Jen Louden on the Shadows & Joys to Teach Now
A TRACKING WONDER Conversation with Jen Louden
& How We Can Step Up & Teach Now
(+ smashing hard-boiled eggs, feeling like fried leather, getting out of fish bowls, why we have no time for sacred fetuses, & lots of laughter)
Our Tracking Wonder Conversations connect you with creative people who both captivate our hearts and minds and who elevate us to do meaningful work.
This conversation is about stepping into your full potential and bringing your best self forward when you do one of the most fundamental things we human beings do, teach. And I hold the conversation with one of the brightest lights in both the Internet world and in the face-and-flesh world, Jen Louden.
Jen is co-founder of TeachNow, a 10-week engaging online course designed to transform you as a teacher as well as a pioneering author in the self-help movement.
In this Tracking Wonder Conversation, Jen and I talk about the fears, challenges, and pay-offs of standing up for what you believe to be true and teaching it from a genuine space.
We also talk about impatience. In our culture of speed, we sometimes think that if we snag a bit of someone else’s deeply ingested medicine, then that qualifies us to go out and teach that medicine to others. This is tricky business, and we don’t shy away from the topic.
This conversation includes insights on
- how our fears can motivate us
- how to get out of your “fishbowl” to be a better teacher
- subversive questions to ask as a teacher
- allowing time for “the sacred fetus” without getting stuck there
- finding your honest place as a teacher
- what are the happiest and unhappiest jobs polled in the U.S.
- why TeachNow is unique among programs for coaches, consultants, teachers, & anyone ready to teach
Bonuses:
- How Jen deals with stress and hard-boiled eggs
- Whether or not “fried leather” is an eloquent image (my vote is “yes”)
- How I got over my fear of Michael’s Crafts stores
Technical notes: Below is the mp3 of the conversation. We recorded it as video, but the video got wonky and stretched our faces like martians. Because Jen wasn’t wearing headphones, her sweet voice sounds more faint than my booming, chuckling one, and apparently my sensitive mic picks up my every sniff and breath. So, adjust your volume accordingly, and forgive my chuckles (Jen makes funny faces!).
Download a .pdf of the transcription here: JenLouden.TrackingWonderConversation.3_23_13.
A TRACKING WONDER Conversation with Jen Louden
& How We Can Step Up & Teach Now
0:00:00 Intro to Jen Louden’s Fried Leather Brightness
03:19: Getting Called Into Teaching & Suffering
08:00: What is TeachNow?
13:16: How Can We Get of Our Fish Bowl to Be a Great Teacher?
20:20: Subversive Questions to Ask as a Teacher
22:01: Self-Care for Teachers
24:12: On the Amateur to Maestro Continuum
27:41: Gestating in the Sacred Fetus & Our Impatient Culture
30:51: The Happiest & Unhappiest Jobs
32:21: Finding Your Honest Place as a Teacher
Registration for Teach Now opens on April 2.
Full disclosure: I am an affiliate for Teach Now. That means that I stand behind Jen and this program. It also means that if you register, please use this link because Tracking Wonder will receive a bonus that helps us keep connecting you with great people like Jen.
DROP BY:
What do you think are the most important questions to ask about teaching and becoming an exceptionally useful teacher? We’d love to hear your responses to the conversation.
Grateful to run with you,
Jeffrey
