Bytedu

I just wanted to let you guys know what’s happening in my life.

I am currently working hard to build an internet business to keep me self sufficient. I am currently living with my parents, and I am looking to get out of their business as fast as I can. This means I’m working hard on other site, which have a much higher revenue potential.

However, it is all a means to free myself to work on creating educational software. My dream is to create something amazing and revolutionary in terms of educating people. The path ahead of me isn’t perfectly clear, but that’s absolutely fine as long as I am getting closer everyday.

For now, I will try my best to keep this blog updated. I need to figure out a system to balance out my work load on all project. I also want to start volunteering somewhere to help teach, so I can get first hand experiencing in teaching as well as helping my community.

Just wanted to give you an update, and I apologize for not writing a post in the last three days.

Carl Zetterlund

I was watching Euvin Naidoo talk about how we must change our perspective of Africa. Africa has been plagued with a negative image with all the talk of corruption, disease, genocide, and famine. However, this does not offer a clear representation of what Africa is. Africa is a vibrant and growing continent with many individually unique countries. Africa is a place of future growth and potential and deserves to be seen globally as an opportunity for investment. You can watch Euvin here give a thought provoking speech.

Very interesting for me… because I want to create an educational tool that will transform the world. I sometimes get too caught up thinking just in the United States. The challenges that are faced here are much different than the ones faced in other parts of the world. It’s also true that some of the challenges are very similar.

So what does this mean to me? It means I need to look outside of the box. I need to look at problems of the whole world. In my opinion, I think America does not have much hope. Education is simply not valued here like it is in other countries. In addition, growth and opportunities are in other countries.

Thus, I am going to change the focus of the blog to be much more personal. I feel like I’ve been reading too many blogs about American educators dealing with American problems. I need to look outward if I want to instill true revolutionary change.

I’m currently working very hard to build sustainable income to start venturing abroad. This income will be online based, as it gives me flexibility and ties into what I think is the future of education.

Thanks for reading. If anything strikes a nerve in ya, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Carl Zetterlund

carl AT bytedu.com

I woke up one day and decided this was my calling for life. Just like that huh? Yeah, just like that. It’s just one of those intuitive feelings I had. People told me all of my life to find your passion, and one day my brain just gave it to me.

I had some reservations about it though. Why the heck should I dedicate my life towards some whim of the mind? However, I knew a little about how the brains works, so I knew it had to come from somewhere. So I reverse engineered my intuitive passion to help you understand why I care so much about education and technology.

Instead of giving you an essay. I am going to break it down into different phases of my life. Here we go:

1. My childhood enabled me to be open minded

I had a very untraditional childhood. I had lived in 4 countries before I arrived in America at an age of 9. My father is Swedish and my mother is Korean. I experienced a lot as a child. I never became comfortable with my surroundings. I constantly jumped from culture to culture that were extreme opposites. My parents were extreme opposites.

I entered American society as an observer. I was the quiet kid. I did not try to disturb my environment. I was trying to learn from it and figure it out. Just like someone who traveled back in time and knew how even small actions could change history forever.

Ultimately, I was given the power to change and adapt.

2. My ambition and desire didn’t come from school

I did well in school, but I always did the bare minimum. I wasn’t interested in most of my courses because no one really me told me what the point was. I wasn’t motivated to really care. The only motivation I had came from my mom. She told me to work hard or else!

My dad bought me my own computer, and I got hooked. It provided countless hours of mental stimulation through some strange window that connected to an ugly beige box. How intriguing!

I got hooked on video games. I actually got quite good. I became a professional Counter-Strike player (team based online first person shooter). I started winning tournaments and placing in the top 3 nationally. I learned how to work effectively with teamates. I learned to create strategies to win. I learned how to lead a team and become successful. I gained confidence.

This was my first inspiration. I finally came alive. I now saw possibilities. If I could succeed in a video game, I could succeed anywhere. I could have continued playing and made a measly salary, but I didn’t enjoy the game itself anymore. However, I did enjoy working with others to achieve a goal. Yeah you heard me, shooting virtual terrorists was my first true inspiration.

I decided to play the game of business. I enrolled at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin after an internal transfer from Electrical Engineering. I focused on my grades and gaining work experience because I thought this would give me everything I may want. I was a robot. I had my 4.0 through 2 years of college and had a part time job as an IT administrator.

I then hit a wall.

3. Life is a little more complicated than I thought

I was applying for internships, and I was getting interviews. However, I wasn’t doing well in the interviews. I was a nervous wreck. I couldn’t make it go away quickly. It didn’t help that I had palmer hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating from the palms). I was fortunately interviewed by some Indians who probably understood where I was coming from.

What happened? I had a 4.0 and great work experience, and I had such a hard time getting an internship. I knew something had to change, but what was it?

4. I discovered practical learning, and it didn’t come from school

I discovered books, audiotapes, and videos from successful people who had done it. Who already succeeded and now were telling their tales. I started reading and collecting everything I could get my hands on. I was learning so much that it became an addiction.

I was finally truly alive. Wide awake. I was getting closer to a true understanding of the world. I finally saw meaning in what I was learning.

I became confident because I felt I was in control of my life. If there was a challenge in life, I knew there was always something I could learn from to help me get over it.

I then realized how terrible the school system is even though I had gone to some of the better ones. Sure I was learning something, but most of it was a waste of time. It just couldn’t be relevantly applied!

5. I finally understood what passion meant

Young people are bombarded with the message that you should do what you love. The problem is that you can’t understand it unless you get a taste of it. All I knew is that I needed to find it… and fast.

And I did find it because I was driven to find it. My invisible mentors told me it was the key. Then… my mind just gave it to me one day. It was one of those random insights I would occassionally get, but I knew there was something special about this. I studied how the mind works and the power of the subconscious, so I stopped ignoring my gut.

My purpose in life is to make the world a better place through education. Technology is the enabler.

It was grand.

I finally could make educated decisions in my life because I knew what I wanted ultimately.

They key is having a purpose, a primary passion. This purpose is a fusion of who you are. It is the melting pot of your experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and your dreams.

I will spend every day of my waking life working towards my purpose. I want to inspire others to do the same. I will do whatever it takes.

This post ended up much more personal than I originally intended. The main goal was to convey my genuine interest on the topic. I am only 22 years old, and I know that there are many people out there have much more experience. However, I think I can add a different perspective. This will be evident in the next few months.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this blog.

Carl Zetterlund

P.S. I am going to update this blog at least once a day. However, it will only occasionally be this personal.