness an emergent great career/ vocation/ avocation.The multiple pilots of DYF just concluded in India. The lovely pictures and the flattering feedback scores and comments are in! The last few weeks have been truly gratifying.The young souls who attended were open, creative, audacious, dreamy, and inspiring. The frisson of excitement around their possible futures was palpable.They were also vulnerable and ready to express their fulsome appreciation, which made our days and months of prep well worth it. Someone painted me a painting, another a poster, one presented me a book of her poems, and one touched my feet (yikes!)…. some applied to work as interns, and some have volunteered for the Mission DYL in India. One was seen swaying on her chair ( the program content was music to her, she said! omg.). Others expressed in words and smiles. Thank you all.The focus of my endeavours is to design a Mission that might touch the lives of many. In so doing, I have the opportunity to continue designing my life towards more fulfilment and flourishing. And many thanks to the many, many who are enabling this.Thank you:Mahika Shishodia Anushree Gandhi Anupama Ambika Anilkumar Rishi JalanPrashansa Chavan Sancheeta Kaushal Nandana Chakraborty Rheea RazdanSwagata Das @alok Kathy Davies

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It's wonderful whenDesigning Your Life cohort members like you, Abhinav, volunteer their time and extend their expertise and passion by participating in sessions wherever and whenever they happen. Your continued involvement is crucial and I am hopeful that it will further propel our mission's scaling.Also, thank you ...the others who came all the way to Ashoka University, to Sonepat, two hours away, in the 45 C heat: Amit Chawla, Devanshu Gour, Dr Avijit Chakravarti, Nupur Khhosla, Arcchit Goel.A special shoutout to the other DYLers who volunteered their time and expertise to help build this curriculum, re-purposing the DYL framework for high schoolers. It deserves a whole post dedicated to it. Thank you for your incredible contributions.

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I am looking forward to tomorrow. One casts one’s vote and feels the satisfaction of making a one in a billion (almost) fractional impact on the future of the country. Then, I rush to Ashoka University for the prestigious Lodha Genius Programme Fellowship programme…to work with, empower, inspire, and equip 100 gifted STEM students towards “designing their futures”.For students selected from all over the country for a one-month Fellowship, taught by Nobel laureates and luminaries in the science and math area, we are conducting the “Designing Your Future” programme ( for high schoolers) based on the Designing Your Life framework.If your child/niece/nephew is missed and isn’t in the Fellowship, they can attend the Designing Your Future programme for High Schoolers in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai brought to you in association with the @BigRedGrp. RishiJalan.On national election day, it is wonderful to kick off the first day of the first-ever Design Your Future programme. To get the future generation of leaders and changemakers to go through the Discover, Design, Dream, and Do curriculum….for a better future—for themselves and the Nation. Message for more details.Delhi - 8th - 12th JuneMumbai - 22nd - 26th July

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