Categories: Articles

Live Wisely In The Digital Age

**It’s Friday. Time to step away from the keyboard.**
Not me. You. In my life, my escape, my getaway, my vacation is the keyboard and the words (my notebooks too). Thinking about words. Reading words. Writing words. No stress. No anxiety. It’s my own, personal, breath of fresh air. I feel my lungs expand, when I read something about life that I did’t know. I feel my lungs contract, when I’m able to put some words to my thoughts, and share them with you. Two places that have been inspiring me for quite some time have been the writing of [Alain de Botton](http://alaindebotton.com/ “Alain de Botton”) (I believe that [Julien Smith](http://inoveryourhead.net/ “Julien Smith”) from [Breather](http://breather.com “Breather”) turned me on to him, when he dropped off [The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Work](http://alaindebotton.com/work/ “The Pleasure And Sorrows of Work”) for me to read one day, many years ago). It’s one of those magical books that I often go back to, just to rifle through some pages (apologies, Julien, if you wanted that one back ;). And, [The School of Life](http://www.theschooloflife.com/ “The School of Life”).
**Pushing beyond the words.**
In 2008, de Botton along with a few partners open up The School of Life. A real school. One free of politics and religion, where individuals can learn some of the most important skill-sets that they do not teach us in school (sadly). Classes and workshops revolve around themes like improving your relationships, finding more satisfaction in your working life and even a course on how to spend time alone. It’s fascinating stuff. The kind of stuff that might have been considered fluffy or new age-y not all that long ago. In today’s age, it feels like the most important things that we can teach our children… and ourselves. Did you know about The School of Life? Have you been following Alain de Botton’s work?
**Three simple things to watch…**
1. **[Digital Sabbath](http://youtu.be/-LWZkL5Xsno “Digital Sababath”)**. If you’re going to unplug to do these things, I’m all for a Digital Sabbath. If you’re going to make a real attempt, don’t unplug at all, but simply turn of all of your notifications, and set strict rules for how you manage your technology, instead of the other way around.
2. **[Alain de Botton on How to Live Wisely in the Digital Age](http://youtu.be/zMH5NOdM5sg)**. A wonderful forty-five minute presentation on how to truly live in a connected world, where – for most of us – our jobs now transcend everything about who we are and how we connect to people… always.
3. **[Calm](http://youtu.be/JK-dmKLFGnw)**. Perspective is everything. I’m just as anxious as the next person, while being fully aware that the act of being calm, finding calm and searching out calm needs to play a major role in all of our daily lives.
**Now, how do you feel?**

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.