Jason Kimberley
Cool Australia
Victoria, Australia
"Our environment is not separate to us. It’s not the environment...it’s ours."
Career Roadmap
Jason's work combines: Environment & Nature, Education, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Many people have this mindset that we need to know exactly what we're going to do at all times. I feel the opposite. I've been happy being "lost" through my career journey. I've found out that things work out better for you if you accept that you don't need to know. Get comfortable in the discomfort of not knowing. Try a bunch of things, challenge yourself, don't get distracted by everyone else, and just be the best you that you can be.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Growing up, I became more and more concerned that we were constantly taking from nature without giving much back.
2.
I did well in school and really enjoyed it growing up but I didn’t have much interest in continuing after high school—I went to college but dropped out after a semester to travel and start working.
3.
After visiting Antarctica with some friends, I started doing research for a book about our trip—through that research, I discovered that there were many bizarre and unethical practices going on.
4.
I realized we had a lack of knowledge about conservation and sustainability, and decided to take it upon myself to create classroom resources to help spread awareness at the student level.
5.
I was running a publishing and photography company at the time, which my staff and I transitioned into an online education business called Cool Australia.
6.
I self-funded the business for the first few years to get us off the ground, but it didn’t take long for Cool Australia to gain a lot of interest and start making an impact in schools.
7.
Cool Australia is now in 90% of schools in Australia, but I hope there comes a day when Cool Australia doesn’t need to exist because conservation and sustainability are inherent in the school system.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You need to know what you're doing, when you're going to do it, and how to get there.
How I responded:
Many people have this mindset that we need to know exactly what we're going to do at all times. I feel the opposite. I've been happy being "lost" through my career journey. I've found out that things work out better for you if you accept that you don't need to know. Get comfortable in the discomfort of not knowing. Try a bunch of things, challenge yourself, don't get distracted by everyone else, and just be the best you that you can be.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
After spending over a year writing our curriculum, Australia's instruction switched from state-based to nationwide. So we had to basically scrap it all and start all over. These hurdles happen when you start a company—you just have to go with it.
I self-funded Cool Australia for the first few years. I've had to make decisions—like mortgaging my house—to make this dream work. But I knew that if I didn't do it, no one else would. After 12 years as a "volunteer CEO," I'm finally on the payroll!