My first class on my first day at Penn Law School in 1989 was Contracts taught by Professor Elizabeth Warren. Yes, THE Elizabeth Warren who questioned Tim Geithner yesterday during his quarterly appearance before the Congressional Oversight Panel, which she chairs.
We all had to be ready with Peevyhouse v. Garland Coal and Mining Co. – a case about whether parties have to adhere to the contract no matter the cost or only be responsible for the result of what happens if part of the contract is not performed. The court in Peevyhouse chose the latter.
A very confident student decided that he would take on Professor Warren and argue why the court got it right. Poor poor boy. Professor Warren is beyond sharp and faster on her feet than anyone I have ever seen. She didn’t destroy his logic as much as she made him see just how many ways there were to look at the issue. His answer wasn’t right or wrong, it was just one way to see the world.
I was hooked. I went on to take every class Professor Warren taught during my time at Penn. All these years later, I still look back at my notes from her classes not so much for what was taught, but for how Professor Warren taught me to think about the issue at hand. A few Professor Warrenisms: there is no right answer, just the one that is most appropriate given the circumstances. You have to be able to see all points of view before you can know which works best for you. I never lose the irony that these lessons came to me from a law professor.
As you plan your course for 2010, talk to your mentor(s). Mentors can be teachers, colleagues, clients, counselors, celebrities or spouses/partners. Mentors inspire the best versions of you, your art and your creative business. They are who you trust to tell you when you are off and who refuse to let you quit when you are not but think you are. No matter the plan you come up with, there is always room for constructive criticism. Turning a deaf ear to those who will never get it is a requirement, but to those that do is just foolish. Going down the right road the wrong way is so much better than going down the wrong road the right way. Your mentor(s) will know the difference.
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Ah, isn’t it amazing how certain people in our life have such a huge influence on how we think? One of the reasons I originally went into neuropsychology (how far is that from an event designer!) was because of the AMAZING professor I had. He was infamously difficult, but absolutely brilliant. You had to fight to get into his class, and fight to stay in it! What I learned later was that he not only taught me the subject matter at hand, but he taught me HOW to think, how to be objective, how to look at everything in every possible way, how to look at the whole and see the details, and how to take all the details and put it together into a whole. And that skill is priceless, and transferable into any subject matter. And yes, it has made me a much better designer than I would have been otherwise, and I swear I use those skills daily! Nowadays, I have several mentors, you among them, that DO teach me about the subject matter I am working on currently, and that too, makes me a better designer, and better business woman. Thank you.
I love this “There is no right answer, just the one that is most appropriate given the circumstances.” Also great: “Going down the right road the wrong way is so much better than going down the wrong road the right way”!!
Thanks Sean for all your posts and especially the last two. You are a mentor to many, myself included and I look forward to continued learning.
The experience of learning how to think in new ways was the richest part of law school for me. Years as a mediator taught me how to speak in new ways. I couldn’t succeed at making life easier for people in conflict if I hadn’t learned both.
My contracts prof was quite a gal, too. Kate Judge was one of the first women to attend law school in Massachusetts. Boy, she was tough, and I’m the better for it!
Thanks, Sean!
Thanks for this, Sean! This is such a great post for people just starting out, when it’s still scary to verbalize your ideas and visions for fear of criticism. Having mentors has has enabled us to really take periodic steps back and re-evaluate.
AND, this made me email my mentor and friend Roberta Bickford, who was one of my art history professors in college. My profession couldn’t be further from academia, but I still go to her for guidance on a regular basis.
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