Designers & Developers - It’s Time To Start Being Amazing!

(The subject of this Meetup will be a little different than we've had in the past, but we're sure you'll be inspired by Mike's talk!)

Speaker: Mike McGee is the co-founder of The Starter League (http://www.starterleague.com/), an in-person school in Chicago that teaches beginners how to build web applications and code. Before The Starter League, Mike’s greatest claim to fame was that his High School mascot was a pretzel. He went to Northwestern for four years where he spent two years being a student and two years in student government – miraculously becoming Student Body President his senior year. In Spring 2011, Mike decided to turn down Obama for America (his first real job offer) to co-found The Starter League (http://www.starterleague.com/). Recently Mike was named to Crain’s 40 Under 40 for 2013 (along with his co-founder, Neal Sales-Griffin). His latest “dent in the universe” project is Starter School, an immersive, full-time program that will take people from zero to entrepreneur in 9 months.

Presentation:

Recently, Nik Wallenda completed two death-defying stunts over the Chicago River. Thousands of people watched on the streets of Chicago and millions watched around the world. While spectators had many different opinions on the outcomes of his stunts, chances are there was one consistent thought running through everyone's minds – I could never do that. But as I watched Nik masterfully execute this record-breaking performance, I thought to myself, "Why couldn't I?"

Many of us marvel at brilliance in sports, music, art, innovation, etc., but we don't believe that we can achieve the same level of mastery.

During my presentation, I will show how a strict routine, relentless learning, and hard work helped these humans perform seemingly super-human feats. Whether you want to learn how to play guitar, run a marathon, or learn how to code, this presentation is for you.