What do we teach at Weekend School?
I took a break from doing events for a while — and honestly, it was peaceful.
I wasn’t whining to my wife every day. Life was peaceful for a while. No emotional rants about people not getting what I do. No sighs about being misunderstood. No late-night crying about how the world doesn’t see the good I’m trying to build. And honestly? She was at peace, too. Calm, collected, not dodging my monologues about dreams and delays.
But now the rejections are back. And so is the madness.
Because I’ve started talking to people every day about the DNA Weekend School, every conversation I have feels like an obstacle course — objections, confusion, rejection, the classic “let me get back to you” that never does. I created a poll in the WhatsApp group. I expected people would jump with excitement and say yes. But that’s not exactly what happened.
But hey, I’m familiar with this, not once, but for ten long years.
The moment I said, “I’m building something again,” I signed up for the chaos that comes with it.
If you're building something new — especially something people haven't seen before — they won't always get it. They won’t say yes the first time. Some won’t even understand what you’re talking about. It’s not their fault. It’s just how things work. If you're lucky, they’ll ask questions. If you're persistent, you'll answer them. And over time, slowly, they begin to see.
There’s a passage in A Promised Land by Barack Obama that comes back to me in moments like these. He talks about how progress doesn’t come from one giant leap forward. It comes from a thousand tiny steps. One conversation at a time. One room at a time. One vote of confidence. One quiet nod from someone who didn’t believe yesterday, but is now thinking, “maybe.”
Alright. I finally sat down to answer the most repeated question — the one I’ve been dodging with stories.
“What do you actually teach at the Weekend School?”
Every time someone asks, I tell a story.
And I’ve come to realise something:
When I answer a question with a story, it usually means I don’t have an answer yet.
So last night, I sat with the discomfort. I stopped storytelling. I started thinking. What do we really teach here? What’s the heart of it?
I took inspiration from TED — smart people, bold ideas, short talks that stay with you. But this isn’t TED. This is a classroom. This is a weekend school. So what’s ours?
Here’s where I’ve landed.DNA Weekend School will be built on three pillars. Three things I believe make human life better, especially in the coming age of AI, automation, and infinite distractions.
1. Modern-Day Life Skills
The things we were never taught in school — but need every single day. How to manage your time. How to sleep better. How to think clearly. How to ask better questions. Not theoretical knowledge, but tools for real life.
2. AI + Internet Era Tools
We live on the internet now. So let’s learn how to use it well. How to build things. How to sell. How to ship fast. How to use AI not to replace ourselves, but to amplify what we’re already good at. This is not a tech school. But we’ll speak the language of the times.
3. People + Community
My favourite. And the most important.
Because no matter how advanced we get, we’ll always need to know how to deal with people. How to work with them. How to lead them. How to not lose our minds in the process. How to build a group that believes in something together.
L.I.P. — Life. Internet. People.
That’s what we’re going to teach at DNA Weekend School. Every weekend, one class at a time. One idea. One teacher. One room full of people who want to learn, not because they have to — but because they want to.
No marks. No degrees. No certificates.
Just meaningful learning in the age of noise.
And now, I finally have an answer. The rejections are back. But so is the clarity.
—Deepak
The Community Man
Unlicensed school builder, professional overthinker