Mike Meiners

Growing up, I had clear ideas about what I wanted to do, but the culture of learning I grew up in considered my passions and interests, at best cute, at worst, dangerous. I was encouraged to abandon my authentic passions and interests in favor of more "serious," practical and lucrative endeavors. I was told my ideas could wait until I had sent my kids off to college. 

At the end of a spotted college career, I had an idea that made my heart beat faster. I made the decision to abandon the curriculum and find out if my idea was any good. By pulling at the thread of my own curiosity and committing to finding the answers, something crazy happened. I began to see things I could never see before, I stuck with problems longer than I ever had and I and was introduced to abilities I was previously convinced I lacked. I went from being hopeless in math and hating it to joyfully deriving the equations needed to solve my problem because that was the only way to test my idea. In the end, I proved to myself what I had long felt: that the best way to learn is to ignore what other people think you should be working on and pursue the things that have deep meaning to you. 

When my kids reached school age, I watched the world begin to tell them the same old story and I decided I would tell them something different. Helping them find meaning in their work connected me with a problem I never want to stop solving. Eight years later, I lead Hackstudio, a space and community of support in Evanston, Illinois built around the idea that everyone can succeed by being who they are. In the past year, we've worked with over a hundred people ages 8 to 65 and learned an incredible amount about what works and what doesn't. 

This is blog is an opportunity to extend the reach of this passion and share what I've learned - and what I'm learning - with anyone who can benefit from it.