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The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom (TAWW)

Name: The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom (TAWW)
Rating: 4.9 (7 reviews)

'Great Work' and the integration of Knowledge, Planning, and Actions

Created byAhmad Hijazi

Last updated 6/2026

English

What you'll learn

Draw a grand personal roadmap that leads to higher levels of performance.
Go through 100+ "Super Ideas" (organized) that will help you understand the World.
Build dynamic, wise, and personalized Learning & Development Plans.
Connect your worlds of Being, Knowing, and Doing.. and complete 20+ missions to apply the ideas introduced.
Gain a broad perspective on knowledge of the self and the world, planning, habits, and how to get (good) things done.
Build your own template to integrate some of the most important super ideas on personal growth (including ones you'll learn later).
Reflect on plurality, the richness of the world, risk, and the emergence achievement.
Explore the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness Triple-Helix and the hidden structures of excellent performance.

Course content

5 sections • 42 lectures • 6h 20m total length

1.1.2 - Why "The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom" (Preview)3:39
What is Worldly Wisdom about? How can we approach this topic? This section is a brief overview taken from Lecture 1.1.
1.1. This Course15:25
This lecture introduces the course and its structure.
How does it try to achieve its (too?) ambitious goal of creating a framework to integrate all your (past & future) knowledge and experiences on personal growth?
A short overview of the major components, and (mildly twisted) lessons from the Atlas drama.

It has four Sections:
1.1.1. Overview of the Overview
1.1.2. Why This Course? (This is the Preview video)
1.1.3. Why-II : Structure & Terrain
1.1.4. The Atlas Story and themes of Worldly Wisdom

Att. Atlas of The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom
1.2. About Wisdom & Worldly Wisdom9:48
So what is wisdom? what is worldly wisdom?
This lecture has a set of ideas and definitions about the concept, which we'll use to start defining the directions of our journey.

Sections:
1.2.1. Wisdom.. Worldly Wisdom
1.2.2. Wisdom.. East & West
1.2.3. Berlin's Wisdom
1.3. The Course's Building Blocks8:42
What are the building blocks of the course? What is the 'governing dynamic' behind it? What is the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness triple-spiral (very briefly)?

Sections:
1.3.1. The Building Blocks
1.3.2. Plurality & Emergence
1.3.3. One Sentence .. One Image

Att. The Reading List
Att. The List of References

2.1. The First Helix : Overview2:03
This is a quick overview of the first helix: Knowledge to Awareness.

Optional: Take a peek at the concluding note (document attached to Lecture 2.10), and try to have a basic understanding of the 'Ideas to explore' mentioned there. You'll develop this understanding later, but going through these fields now can make the discussions of the unit more engaging (our brains like the familiar).
2.2. Wisdom as Knowledge11:32
Wisdom & Knowledge - How are they different?
Can you get Wisdom from books? Why not?
Is Knowledge a network, a pyramid, or a tree?

Sections:
2.2.1. Wisdom, Knowledge, Books
2.2.2. Knowledge as Network
2.2.3. The Knowledge Pyramid & Actionable Knowledge
2.2.4. Knowledge as Tree
2.3. Wisdom as Experience3:24
Is experience THAT important?
Why is the 'wise man' in films usually old?
(How old is Yoda? Gandalf? anyway)
2.4. Wisdom as Action16:04
Wisdom is about 'doing the right things'. But how do we make decisions?

Sections:
2.4.1. Wisdom as (Right) Action
2.4.2. Decisions & Cognitive Bias
2.4.3. Action & Shortcuts
2.5. Intelligence(s) and Thinking Styles17:26
Which intelligence is overrated? Are there many? How can we organize our thinking styles? Will 'mental training' be useful?
An (initial) attempt to connect intelligence, creativity, knowledge, and wisdom.

Sections:
2.5.1. Intelligence(s) & Thinking Styles
2.5.2. Intelligence, Knowledge, Creativity, Meanings
2.5.3. 6 Hats .. 7 Intelligences
2.5.4. Mental Training?
2.5.5. Categories & The Network of Knowledge
2.6. The Abyss of Self-Knowledge6:16
Know yourself!

But... what to know exactly?
2.7. The Building Blocks of Knoweldge8:20
We want to build (big) maps. This is one.

Sections:
2.7.1. The Building Blocks of Knowledge
2.7.2. Why understand Structures?
2.8. Managing Personal Knowledge7:51
How can you manage your personal knowledge?

"Knowledge Management" is a discipline that tries to improve an organizations ability to structure, retain, transfer, and maximize the impact of its knowledge. Individuals can gain from such an approach too. The field of "Personal Knowledge Management" has interesting advice.

Sections:
2.8.1. Managing Personal Knowledge
2.8.2. Notes on PKM

Caution: your 'personal knowledge' isn't all stuck in your brain.

Att. Apps List
2.9. The Personal Learning Plan8:02
This is one simplified application of a PKM approach. It is subjective, and you can build your own.

Try using the document as a starting point.

Att. Personal Knowledge Plan
2.10. Awareness: Reflection & Golden Rules13:50
Let's reflect on what we've discussed in this unit, and try to synthesize everything.

Check out the attached note for a quick review of what we've discussed.

Sections:
2.10.1. Reflection – I
2.10.2. Reflection – II
2.10.3. Evolution: Knowledge to Awareness
2.10.4. Personal Observations

Att. Concluding Note - Spiral-1: Knowledge to Awareness
Extra : Beware (Useless) Knowledge7:49

3.1. The Second Helix: Overview4:36
This is a quick overview of the second helix: Planning to Intent.

Optional: Take a peek at the concluding note (document attached to Lecture 3.10), and try to have a basic understanding of the 'Ideas to explore' mentioned there. You'll develop this understanding later, but going through these fields now can make the discussions of the unit more engaging (our brains like the familiar).
3.2. The Essence of Planning13:55
Planning is about changing your (relative) position in the world. It is also about rallying resources to achieve that.

You have to differentiate between what you can control and the universe's whims. This is why Dirk Gently is smarter than Wile E. Coyote.

Sections:
3.2.1. The Essence of Planning
3.2.2. PARCS – Essence & Simplicity
3.2.3. Good Strategy .. Bad Strategy
3.3. Frameworks, Models, and Super-Ideas19:52
The world is too complex. Good plans need to accommodate many things. This means that we need to simplify...
Simplifying is more dangerous than it seems.

Sections:
3.3.1. Why we need Super Ideas
3.3.2. Super Idea – The Market
3.3.3. Super Idea – Agents and their Bounded Rationality
3.3.4. Super Idea – The Network
3.3.5. The Utility of Super Ideas
3.4. Super Ideas - I : Complexity3:44
Expanding the discussion on super ideas : Communications & Complexity.
3.5. Super Ideas - II : Quantities, Risk, Symmetries17:34
Expanding the discussion on super ideas : Quantification, Risk, and Asymmetries.

Sections:
3.5.1. Numbers will set you free
3.5.2. The 10 Habits of highly effective quantitative thinkers
3.5.3. Distributions & Asymmetries
3.6. All the Resources in the World7:15
"Where you are" in the world, includes relationships and resources. What resources are available to you?

Sections:
3.6.1. All the Resources in the World
3.6.2. Resources, Synthesis, Deception
3.6.3. The Punctuated Equilibrium
3.7. Resources & The Self7:24
Aristotle, Stephen Covey, and ... Iron man have things to teach us about Intent.

You can have the world, but it all matters less than having an understanding and control of the self. [A second attempt].
3.8. Art of Synthesis: More is More !9:22
Plurality and Intent : Connect things and create synergies!

Sections:
3.8.1. The Art of Synthesis _ More is More
3.8.2. Plurality & Returns
3.8.3. Management & Control
3.9. The Personal Leadership Agenda1:56
Try to have different types of goals, spanning different levels, with different time-frames.
Then let this determine your schedules.

Att. Personal Leadership Agenda
3.10. Intent : Reflection & Golden Rules6:07
Let's reflect on what we've discussed in this unit, and try to synthesize everything.

Check out the attached note for a quick review of what we've discussed.

Att. Concluding Note - Spiral-2: Planning to Intent

4.1. The Third Helix : Overview7:19
This is a motivation and an overview of the third helix: Action to Creativeness.

Optional: Take a peek at the concluding note (document attached to Lecture 4.11), and try to have a basic understanding of the 'Ideas to explore' mentioned there. You'll develop this understanding later, but going through these fields now can make the discussions of the unit more engaging (our brains like the familiar).
4.2. Critical Events & Critical Choices11:02
Critical decisions and critical encounters in our life are special moments in time that have a huge effect that spans years. They are essential for building up our wisdom and evolving our skills. We should try to make the most of these events.

Create an ongoing story about the events in your life. (remember to make yourself the hero).

Sections:
4.2.1. The Planning Fallacy
4.2.2. Critical Decisions & Good Work
4.2.3. Generalization & Specialization
4.2.4. Events Narratives Identity Wisdom
4.3. Creatures of Habits11:22
We are our habits. Habits are easy, automatic, and very powerful.

This video examines different approaches to utilizing habits.

Sections:
4.3.1. Creatures of Habits
4.3.2. The Power of Habits
4.3.3. Modeling Habits – Power Tiny Atomic
4.4. Emotional Control & Regulation11:25
Emotional regulation and control - as we'll see - is a prerequisite for "wise reasoning" in critical situations.
What does it mean? and Why does it have priority, above factual knowledge and other cognitive skills?

Sections:
4.4.1. Emotional Regulation
4.4.2. Psychological Well-being & Emotional Intelligence
4.4.3. Emotional Regulation & Wisdom
4.5. Your Peak Performance12:19
How do we reach peak performance? We'll introduce "Flow", "deliberate practice", and the "10,000 hour" rule.

Sections:
4.5.1. Tasks
4.5.2. Flow & Influence
4.6. Managing Flow - I: Breaks & Solitude9:08
Here we start discussing the management of flow. How can we reach - and benefit from - states of flow and immersion in work?
Taking (strategic) breaks and going away (for a while) are very important to develop your individual contributions.

Sections:
4.6.1. Flow
4.6.2. Pomodoro
4.6.3. Breaks & Solitude

Also, I actually say : (Bill Gates takes) "a week of solitude... every day" in this video!! [I blame my over-excited inner introvert for this slip].
4.7. Managing Flow - II: The Gift of Experiential Wisdom7:24
Experiential Wisdom is about being able to balance our discipline with our innate tendencies as we work.

Sections:
4.7.1. The power of Experiential Wisdom.
4.7.2. Attaining Experiential Wisdom.
4.8. Action Math : Accumulation & Compounding10:56
No difficult equations here...

Just a harmless attempt to discuss how addition, multiplication, and subtraction apply to your everyday actions.

Sections:
4.8.1. Accumulation
4.8.2. Compounding
4.8.3. Less is More?
4.9. Destiny - The Art of Creativeness10:32
How can we transform our actions into creative actions? What does that even mean?

We'll think about plurality (more is more), interconnections, identity, stories, beauty, fun, and management, as they relate to creativity.

Sections:
4.9.1. Destiny – The Art of Creativeness
4.9.2. Creativeness, Plurality, Connections
4.9.3. Creativeness, Identity, Narrative
4.9.4. Creativeness, Beauty, Fun
4.9.5. Creativeness & Time Management
4.10. Back to the Moral Essence3:44
It is the self... again. (is this attempt#3 or #4?)

Creativity requires subjectivity. It also requires authenticity. Moral responsibility and emotional stability is important here too.
4.11. Creativeness : Reflection & Golden Rules7:27
Let's reflect on what we've discussed in this unit, and try to synthesize everything.

Check out the attached note for a quick review of what we've discussed.

Att. Concluding Note - Spiral-3: Action to Creativeness
Extra : Don't Just Do Somethiing - The Art of the Break10:57

5.1. Crossing : Overview6:55
This unit is more than a conclusion.

It is an important synthesis of deeper ideas. This is particularly important because even though worldly wisdom is about work and the world, it has hints of transcendence in it.

Crossing towards what? (ONLY subjective answers apply)
5.2. The (Very) Big Ideas14:15
A (nostalgic) look at the super ideas introduced in the course, and a focus on the 'governing dynamics': Plurality, Emergence, and the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness triple-spiral.

Sections:
5.2.1. Worldly Wisdom
5.2.2. Plurality & Emergence
5.2.3. The AIC Triple Helix
5.2.4. Image
5.3. The 10 Labors of Worldly Wisdom2:38
The 10 Labors of Worldly Wisdom is a playful application.

The document is attached here. It was initially intended as a book and had other sections, but I had these sections removed and distributed on the different lectures for easier access.

Att. The 10 Labors of Worldly Wisdom
5.4. Moving on : What Now?6:40
Some words of wisdom about going forward.

Also... what can you do now?

There is the Reading List, the Missions List, the Topics to Explore, the 10 Labors, the Knowledge Plan, and the PLA..

and that's (hopefully) just the beginning of Great Work!
5.5. Final Note : Subjectivity & The Creative Destiny4:48
In the first unit I talked about subjectivity. My experiences and preferences are present throughout the choices in the lectures and ideas selected. The 'Personal' element can make us passionate about something, and compel us to take risks and create.

It is fascinating to see that to fully appreciate subjectivity, one must be open and appreciate the plurality of everything else out there.

I hope that this work fits within your own grand mission.

Att. Missions List

Requirements

Ideally, ambition, intellectual curiousity, and a few years of work experience will make this course more impactful as we reflect on practical wisdom..
Any potential gaps in knowledge can be bridged with some minor research.

Description

How to make sense of all the information noise and success recipes?

Are ‘Heroic’ levels of professional performance within reach?

How is Wisdom relevant to self-mastery and achievement?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

TLDR;

"The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom" is a course is about The Big Picture. The Purpose and The Way. It is a jigsaw of ‘super ideas’ from different fields, integrated into the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness (AIC) Triple-Helix (the One Model to Rule Them All!).

The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom is an integrated system for learning and work.

This ambitious, comprehensive, and intellectually-stimulating project, aims for peak performance and creativeness (in other words, doing 'Great Work'). It gathers and integrates some of the best super ideas about management and growth.

The Big Idea : We need better and simpler forms of knowledge, planning, and daily actions... These make the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness triple-helix.

The central framework of the Atlas (Awareness-Intent-Creativeness) integrates and simplifies popular and important super ideas (maps) about practical wisdom, learning and knowledge, strategy, planning, creativity, psychological well-being, success and personal management, habits, and effective work…

The result: a more spontaneous and brave ability to create!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There is a lot of noise about personal development, success, and growth. The problems with success guru-ism are many, but the key is simple: What is not natural, mentally present, and personally applicable won't work.

The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom is a jigsaw of super ideas... 1001 maps (not really) that add up to Great Work & (Personal) Excellence!

The (overly ambitious) aim? Transform life into an ongoing act of creativeness!

This (seemingly weird) course is about The Big Picture. The Purpose and The Way. I've gathered many 'super ideas' from different fields, and integrated them into the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness (AIC) Triple-Helix.

We need evolved (natural, simplified, personal) forms of knowledge, planning, and daily actions... These are the key to dealing with the plurality and complexity of the world, and they constitute the Awareness-Intent-Creativeness triple-helix.

The idea is: Plurality and Complexity are inescapable. Your growth (and wisdom) depend on how you respond to these fundamental qualities of the world.

This course integrates ideas about practical wisdom, psychological well-being, learning and knowledge, success and personal management, strategy, planning, creativity, habits, work, into a giant comprehensive map… The Atlas will (hopefully) not only make learning and experience more actionable, but also serve to assimilate future knowledge into an evolving framework.

Active Knowledge, Creative Planning, and Aware Actions!

The AIC framework aims to :

Utilize Knowledge to develop a Awareness & Creativity
Improve Planning by exploiting Approximate Knowledge, Resource Sets, and Asymmetries
Transform actions and habits into heroic creativeness and peak performance

Wisdom might be relevant to your work and daily life… more than you’d expect.

Applications of the Atlas :

Boost (continuing) learning efforts with the course’s “Personal Knowledge Plan” and “The Worldly Wisdom Reading List”
Build better plans with the included frameworks and the “Personal Leadership Agenda”
Construct a personal evolving “Knowledge Map”
Apply the key the ideas playfully with “The 10 Labors of Worldly Wisdom”
Challenge yourself with the “Missions List” and try to complete it in 1 / 2 years.
Use the recommended tools, and expand your knowledge in the different fields suggested throughout the lectures, to create a personalized approach to practical wisdom and creativeness!

Disclaimer

The Atlas is NOT a quick fix or a shortcut. I don’t promise you that you will attract money if you wish hard enough. Nor that you will become Yoda. I won’t even promise you that it will be easy.

I can, however, promise that you will learn (very) important things – and if you apply them (difficult task), many things in life will seem easier (I can also promise that for the intellectually curious, the journey will be an enjoyable one).

May courage (and luck) be with you.

Who this course is for:

Entrepreneurs, Managers, Educators, Leaders
Builders, Creators (Design, Engineering, Art, Knowledge), Explorers
Curious & thoughtful minds who want to reflect on what it all means, and to build something meaningful.
Adventurers embarking on a quest for personal growth and a creative contribution to the world.

The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom (TAWW)

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

The Overview: Atlas & Wisdom4 lectures • 38min

Knowledge to Awareness11 lectures • 1hr 43min

Planning to Intent10 lectures • 1hr 32min

Action to Creativeness12 lectures • 1hr 54min

Crossing5 lectures • 35min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: