“Personal Growth and Learning Doesn’t Stop When You Leave School”
You’re invited to join a community of like-minded individuals dedicated to helping you gain the skills to live your most wonderful life - in an increasingly fast-paced society
The ‘Learn Skills with James’ community is a place for driven, curious adults seeking to live a more beautiful life. One filled with joy, meaning and the confidence to thrive in a world that’s changing faster than at any point in history.
I believe that any adult, of any age, regardless of background, is able to learn and develop any skill or area of their life.
The reason many adults feel ‘stuck’ in life is because they fail to realise the immense ability inside all of us to learn just about anything. Because contrary to common thought you really can ‘teach an old dog new tricks’!
All that’s missing is knowledge and know-how. Sadly, formal schooling may have taught us how to solve equations, memorise facts and pass tests, but it failed miserably in teaching us about how to thrive in the real world.
The ability to learn wonderfully well is within all of us. How is it that an infant can pick up an entire language, or the ability to walk from zero with no formal education whatsoever?
It’s because a child is not yet infected with limiting beliefs. Instead it comes into this world armed with healthy self-confidence, curiosity and the determination to do it!
If you can muster up the latter traits within you, then do not let schooling fool you into thinking you’re not capable of incredible things.
You. Absolutely. Are.
What are you realistically capable of?
A lot.
Society and history is overflowing with stories of ‘regular’ people, from unassuming backgrounds (including third world poverty) who’ve done magnificent things.
Some of the greatest writers, artists, philosophers, businessmen, scientists, entertainers, educators, doctors, healers, mystics, activists, community leaders - you name it - have stories where they felt they were going nowhere in adulthood, only to become who they were.
Not everyone cares for such heights of course (I don’t), but let this be a reminder (even wake-up call) to what’s possible once you finally realise what every human is capable of.
Who am I and why listen to me?
I wish I could say I’m something special, but I’m not.
I’m not world famous. I’m not an artist or any kind. I’ve authored no books. I’m not retired. Hell, I wasn’t even that good of a student growing up.
But I am a lot happier, healthier and more financially secure than I once was. I also manage my emotions and mental state better, feel more creative, feel more ‘worldy’ and I genuinely feel confident in tackling new challenges, including ones I know nothing about.
I assure you this was not always the case.
10 years ago, I was a secondary school teacher who hated his job and life. I was terrible at my job, my health was awful (I’ve had type 1 diabetes since 16) and I was financially irresponsible. My outlook on life was negative and my mental health was so bleak that I was on antidepressants at one point for over a year.
I now realise that the core reason for all of this is I didn’t believe I couldn’t change things.
I felt my childhood diabetes diagnosis meant I was destined to a life of poor health. That not getting better grades and qualifications meant I was limited on what I could do for work. I believed a better financial position was something outside my control unless I won the lottery or inherited something. And I had zero clue there exists methods and understanding for transforming your mental state.
But here’s the kicker: Even if I knew it was possible to learn such things, I didn’t believe I could do it… because I wasn’t one of the smart kids at school!
It seems ridiculous to me now, but I fell into the trap of believing the most foolish thing - that my past school grades somehow dictated what I was capable of for the rest of my life!
If I had to sum up my ‘mission in life’ it’s simply to break this poisonous belief - and to remind as many people as I can that they’re capable of more.
And while I don’t claim to be an expert in anything, I’d like to share everything I’ve learned (and continue to learn) so you too can better your life in a big way too.
What you get when you join the community:
Community membership gets you access to 5 sites (which may grow in number in the future).
The goal of these sites is to help you gain knowledge (as opposed to non-practical theory) which you can apply in your life. This will be delivered in multiple ways including member-only videos, emails, zoom calls, interviews.
You can get more info about a particular site by visiting it and reading the page there.
Below is a brief summary of each community. Click through to any site of interest to get more information - which includes free sample videos, so you can get a taste of the content inside:
1: Adult Learning Machine
Most people feel confident in one or a few areas of life. But outside of these, they feel clueless. They feel reliant on ‘experts’ and the thought that they, a regular joe or jane, could possibly learn such a skill to a point of excellence is not even in the picture.
This is, pure and simply, a limiting belief rooted in no truth whatsoever.
Adult Learning Machine is a site dedicated to the learning on how to learn anything.
Don’t get me wrong, learning a chosen skill or area requires specific knowledge exclusive to itself. However, the top-level of learning anything remains the same. The mindsets, approaches and gaining of experience are static and will always be.
If you have any doubts about this idea I suggest you look into books such as ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin or ‘The Art of Mastery’ by Peter Ralston. These books focus solely on the general learning of any skill, without singling any one. Both authors are living examples of men who gained deep mastery in multiple, unrelated areas and serve as a living example of this.
The ‘Adult Learning Machine’ delves deeply into the skill of learning anything you want and aims to go deeper into this subject than any resource so far. It covers topics from mindsets and how to start with a new subject to finding excellent resources, gaining experience and plenty more.
The intended end result is you go into the world unfazed by the changing times. After all, you’ll feel a sense of ‘bring it on’ when confronted with the need to learn something new.
2: Mental Health Meditations
Movie studios and Disney have sold us the lie of ‘happily ever after’. Facebook and social media has only made things worse as people selectively share their best moments, while hiding the warts.
Add to this an ever-increasing difficult climate where people feel more disconnected, isolated and lonelier than any point in time.
As a result, it’s never been so difficult to maintain good mental health and a grounded positive outlook on life.
Life will always throw up challenges which test you emotionally, mentally and spiritually. And while you may be able to eliminate or reduce some, it’s impossible to avoid them all.
The good news is there are methods, techniques, reflections and insights which can completely transform the way you relate to them. When done right, a period of pain can be turned into an experience which brings strength, beauty and wisdom to your life.
It is a disgrace that our mental world is given no time during our school days. And as a result, many people have little idea of the level of depth and complexity within us, along with our ability to impact it in a wonderful, life-changing way.
To be clear, Mental Health Meditations is not just a set of meditation techniques such as sitting in a lotus position while consciously breathing. We also delve into a wide-range of discussions, akin to how the word ‘Meditations’ is used in the title of the Marcus Aurelius book.
The end goal is you see your inner world in a brand new light, with the confidence you can find learning, strength and beauty no matter what life throws at you.
3: Copy My Crypto
It’s hard to live a life of purpose when you don’t feel comfortable with your finances. While it’s easy to say “Go build a business” that’s not realistic, or even desirable, for most people.
However, we can all take active steps to manage and grow the money we do earn in a productive way.
This helps us gain a feeling of control which mentally frees us up to focus on the areas of life which resonate on a deeper level. Whether it’s pursuing personal dreams, or making a difference to our communities, a greater sense of stability and understanding only aids.
One of the simplest ways to do this is by investing. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach but the fastest growing area is cryptocurrency, particularly as we move into an increasingly digital world.
Copy My Crypto is a community where you get to see how and what I invest in. And by doing so, learn the thinking behind each decision - both right and wrong.
A quick disclaimer - If you’re here because you wish to switch off your brain and copy mindlessly along, with the hope you’ll become wealthy with no effort, then you’re in the wrong place.
I hold no financial qualifications, have completed no formal investment training, offer no financial advice and openly admit that many of my picks have lost me money, and will do so again.
However, if you’re intelligent enough to know there are no shortcuts in success - and realise the immense value in seeing the ‘behind the scenes’ of a mentor with over 10 years of investment experience - whose willing to share his entire personal investment journey - in both success and failure - then I welcome you to an education like no other.
Simply put, this is a model of learning for those tired of plain theory and inflated hype.
You’ll get to see how I weigh up every investing decision before I act. Witness my logic, along with the emotions that arise as my picks rise or fall in price. And understand my thinking and uncertainties on when to sell.
Albert Einstein once famously quoted “Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.” Well, you now stand before a community that embodies precisely that.
4: Healthy, Happy and Over 30
Almost everyone feels some sort of drop in health and vitality once they pass 30. Tiredness increases, new aches and pain appear, and the need to manage energy grows with time.
A general acceptance that health is less in your control enters, along with a frustration and dependency on doctors increases.
Often we try to take some action to improve our health, and therefore our wellbeing. But with so much conflicting advice it becomes confusing what to (and not to) do. Add to this a lack of time and the situation feels even more out of our control.
Now of course, father time works its unwanted magic on us all eventually, but there is always a way we can take back control and feel better (even fantastic) no matter any budget or lack of time.
Healthy, Happy and Over 30 is not a community for those who wish to get ripped abs or run ultra marathons. It’s an honest community where we collectively wade through the noise to help you find a lifestyle which works for you and your situation.
We don’t claim to know it all, this isn’t medical advice, nor do we force a one-size-fits-all evangelical way of thought. Instead we explore and discuss various options (both mainstream and alternative) relating to diet, exercise and lifestyle, and present the pros and cons in a simple, fluff free way so you can make a well-balanced and thought out decision.
If you’ve ever sought an honest health and fitness community which offers multiple viewpoints simplified in a light, jargon-free way then ‘Healthy, Happy and Over 30’ is for you.
5: Books That Open Your Mind
Our modern day society has become a digital one. Spare time is spent more and more in front of a screen. On the sofa in front of Netflix, Youtube on the laptop, not to mention notification after notification on the phone which lives in your pocket.
We’ve also seen a shocking drop in attention spans. A situation made worse with the rise of Tiktoks, Instagram reels and Youtube shorts.
The counter-argument of those stuck in the digital age is you can still learn so much from documentaries and Youtube videos - so what’s the loss?
These people have never fallen in love with a book. Because once you do you can never go back.
I’m certainly not saying video entertainment doesn’t have its merits. But oh my what a shame it would be to not know what magic lies within the pages of the vast range of books across history.
Books That Open Your Mind is a community for those who feel the call of the worldly within. Who wish to be taken away either by a glorious classic or transformed by a philosophical treatise of the mind and heart.
I apologise if that sounds somewhat ‘romantic’ or even ‘frilly’, but this is the glory that certain books have brought in me and many, many others.
After all, say you achieve everything you want… What remains after? Surely a part of the answer is to be touched by something of beauty. And good luck finding any serious reader who doesn’t feel that way from the right book.
In ‘Books That Open Your Mind’ we explore a range of books which are said to be wonderful in some way. We share recommendations, read books together and join to discuss them honestly. If it’s brilliant, we’ll sing its praises and explain why. If it’s terrible, let’s cut it down like it deserves.
This is a community for the adventurer inside. Get ready as we read, discuss, critique, review, explore, learn and grow from the finest books across multiple topics since the start of time.