How to Rekindle the Magic

I can’t believe fall is upon us and school is getting back in gear. I’m just back from my own college experience–the College of Extraordinary Experiences in Poland. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

The College of Extraordinary Experiences is a gathering of experience designers that takes place in a castle in Poland. It is of course, about more than just the location, but there’s a reason people jump to talk about the grandeur of the locale so quickly: because it’s a brilliant bit of worldbuilding that invites people to see the gathering as concerned with magic rather than, say, networking. Even though many of my fellow participants worked at places like Apple, Google, Meow Wolf, or the World Wildlife Foundation we didn’t lead with our job titles when we introduced ourselves.

The week was expertly crafted as a balance of classes, “white space” for co-creation where participants could offer their own programming, treasure hunts, and incredibly captivating performances every night. I got to design my own funeral with our dear friend Tiu de Haan and had the incredible pleasure of leading a micro-version of our Narrative and Meaning Making class. The first afternoon, I found a mysterious box with a map marked with an X and instructions to meet at 9:47 pm. Under the stars later that evening with a small group of others who’d found the same invitation, a masked violinist emerged from the woods and beckoned us with a lantern around the perimeter of the property, until we came upon a cellist, and eventually an entire band had gathered giving us a concert under the stars.

All that is to say, we were all equally given room to be students, experts, artists, and playful participants–something most conferences don’t do. Again, this is about worldbuilding, which often dictates the roles we are asked to play, who we get to be. I met a lot of people at the College who were deeply burned out and were trying to reconnect to the spark that ignited their inititial interest in experience design. What a gift it was to not default to merely one role, one form of engagement.

I wonder if this is a little of what we’re seeking in the workplace today. Conversation about work/life balance often centers on having better boundaries with our time, but I wonder if it’s more about work making room for our many selves to show up, particularly when you do work that you love. I know that is certainly a pillar of my collaboration with Abe, and how we keep this thing going. Who do you get to be at work? What do you wish you could be more of in that space?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.