The Community Entrepreneurs: The School of Life

“I’m reminded daily what an ignorant, vain, irritable, choleric idiot I am,” says author Alain de Botton when asked what he’s learned about himself since founding a school designed to strengthen emotional intelligence. “This is a hugely helpful starting point for the School of Life, for I constantly have ideas about what I—and many other people—might need.”

Developed in 2008 by Alain and a group of academics, artists, curators, writers, thinkers and entrepreneurs, the School of Life helps people develop emotional intelligence by using culture as a guide. “I came up with the ideas, and the team around me helped to make them happen, ” he says. “They’re brilliant—I owe them so much. Without them, I’d still be a pathetic guy dreaming big.” The School offers seminars on such topics as “How Necessary Is a Relationship, ”