Lifestyle

Build Your Life to Be Flexible

Published

4 years ago

February 28, 2022

COVID-19 changed everything. It transformed the way we live and work, and it revolutionized the way millions of Americans approach their careers.

Dylan Ogline, founder of digital marketing agency Ogline Digital and entrepreneurship training program Agency 2.0, is no stranger to self-employment. He also found that during the pandemic, entrepreneurs experienced more stability than their nine-to-five counterparts.

“Everybody’s got to start now,” he says in reference to starting their own business. “People are going to be working at home, traveling the world.”

Dylan stayed put during the pandemic, and it’s been more than two years since he’s left the country. Yet he stands by his take on the unprecedented potential of digital entrepreneurship. And lately, others have taken note. His business more than doubled during the pandemic, all in the name of helping others pursue their passion and take back control.

Because the idea of going to the office and working for a single company throughout a person’s career? That concept is dead. And with mass layoffs and business closures at the peak of COVID-19, people are becoming more aware of not only the power, but the necessity of flexibility.

Here’s the thing: Dylan believes a progressive take on the changing corporate landscape is critical. Many of his own clients were forced to grow their digital presence after needless stalling—because after months or even years of putting that off, the pandemic didn’t leave them with much choice.

So these clients adapted, and their businesses thrived. Other companies died.

Talk about survival of the fittest.

But Dylan views this as a lesson. “One thing that never changes… is that the world will continue to change,” he says.

The millennial is committed to his agency clients, just as he is devoted to the students who enroll in his training program, and he wants them to build the confidence and skills they need to go out on their own, embrace change, and prosper.

Why’s that? Well, strategies that are working today might not be effective five years from now, and people need to be prepared. Artificial intelligence, for instance, will have a colossal impact on billions of lives. So Dylan has made it a focal point to teach his students to adapt to the evolution of business.

It’s all about a shift in mindset. According to Dylan, the education system teaches people to be good employees—but not to be good business owners. It teaches people to do the same thing for 30 years, and they’ll inherently climb the corporate ladder. They’ll move up naturally.

But will they? That ladder doesn’t exist anymore. And by waiting to go out on their own, people risk standing on shaky ground. Often, Dylan’s students will explain they’ve done countless Facebook ads for their employer, yet they couldn’t even fathom starting their own business.

He asks them, “Why not?”

If there’s anything the digital marketing star has learned in the last 17 months, overcoming that uncertainty—and embracing the unknown—can go a long way.

Dylan likens the shift we experienced during the coronavirus pandemic to the Great Recession. Others have too. A lot of people were laid off, and their lives were greatly impacted—but again, they were stuck in their way. With that, his advice to people in general is to become more comfortable with change.

“Build your life to be flexible,” he urges his students and everyone else.

Dylan has done exactly that. And while he was in a fortunate position with his flourishing business during COVID-19, it wasn’t all a matter of luck. He also built his life to be flexible.

For those who are curious about this approach, the entrepreneur recommends a book called Who Moved My Cheese?, written around the 2008 financial crisis, and published in 2008, author Spencer Johnson, M.D., uses cheese as a metaphor for anything a person wants in life: a good job, good health, a meaningful possession or relationship, or even money.

The idea is that we’re all stuck in a maze of sorts, searching for what we desire. And in the book, the characters must deal with the changes they face. Each individual must face change head-on, and then write about what they’ve learned on the maze walls.

The moral of the story is this: By learning from others, we can discover how to navigate change for ourselves. This is precisely what Dylan tells his students and clients, and it means a lot to him to be able to guide others to their own version of success.

“People might say, ‘This is how the world is. This is what I do. This is how I make money,’” Dylan explains. “These people need to become more comfortable with change, because world-shaping events are going to become more common.”

Climate change is upon us, and workers are increasingly displaced. Experts are exploring the possibility of future pandemics, and these things are going to have a massive impact.

The more flexible you are, the better off you’ll be.

And Dylan’s students have the results to show just how impactful this advice can be. Take one woman from the Dakotas, who was kind, talented, and terrified of sales. She enrolled in Dylan’s program, launched her own agency, and realized how capable she really was. This same woman is now happily self-employed, a dream come true for her.

Another student was dealing with the stress of a spouse’s layoff. They used part of the final paycheck to invest in his program, and landed their first client close to Christmas. This gave them the means to buy their kids Christmas presents, even during tough times.

This is what it means to be self-employed nowadays. While people aren’t taught in school to think like business owners, entrepreneurship is well within reach. All it takes is exploring what you don’t know, and adopting a more flexible mindset once you take the leap.

Lifestyle

The Future of Education Through Patricia Vlad’s Eyes

Published

3 days ago

December 12, 2025

Michelle Langton

The traditional systems that once defined learning, rigid curricula, standardized testing, and a narrow focus on academic performance, are increasingly being questioned. And why is that?

Starting in the 1880s, thinkers like John Dewey advocated for a shift in teaching methods, leading to the rise of progressive education. Unlike traditional models that emphasize rote learning and job preparation, progressive education puts students at the center of the learning experience. Changemakers like Patricia Vlad also believe that hands-on, experiential learning is the key to deeper understanding. This approach prioritizes critical thinking, curiosity, and personal passions, encouraging students to become lifelong learners who actively engage with new ideas and problem-solving. Schools and parents that embrace this model focus not just on what students need to know but on how they can continue to grow and adapt throughout their lives.

As the world changes, so do the skills, knowledge, and adaptability students need to succeed. The future of education is about personalization, inclusivity, emotional intelligence, and meaningful learning experiences.

With years of global teaching experience, Patricia has seen firsthand how different education systems approach learning. She believes that the future of education must embrace neuroscience, technology, and self-awareness to create a system that is not just efficient but also empowering for students.

“Education should be about more than just passing tests. It should equip students with the skills to navigate life, understand their strengths, and feel empowered in their learning journey,” Patricia emphasizes.

The Future Belongs to the Emotionally Intelligent

Unlike technical skills that may become obsolete with automation, EI – our ability to understand and manage emotions, build relationships, and navigate challenges, remains uniquely human. It plays a crucial role in self-awareness, resilience, effective communication, helping individuals excel in both personal and professional life.

When it comes to EQ, think of it like this: Kids with strong emotional intelligence are better at handling stress, resolving conflicts, and overcoming challenges. Studies suggest that EQ is a stronger predictor of long-term success than IQ. And let’s be real, no matter how advanced AI gets, it will never replace the depth and impact of human connection.

How LevelUp Cultivates Emotional Intelligence Through Patricia’s Coaching

1. Learning Will Be Personalized and Strength-Based

Instead of forcing students to fit into a system, education will be tailored to each child’s learning style, strengths, and interests. Neuroscience-backed methods – such as learning based on attention spans, emotional regulation, and brain development research – will be used to create adaptive learning environments, allowing students to progress at their own pace.

Through tools like LevelUp, which incorporates the Big Five Personality Model, teachers and parents will have a better understanding of a child’s cognitive profile, enabling them to offer more personalized support.

2. Emotional Intelligence Will Be a Core Part of Learning

The future classroom won’t just cover maths, science, history, or even language – it will also focus on self-awareness, empathy, and social skills. As research shows language doesn’t just communicate thought; it actively shapes it. The intentional use of language can influence how the brain processes emotion, memory, and social connection – making it a powerful tool for developing emotional intelligence.

LevelUp integrates EI into its framework, ensuring students not only understand themselves better but also build confidence, manage stress, and develop strong interpersonal skills.

3. Education Will Be More Interdisciplinary

The future of learning will move away from isolated subjects and toward interdisciplinary education, where concepts from different fields are connected and applied to real-world problems.

For example, students might blend neuroscience with psychology to understand learning processes or combine technology and art to develop creative solutions.

4. Technology Will Support, Not Supplant Human Connection

In the classroom of the future, meaningful engagement between students and teachers will remain at the heart of learning. Peer collaboration, hands-on projects, and real-time feedback from teachers will continue to be irreplaceable elements of education.

Technology will play a supporting role enhancing, rather than dominating, the learning process.

Whether through gamified modules, virtual simulation, or adaptive platforms, tools like LevelUp will be used intentionally to deepen understanding and personalize feedback, always in service of human connection, not as a substitute for it.

5. Schools, Parents, and Students Will Work Together

Education won’t be confined to the classroom. Parents will play a bigger role in guiding their children’s learning, using tools like LevelUp to track progress, support emotional development, and encourage curiosity at home.

By strengthening the parent-child-teacher connection, education will become a team effort, ensuring every student receives the support they need to reach their full potential.

A Future Built on Empowerment

By combining neuroscience, technology, and emotional intelligence, Patricia is helping to reshape education into something that prepares students not just for exams, but for life itself.

A truly effective education system values each student’s creativity and passions—not just their ability to recall information. Instead of just delivering information and expecting rote memorization for test scores, teachers encourage active, hands-on learning through projects, experiments, and peer collaboration. This approach allows students to explore topics that genuinely interest them, making learning more engaging, meaningful, and personal.

The LevelUp platform, developed under Patricia’s leadership, is contributing to a growing shift toward education that is rooted in self-awareness and real-world readiness. Additionally, emotional intelligence is a core part of learning, not an afterthought.

One story that sticks with Patricia is that of a student named Ethan, who had always been labelled “distracted” in class. His teachers described him as bright but inconsistent, often zoning out or fidgeting during lessons. When his LevelUp profile revealed high reactivity and strong openness, a new picture emerged: Ethan wasn’t disengaged—he was overwhelmed by too much information at once and thrived when topics were explored through hands-on, creative activities.

With this insight, his teacher began breaking tasks into smaller steps and introducing art and building projects tied to the curriculum. For the first time, Ethan started raising his hand during class and even stayed back after school to show his work. “We’d been trying to ‘fix’ him when all we needed was to understand him,” his teacher later shared.

It was a small shift, but for Ethan, it changed everything.