The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Project Gutenberg’

Having mentors is an excellent way to accelerate your career, but in their absence, invisible mentors are great substitutes. However, you have to know exactly what you are trying to get from mentors, you have to know what you are trying to achieve in life, and then you have to practice reflective self-mentoring to get to where you need to be. Here is a short video I found on YouTube that talks about reflective self-mentoring.

Saundra McGuire on Self-Mentoring

Cannot view this video, click here. Uploaded by DowChemicalCompany on Mar 10, 2011

 I have mentioned several of the following resources before, but this time, think about how they can help you to achieve what you would like to in life. Approach them as self-mentoring resources.

Open Culture: If you have to take a course to get up to speed on a topic, start here to see if you can find what you need. Over 400 courses from top universities are offered for free. If you find a course that’s right for you, pace yourself while learning, whether it is once a week you allocate time to learn, three times a week, or whatever. Learn at a realistic pace that allows you to complete the entire course.

The Great Courses: You can find a variety of courses on DVD to buy that are led by professors who are knowledgeable about the subject matter. The courses often go on sale, so if you find a course that is just what you are looking for, if it’s not on sale wait, and keep on checking the website because it will likely go on sale.

How Stuff Work: Here is another great place to start when you have to master any topic of interest.

Project Gutenberg: If you are looking for an education in the literary classics, download a copy of the book here, which you can use with Open Culture or The Great Courses.

Research Tools: YouTube, Scribd, SlideShare, TED, and Questia are research tools that you might not have considered.

Mentor Yourself With Blogs

There are many great blogs out there where the bloggers take great pains when writing their blog posts. If you want to learn about How to Write Headlines That Work or SEO Copywriting, Copyblogger is the resource for you. If you’re looking for tips about blogging then Problogger is your destination. If you are looking to find the top blogs, Alltop and Technorati are great places to start. To learn about content marketing Web Ink Now is a good source.

With the internet, the world is truly your oyster so use it effectively to self-mentor. In addition, remember to use The Invisible Mentor as another great resource. If you are intentional about reaping the benefits of mentors, even in the absence of having traditional mentors, you can succeed by practicing reflective self-mentoring. Below are six videos that will help to direct your self-mentoring journey.

How to be the Star of Your Life Videos

Best Self, Pt. 1: Take the Lead

Cannot view this video, click here. Published on Apr 7, 2012 by beautyvlogcast

Best Self, Pt. 2: Own it!

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Best Self, Pt. 3: Leave the Comfort Zone

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Best Self, Pt. 4: Persistence

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Best Self, Pt. 5: Passion

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Best Self, Pt. 6: Find Yourself

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Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

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This is a new feature on The Invisible Mentor blog. Today, we have to go deep and wide in our knowledge to remain relevant, deep in our area of expertise, and wide by knowing a little bit about many things. Adventures in Learning are meant for both you and me to pick up some pearls of wisdom from people who are masters in their fields – we want to have great conversation starters at events, but we also want ideas that we can transport from one field to another. We start off with Gene Waddell who is an architectural historian and College Archivist at the College of Charleston.

Avil Beckford: What is Architecture? 

Gene Waddell: Architecture is how buildings are designed and constructed.

Avil Beckford: What are three things we need to know about architecture? 

Gene Waddell:

1. The best spaces are versatile and well lighted.
2. The best designed buildings have interiors and exteriors that relate well to one another, a clear pattern of circulation, generously proportioned spaces, good ventilation, and meticulous details.
3. The best constructed buildings are the most permanent and require the least maintenance. 

Avil Beckford: How has architecture shaped civilization? 

Gene Waddell: Good buildings inspire people to greater achievements. They make life easier and more enjoyable.  They protect possessions including books and help to preserve knowledge. 

Avil Beckford: What trends in the architectural field are shaping the future? 

Gene Waddell: More lessons need to be learned from the most durable and versatile buildings of all time and applied to future buildings.  Unreinforced concrete with a brick facing has proven to be the best way to achieve the most permanent buildings. Buildings and bridges made with reinforced concrete or steel frames are already needing to be replaced.

Buildings that are expensive to maintain, to renovate, and to air condition are not economical no matter how little they cost to build.  Buildings with no ventilation are unhealthy.  Buildings designed for too specific a function soon become obsolete.

Questions

• What ideas can we take from what Waddell has told us to use in our areas of expertise?
• If we look at the three qualities of the best buildings, could we apply it to the best products? Are the best products versatile, easy to use, and work well with others?
• We just learned about the characteristics of the most durable and versatile buildings, what makes the systems we use for work more versatile and durable?

Waddell created a list of books that inspire learning for Against the Grain. I am actually reading books from the list right now. You can get many of the books for free from Project Gutenberg, and if you do not have a Kindle, there are multiple formats for you to download. Also, Amazon has Kindle apps that you can download, I have the Kindle App for the PC.

Using Rare Books to Inspire Learning —Part 1: Anthropology – Diaries

Using Rare Books to Inspire Learning — Part 2: Drama – Travel 

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

If you love to read books, challenging economics times should not be a reason for you not to enjoy your pastime. Listed below are websites where you can download free ebooks, from the classics to more contemporary works. Take some time to explore these websites because I am sure that you will find many books to please your literary palate.

Project Gutenberg

Scribd

Read Print

Wowio

Questia

YouPublish

Anova

Great Books and Classics

Get Free Ebooks

Ebook Mall

As a bonus, in the related posts and articles by Zemanta sections are additional places for you to find free ebooks. Feed your mind and let me know what you think. If you know of other places to find free books or other resources to expand your mind please let me know.

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Five Best Places to Read and Download English Classic Books

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Photo Credits: Avil Beckford