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100 core courses

Ten areas of learning for the decisions, skills and work behind a successful life.

UNIT 01

Decide What Success Means to You

Separate your own ambitions from others’ expectations, choose a goal worth pursuing now, and explain why it matters.

  1. What Does Success Mean to You?Read lesson →
  2. Whose Ambition Are You Following?Read lesson →
  3. How to Recognize Your StrengthsRead lesson →
  4. Can an Interest Become a Career?Read lesson →
  5. What Are You Unwilling to Give Up?Read lesson →
  6. What Can You Learn from Someone Else’s Success?Read lesson →
  7. What Does Each Choice Cost?Read lesson →
  8. Choosing What to Pursue FirstRead lesson →
  9. Turning a Wish into a Clear GoalRead lesson →
  10. Choose a Direction Worth PursuingRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A personal goal statement: what you want, why it matters, and what you are prepared to commit.

UNIT 02

Understand the World and Find Opportunities

Find opportunities in changing industries and real needs, check your sources, and recognize conditions outside your control.

  1. Do Unmet Needs Always Create Opportunities?Read lesson →
  2. How to Understand an IndustryRead lesson →
  3. What Makes Work Valuable?Read lesson →
  4. How Technology Changes Individual OpportunityRead lesson →
  5. How Rules and Institutions Shape Your ChoicesRead lesson →
  6. Why Equal Effort Can Lead to Different ResultsRead lesson →
  7. How to Judge Whether Information Is ReliableRead lesson →
  8. Passing Hype or a Real Opportunity?Read lesson →
  9. Go and Find Out What People NeedRead lesson →
  10. Find an Opportunity You Can ExploreRead lesson →

Put it into practice: An opportunity brief: who faces a problem, what solutions exist, and where you could contribute.

UNIT 03

Learn Effectively and Think for Yourself

Use questions, verification, practice, and review to learn something new, and explain both the basis and limits of a judgment.

  1. Why Understanding Is Not Yet MasteryRead lesson →
  2. How to Ask a Better QuestionRead lesson →
  3. How to Get More from a BookRead lesson →
  4. Research Without Getting Lost in InformationRead lesson →
  5. Distinguishing Facts, Opinions, and InferencesRead lesson →
  6. How Numbers Can MisleadRead lesson →
  7. What to Do When You Might Be WrongRead lesson →
  8. How to Practice for Lasting LearningRead lesson →
  9. Using AI to Support Learning and ThinkingRead lesson →
  10. Learn to Do Something NewRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A learning record with a question, sources, practice work, and mistakes you have corrected.

UNIT 04

Communicate Clearly and Work with Others

Adapt your message to your audience, understand disagreements, make specific requests, and agree on how to work together.

  1. How to Explain Something ClearlyRead lesson →
  2. How to Listen for MeaningRead lesson →
  3. Write an Email People Can Respond ToRead lesson →
  4. Speaking So an Audience Can FollowRead lesson →
  5. How to Ask an Experienced Person for AdviceRead lesson →
  6. Making Requests While Respecting Others’ ChoicesRead lesson →
  7. Negotiating Interests on Both SidesRead lesson →
  8. Keeping a Disagreement ProductiveRead lesson →
  9. Building Trust That LastsRead lesson →
  10. Agreeing on Roles and ResponsibilitiesRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A communication practice record: what you said, how the other person responded, and what you would change.

UNIT 05

Build a Career That Fits You

Compare career options, identify the skills a role needs, demonstrate your value through work and experience, and plan your next move.

  1. How to Choose Work That Fits YouRead lesson →
  2. What Is an Employer Really Looking For?Read lesson →
  3. Showing Your Ability Without a Prestigious RésuméRead lesson →
  4. Writing a Convincing RésuméRead lesson →
  5. Demonstrating Your Strengths in an InterviewRead lesson →
  6. Finding Your Feet in a New RoleRead lesson →
  7. Growing Beyond Your Current ResponsibilitiesRead lesson →
  8. Discussing Pay and Working ConditionsRead lesson →
  9. When to Stay and When to Change CareersRead lesson →
  10. Prepare for Your Next Career MoveRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A career action plan with a résumé or a work sample that demonstrates your abilities.

UNIT 06

Create Value and Build a Business

Define whom you serve, investigate their needs, test a product or service, estimate costs, and decide whether to invest further.

  1. Why Would Someone Pay for What You Do?Read lesson →
  2. Before You Start, Find Out Who Needs Your OfferRead lesson →
  3. Testing an Idea Before Making a Big CommitmentRead lesson →
  4. Making a Product More UsefulRead lesson →
  5. What to Work Out Before Setting a PriceRead lesson →
  6. How to Find Your First CustomersRead lesson →
  7. Explaining the Value of Your OfferRead lesson →
  8. Earning Repeat BusinessRead lesson →
  9. What Needs to Change as a Business Grows?Read lesson →
  10. Is This Business Worth Continuing?Read lesson →

Put it into practice: A small-business trial record: customer needs, your offer, costs, proposed pricing, and user feedback.

UNIT 07

Manage Money and Build Financial Resilience

Understand income, spending, debts, and assets, compare common risks and costs, and allocate money toward personal goals.

  1. Where Does Your Money Go?Read lesson →
  2. Budgeting for What MattersRead lesson →
  3. Preparing for an Unpredictable IncomeRead lesson →
  4. What to Consider Before BorrowingRead lesson →
  5. How Compounding, Inflation, and Time Affect MoneyRead lesson →
  6. Saving, Investing, and SpeculatingRead lesson →
  7. Questions to Ask When Returns Look TemptingRead lesson →
  8. Understanding Diversification and Investment CostsRead lesson →
  9. What Insurance and Long-Term Provision Are ForRead lesson →
  10. Make Money Serve the Life You WantRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A personal financial overview and annual plan covering regular spending, emergencies, and longer-term goals.

UNIT 08

Take Action and Follow Through

Break a goal into specific steps, make realistic use of time, develop useful habits, and adapt as you learn.

  1. Why Is It Hard to Start What Matters?Read lesson →
  2. Choosing a First Step You Can TakeRead lesson →
  3. Making a Plan You Can FollowRead lesson →
  4. Setting Priorities When Time Is LimitedRead lesson →
  5. Finding Focus amid InterruptionsRead lesson →
  6. Making Useful Habits Easier to KeepRead lesson →
  7. When to Say NoRead lesson →
  8. Asking for Help Instead of Doing Everything AloneRead lesson →
  9. How to Tell Whether You Are Making ProgressRead lesson →
  10. Finish Something That MattersRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A completed real-world task with a short account of the plan, the work, and the result.

UNIT 09

Face Setbacks and Begin Again

Separate a setback from a judgment of your worth, identify what can change, decide whether to persist, adapt, or stop, and seek suitable support.

  1. A Setback Does Not Define Your WorthRead lesson →
  2. Understanding RejectionRead lesson →
  3. Working Through a Stressful PeriodRead lesson →
  4. When Comparison Takes OverRead lesson →
  5. Taking Criticism Seriously without Accepting It BlindlyRead lesson →
  6. Finding Useful Lessons in FailureRead lesson →
  7. Should You Continue after Investing So Much?Read lesson →
  8. Adapting When Circumstances ChangeRead lesson →
  9. Where to Turn When You Are StrugglingRead lesson →
  10. Begin Again with What You Have LearnedRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A setback review: what happened, what you can change, and what you intend to do next.

UNIT 10

Build a Good Life and a Lasting Contribution

Consider ambitions alongside health, family, and responsibilities, plan for continuing learning, and choose how you want to contribute.

  1. What Kind of Life Do You Want beyond Work?Read lesson →
  2. Caring for Yourself While Pursuing AmbitionRead lesson →
  3. Making Work and Family Decisions TogetherRead lesson →
  4. Nurturing Friendships That MatterRead lesson →
  5. Keeping Perspective as Your Ambitions GrowRead lesson →
  6. Using Power and Resources ResponsiblyRead lesson →
  7. Sharing What You Have LearnedRead lesson →
  8. Making a Useful Contribution to SocietyRead lesson →
  9. Continuing to Grow through Life’s TransitionsRead lesson →
  10. Review Your Journey and Choose What Comes NextRead lesson →

Put it into practice: A plan for the coming year covering work, relationships, self-care, learning, and contribution.

Choose a route for your goal

Find a Direction Worth Pursuing

Examine your ambitions, strengths, and circumstances, then investigate a direction you could pursue.

  1. 001 · What Does Success Mean to You?
  2. 002 · Whose Ambition Are You Following?
  3. 003 · How to Recognize Your Strengths
  4. 005 · What Are You Unwilling to Give Up?
  5. 007 · What Does Each Choice Cost?
  6. 008 · Choosing What to Pursue First
  7. 009 · Turning a Wish into a Clear Goal
  8. 019 · Go and Find Out What People Need
  9. 020 · Find an Opportunity You Can Explore
  10. 010 · Choose a Direction Worth Pursuing

Find Work or Take Your Next Career Step

Understand role requirements, prepare evidence of your skills, practice interviewing, and choose your next career move.

  1. 041 · How to Choose Work That Fits You
  2. 042 · What Is an Employer Really Looking For?
  3. 043 · Showing Your Ability Without a Prestigious Résumé
  4. 044 · Writing a Convincing Résumé
  5. 045 · Demonstrating Your Strengths in an Interview
  6. 035 · How to Ask an Experienced Person for Advice
  7. 048 · Discussing Pay and Working Conditions
  8. 049 · When to Stay and When to Change Careers
  9. 050 · Prepare for Your Next Career Move

Turn Your Skills into a Small Business

Identify customers you can serve, run a small trial, and work out costs, pricing, and how to reach buyers.

  1. 051 · Why Would Someone Pay for What You Do?
  2. 052 · Before You Start, Find Out Who Needs Your Offer
  3. 053 · Testing an Idea Before Making a Big Commitment
  4. 054 · Making a Product More Useful
  5. 055 · What to Work Out Before Setting a Price
  6. 056 · How to Find Your First Customers
  7. 057 · Explaining the Value of Your Offer
  8. 058 · Earning Repeat Business
  9. 060 · Is This Business Worth Continuing?

Follow Through on a Goal That Matters

Understand why you delay or stop, choose manageable steps, and adapt when obstacles arise.

  1. 009 · Turning a Wish into a Clear Goal
  2. 071 · Why Is It Hard to Start What Matters?
  3. 072 · Choosing a First Step You Can Take
  4. 073 · Making a Plan You Can Follow
  5. 074 · Setting Priorities When Time Is Limited
  6. 076 · Making Useful Habits Easier to Keep
  7. 079 · How to Tell Whether You Are Making Progress
  8. 086 · Finding Useful Lessons in Failure
  9. 088 · Adapting When Circumstances Change
  10. 080 · Finish Something That Matters

Build Greater Financial and Personal Stability

Understand your finances, prepare for disruptions and longer-term goals, and consider work, family, and self-care together.

  1. 061 · Where Does Your Money Go?
  2. 062 · Budgeting for What Matters
  3. 063 · Preparing for an Unpredictable Income
  4. 064 · What to Consider Before Borrowing
  5. 065 · How Compounding, Inflation, and Time Affect Money
  6. 067 · Questions to Ask When Returns Look Tempting
  7. 070 · Make Money Serve the Life You Want
  8. 091 · What Kind of Life Do You Want beyond Work?
  9. 093 · Making Work and Family Decisions Together
  10. 100 · Review Your Journey and Choose What Comes Next