Designing Your Life | Dave Evans | Talks at Google

Dave Evans is the designer of the Apple mouse, co-founder of Electronic Arts, co-developer of Stanford’s most popular class and, now, the co-author of the book based on it: DESIGNING YOUR LIFE: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life (Knopf).

What do you want to do with the rest of your life? Whether you’re fifteen or fifty, this is the question most of us agonize, worry, and speculate about, often leaving us stuck. Tried and tested over nearly a decade in Stanford’s Design program and the subject of two studies proving the efficacy of its approach, DESIGNING YOUR LIFE provides readers with a step-by-step process for figuring out “what they want, who they want to grow into, and how to create a life they love.” Dave Evans visits the Seattle office to talk about the practical applications of the design mindset, the common fallacies of self-improvement, and even some tricks to set yourself on a course to a more enjoyable life immediately.

[tartantilia]

Finally a speaker I don't have to put on 2x speed to listen too!

[tspmcfarlane]

Glad this popped up in my recommendations. Found it really insightful and useful - especially the ‘multiple future selfs’ outlook, which I will definitely utilise. I actually initially thought this was a recent talk (lack of masks should have been a giveaway) and I only realised towards the end that it was five years old. It suddenly hit me - in an existential, bittersweet but curious sort of way - that all of those eager listeners in the crowd are now at the end of the ‘next five years’ they were undoubtedly pondering that day. I wonder how they all got on. Either way, I hope they’re happy and content.

[LonelyHeartsChannel]

Dave is my current favourite speaker. And this is only the 2nd talk I heard from him on the 1st day I found him! Not a dull moment!

[mylescoe]

just seen comments....i didnt think he was speaking too fast..usually i speed up lectures to save time...get this man another cup of coffee lol

[Ryan-kfxu]

Good talk. It's always a nice reminder that it is possible to be pragmatic about lifestyle and the direction of our trajectory.

[GaryFerrao]

This is a great talk!~ Dave focusses on the point that designing life is a "wicked problem" because we don't know what the desired outcome actually is or even if we want it (for example, the famous misquote of Henry Ford:"if i asked people they would say that they want faster horses"); and the concept of thinking about what we would actually want if we could have multiple/parallel lifetimes.

[EyalMaoz]

First Google Talk I didn't need to speed up the playback :-) Interesting concepts and ideas, thanks for sharing this video.

[ridwanslife]

I thought Youtube did something crazy and speeded up the playback.. Damn, the speaker is fast!

[optimize.]

Solid content, good speed, just needs to slow down for key points, as fo not to miss any (e.g. the five steps of the process)
Overall, solid talk.

[TaggeMD]

Well obvi this talk is an instant favorite, one which I will indeed revisit many times because he is flowing and spits some serious fire!! Not sure what other playlist to add it too...maybe philosophy.

[dengadenga]

Finally, a low budget Goldblum movie.

[sourabhsingh]

Finally a speaker I have to not slow it down, but yes play it again coz it was so on-point!

[GaryFerrao]

I like his presentation speed. 1.25x for Dave is enough to simulate a 2.5x speed of other presenters.

[meMYSELFnU]

The good thing about Youtube is I could play this at a lower speed ;)

[fashionspy]

I thought i heard "welcome to TOXIC google" 🤣

[joekim]

Whoa...I'm at the 20 minute mark. If you slow the speed to .75, he turns out to be a pretty good lecturer!! I'm laughing inside because as stupid as that sounds, its actually true! hehehe!!!

[shreeabraham]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:44 💼 *Dave Evans' Background and Introduction to Life Design Lab*
- Introduction to Dave Evans' background in Silicon Valley, including his work at Apple and Electronic Arts.
- Overview of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University and its interactive, project-based learning approach.
02:10 💡 *Mission of the Life Design Lab*
- Applying design thinking principles to address the challenge of designing one's life.
- Emphasizing the importance of problem-based learning and interactive pedagogy.
03:47 🧠 *Dysfunctional Beliefs and Cultural Narratives*
- Discussion on dysfunctional beliefs surrounding career choices, majors, and passions.
- Highlighting the prevalence of societal pressures and misconceptions regarding life navigation.
09:05 🛠️ *Design Thinking and Its Application to Life*
- Explanation of design thinking as a process and mindset for addressing wicked problems.
- Overview of the five steps of design thinking: empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test.
12:48 🗺️ *Navigation vs. Wayfinding in Life Design*
- Differentiating between navigation and wayfinding in life, emphasizing iterative, step-by-step approaches.
- Importance of acceptance in solving life's problems and embracing the creative adventure of designing one's life.
16:47 🌱 *Design Thinking and Mindsets*
- Design thinking involves a mindset focused on curiosity and innovation.
- The five mindsets emphasized are curiosity, radical collaboration, reframing, mindfulness, and bias toward action.
17:44 🚀 *Implementing Design Thinking*
- Emphasizes the importance of radical collaboration and engaging with diverse perspectives.
- Encourages reframing problems and descriptions to find innovative solutions.
- Advocates for mindfulness, a process-oriented approach, and being biased toward action in problem-solving.
19:08 📊 *Mapping Energy Levels*
- Discusses the process of mapping energy levels based on daily activities.
- Encourages participants to list their primary activities and gauge whether each activity energizes or depletes them.
- Highlights the importance of identifying patterns in energy levels to make adjustments for a more fulfilling life.
21:12 🔄 *Reframing and Redefining Activities*
- Illustrates the process of reframing and redefining activities based on energy levels.
- Provides examples of identifying activities that energize or deplete individuals and making conscious adjustments.
- Emphasizes the significance of small changes in daily routines to improve overall satisfaction and fulfillment.
25:54 🧠 *Reflecting on Personal Insights*
- Encourages participants to reflect on insights gained from the activity and consider potential changes.
- Discusses the value of introspection and self-awareness in designing a fulfilling life.
- Highlights the role of conversation and feedback in gaining clarity and generating actionable ideas.
32:46 🌌 *Multiverse theory and life choices*
- Multiverse theory explained, where individuals can live multiple lives in parallel realities.
- Individuals must reserve slots in advance for each life they want to live.
- Reflecting on the concept of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and the abundance of choices in life.
35:05 📝 *Ideating future plans*
- Engaging in ideation by creating three different life plans for the next five years.
- Utilizing a one-page worksheet to outline timelines and explore professional and personal goals.
- Analyzing each life plan as a narrative and assessing its coherence, resources, confidence, and alignment with personal values.
40:17 🛠️ *Prototyping life plans*
- Transitioning from ideation to prototyping as a means of taking action and testing assumptions.
- Designing prototypes as quick, experiential mock-ups to gain insights and expose assumptions.
- Emphasizing the importance of conversations and experiences in prototyping life choices, facilitating learning and advancement.

Made with HARPA AI

[aerodylluk]

All of you guys saying play it at .75 speed are insane, he sounds like he's had a stroke at that speed.

[DB]

I learned at 48:24 that listening to a man trying to teach a semester worth of content in a double speed 48 minute 24 second mashup, is 48 minutes and 24 seconds worth of time not well spent.

[philtrem]

How does he get from 20-23% to 1/8, 1/7 at 5:52 ?