What does IAM101 Actually Mean?
Where the name came from
IAM101 has evolved over the years, but the idea behind the name has stayed the same.
A 101 is the beginning. The basics. The foundations of a subject before you go deeper.
I built the name around that idea because I wanted to give young men a pathway of continual learning, rather than a fixed destination.
In traditional schooling, there’s often a very direct trajectory. You’re encouraged to choose a pathway, work towards it and, before long, your identity can become attached to it.
You see it all the time in the trades. Ask someone what they do and they’ll say, “I’m a plumber.” “I’m a carpenter.” “I’m a landscaper.”
There’s nothing wrong with being any of those things. But a job title can become a very rigid identity to carry if we start believing it’s all that we are.
Because you’re more than what you do for work.
I am still learning
That’s what IAM101 is really saying.
I am still learning.
I am continuing to investigate myself and the world around me.
IAM101 is about giving young men the basic, fundamental life skills they can build on. But underneath all of that is something bigger: understanding that your identity isn’t fixed.
You don’t have to have yourself completely figured out at 18, 21 or 25.
You can learn. You can change direction. You can discover something new about yourself. You can try something, fail at it, learn from it and have another go.
That’s not failure.
That’s learning.
IAM101 is a value system built around that idea. A lifelong process of learning, growing and understanding yourself.
Get that established early in a young man’s adult life and it can serve him long beyond the 101s, into whatever he eventually chooses to go deeper into and become passionate about.
Confidence builds as you go
Confidence doesn’t come from being told you’re capable.
It comes from experiencing it.
That’s why we start with the fundamentals.
Give a young man a simple skill to learn. Give him something real to work through. Let him practise, make mistakes, improve and eventually realise, “I can actually do this.”
Then give him the next challenge.
As he grows, you start to see his confidence grow with him. He leans further into learning. He discovers more about himself. And, perhaps most importantly, he starts to see evidence of what he’s actually capable of.
There’s no real end point.
It’s a statement of:
I am here. I am learning. I am doing my best. I can keep growing.
For me, that shows up in statements like:
I am courageous.
I am confident.
I am capable.
I am grateful.
I am worthy.
These are personal positions I love taking, and ones I love showing young men they can take for themselves.
Because when we start to see the evidence of who we are becoming, we can champion ourselves along the way.
I am still learning. And I can be confident while I’m learning.
What’s missing?
I think we’ve lost some of this in both our education system and our industries.
Young men can feel like they’re expected to have it all figured out incredibly early. At 14 or 15, they’re already being asked to think about what they’re going to do, what career they’re going to choose and where they’re heading.
For some young men, that direction is exactly what they need.
For others, it can feel like the decision has already been made for them.
And when school finishes, there can be an assumption that the learning phase is over and the “real world” begins.
I don’t think it works that way.
IAM101 is about nurturing young men through those first three to five years after school and encouraging them to keep learning.
I see that period almost as a rebirth.
A continuation of discovering who you are, what matters to you and what you’re capable of.
School finishing doesn’t have to be a full stop.
It can be the beginning of a different kind of education.
If I had to say it in one sentence
IAM101 is a value system that encourages young men to see learning as a lifelong experience, rather than a static journey towards a career path.
It’s not just a brand.
It’s a starting point.
Put a young man in an environment where he’s exposed to real challenges. Give him the fundamentals. Let him learn through experience. Let him make mistakes. Let him build confidence by seeing what he’s capable of.
And eventually, something starts to change.
He begins to realise that he can lead himself.
And when a young man learns to lead himself first, he has the foundations to become a great leader in his family, his workplace and his community.
That’s what IAM101 represents to me.
A value system built on continual learning.
Not having all the answers.
Not having your entire life mapped out.
Just being willing to keep learning, keep growing and keep discovering who you are.
I am still learning.
And that’s the journey.
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