50: Not knowing the answer is the key to success with Rainesford Stauffer

Rainesford Stauffer is a 23-year-old writer who has been
published by Forbes, USA TODAY, and The Hill, among others. After
a diverse high school education, she dropped out of college her
freshman year and spent two years shaping her own education
through internships, writing, and communications. She's given two
TEDx Talks and serves on the Advisory Board of (south by south
west EDU) SXSWedu. For her day job, she works in communications,
and is the editor of Gap Year Stories, a platform that publishes
student perspectives on shaping your own learning experiences.


 Rainesford and I have a lot in common with our mindset
around education and entrepreneurship...she also owns a hot yoga
studio, which is one of the businesses I own as well. In
this episode we talk a lot about uncertainty, not knowing the
answer, anxiety, and how messy and unclear times are actually the
key to finding your way, learning, and ultimately success. 


There are so many quotable snippets in this episode, Rainesford
is the real deal - a go-getter, a self-teacher and an
entrepreneur. She's the epitome of a Successful Dropout. 


"Usually when you are shaping your own path, it's a combination
of belief in something that matters to you, incredible amounts of
effort, and just the right amount of risk."


"Sometimes the greatest opportunities, moments and endeavors in
your life are really messy. They aren't cookie-cutter, they
aren't picture perfect and to me I think that's the magic of it."