Connecting the Dots

Have you ever wondered what lesson you should be learning when you’re going through a challenging period? Wouldn’t it be nice if 20/20 hindsight worked the other way around? To be able to focus more closely on what needs to be learned prior to going through a setback? Do you sometimes feel that time is passing by at such a quick pace that you don’t know where to stop and look first?

In this fast-paced digital world that we live in, we’ve become accustomed to getting information quickly, and so we may not have a good grasp of what is required to become good let alone great at a skill. What does it take to move beyond mediocre and step into the deeper understanding of a topic? How does a learned skill ultimately become automatic, like when we drive a car or text a friend? In his bestselling book Outliers Malcolm Gladwell explores what it takes to become a master of a skill.

Gladwell clearly supports the adage “practice makes perfect.” But what about all of those bumps along the way? And what if you’re unsure of what exactly you want to work towards? In 2005 Steve Jobs delivered a commencement speech for Stanford University. In the following segment Jobs discusses how he decided to drop out of college because of the expense, and how during his “free time” he was able to explore topics that interested him outside of the required classes. Watch the clip below (about the first 5 minutes) and think about a period of uncertainty in your own life.

So what was Steve Jobs learning about during this period of reflection and exploration? Watch the following clip if you'd like to dig a little deeper into the fascinating history of typography.

So now you know a little bit about different kinds of fonts, but how do they play into your everyday world? This final clip looks at the font Helvetica, mentioned in the previous video, which is largely considered to be the most popular font in the world.

In this quest we have used something as simple as exploring the nuances of a font to shed light on how it takes time, setbacks, practice and reflection on acquired knowledge in order to become a master. Who knows what you will do with this new knowledge going forward and what dots will be connected because of your exposure to this quest and the topics covered. Whatever it is… enjoy the journey!

Special thanks to Allyson Kaczmarek for crafting this quest.

Now it's your turn. Pick one of the options below and write a paragraph using Word or another word processor. For your response, choose a font that best represents the tone or flavor of the words you have written in order to better describe your point. Include an explanation with your response, or at the bottom of the page, indicating the name of the font you used and the reason behind your choice. For example:

For my response I chose Arial Rounded MT Bold 12 point in blue for highlighted points, and titles contrasted with Calibri 12 point in black. I liked the crisp sharp edges of Calibri contrasting with the rounded “circular” feel of Arial that reflected the “dots in time” point that I was trying to make in my response.

Attach your saved document to complete this quest.

OPTION #1:

Reflect about what you just saw in the above clips and what they made you think about.

OPTION #2:

Connect dots from a moment in your life that initially felt very random but through the passage of time the reason “why” finally appeared.

OPTION #3:

Describe a point when you took a chance and tried to learn or explore something unfamiliar and how it changed your perspective on something.