Have you ever played one of those video games where, after you’ve done suitable glorious deeds and collected many trophies, you are rewarded with going “up a level” in your game?
OK, you probably have.
I haven’t.
The last time that I played a video game, the user interaction was something like “Take sword,” or “Open door.”
But hey, I’m very tangentially aware that there ARE such things as video games, and that many people like them.
So … this notion of “going up a level” was what I received as Guidance in meditation yesterday, and this is where we’re kicking off today.
Up-Levels in Real Life
Many of you reading this – and checking in with me on the Themesis, Inc. YouTube channel, and liking our posts on LinkedIn – are already involved in a very serious and substantive life-up-level process.
Sometimes there’s a very tangible recognition of these up-levels as specific milestones. For example, you’re in a really grueling Master’s degree program in data science / artificial intelligence – and you FINALLY graduate.
Yay! Done! Selfies posted to wherever you post them! Updating your LinkedIn profile. All of that.
Other kinds of obvious milestone-markers include:
- Getting the new job,
- Moving to a new place – sometimes a new city,
- Getting married, having a baby (not necessarily together, and not necessarily in that order),
- Publishing your paper – or even getting your Portfolio assembled and well-organized,
- Etc.
Sometimes our “up-levels” are not so clearly marked. They’re the result of massive amounts of small accumulated shifts. We’re often so busy with the day-to-day that even though we KNOW we’re in a different place that we were in … say a year ago … there’s no single sharp, defining moment.
Whether obvious or subtle, there’s one key thing that marks our transition – and it is NOT the obvious markers, such as the new job or new house or new baby.
It’s that we have access to a new realm of super-powers.
Super-Powers in Real Life
Correct me if I’m wrong (that’s why we have Comments!) – but, in a video game, if you go up a level, you get new powers, right?
And if you were a young potential super-hero in the Marvel Comics world, you’d potentially be born with your super-powers, but you’d need to study for years in order to master them. (Cueing Professor Xavier.)
The important thing is … in the REAL world of super-powers, there isn’t just one level of mastery.
There are multiple levels of super-powered-ness.
At each specific super-power-level, we need a specific kind of teacher.
Luke Skywalker studied first with Obi Wan Kenobi.
Then, after defeating the Death Star, he goes on to study with Yoda.
At times, we need teacher with specific capabilities.
We need master teachers.
I wrote about this as far back as 2013.
Sun Tzu – Still a “Master Teacher”
The only book that is “required reading” for my Capstone students is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
A lot of us a pressing the “reset button” in our lives.
I’ve written about Sun Tzu’s strategies before.
I do recommend The Art of War as a first read for this new year.
What’s Coming Up for 2023
We have a LOT OF THINGS under development for 2023:
- New short course: The Top Ten Terms (That You Need to Know): Statistical Mechanics for Artificial Intelligence short course – it is well underway. We expect it to launch within a few weeks. Look for lots of teasers and extracts to come out over these next few weeks – YouTubes, YouTube Shorts, blogposts, LinkedIn posts – lots of pre-course treats!
- The Future of AI – a new combined YouTube/blogpost series – AI is on the cusp of major change, and the next major generation of AI/neural networks methods will be hugely different from what we have; we’re holding off on releasing the first vid in this series until we’re closer to the Top Ten Terms launch.
- Career strategies – students in all of my courses, and many of you who are reading this – are more focused on career prospects and career strategies than every before. The wisdom and guidance that WE (at Themesis) are guided to offer is: concentrate on your Portfolio. That’s the first step. We’ll talk more – but get this part central and focused right now.
We wrote about this earlier. Still true, so check this out!
You’ll be hearing more from us, soon.
To your health, success, and a fabulous year in 2023!
Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.
Founder and Chief Scientist
Themesis, Inc.
The Nene Goose: Connecting Sea and Land
According to an article in Hawai’i Magazine, “Nene are mentioned in the Kumulipo (the Hawaiian creation chant) as being guardian spirits of the land. In Hawaiian culture, they are seen as a symbolic joining force between the mountains and the coast because of their seasonal movements.”