Categories: Articles

Life Lessons From a Rock Star… And Finding Your Magic.

I could hardly believe my eyes.

“What? What? What?” This was my reaction as I came across the video below on my YouTube feed. In one corner of my life, I am obsessed with the work, thinking and writing of Alain de Botton. His books, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, The Architecture of Happiness, Status Anxiety and every other one he has written are core to lot of how my thinking has evolved (and this includes both the topics that I choose to study, write and speak about). It’s deep. It’s not light reading. It is profound. There are not many contemporary people that I would label as a true “philosopher.” de Botton – for my money – is the first name that comes to mind as a true modern philosopher and thinker (Douglas Rushkoff is up there too). de Botton also launched a pretty amazing organization called, The School of Life. Books, online training and live events. Most of the live events happen where de Botton lives (in England). In the other corner of my life, I am obsessed with music and the creativity behind it (have you checked out my music podcast? Groove – The No Treble Podcast). One of the most amazing artists that always creates music that moves me is Peter Gabriel. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying his music since the seventies, and have had the honor of meeting him on multiple occasions.

The two worlds collide… and everyone wins.

In March 2016 Peter visited The School of Life to speak about the lessons he’s learned from his life as a musician and someone who gets deeply involved in important social causes. I love everything about The School of Life. This is how they describe this modern institution: “The School of Life is devoted to developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture, addressing issues such as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships, how to understand one’s past, how to achieve calm and how better to understand, and where necessary change, the world.”

Watch a video of the evening here: The School of Life – Alain de Botton and Peter Gabriel.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.