How get what you want out of a course
I LOVE that the internet has made online, on demand, courses a thing where the best teachers can share their knowledge to an unlimited amount of people. I also love when I spend money on a course, lose all hope and motivation, and never get around to finishing it. Oh, wait… NO I DON’T. And if you’re reading this you probably hate that too. So before you or I buy yet another course let’s dive into HOW to actually benefit instead of wasting time and money.
I love understanding, breaking apart, and solving problems. It’s why I’m a damn good coach. My intention for writing this guide is to solve the problem of spending money on courses (sometimes thousands of dollars) and being worse off than you started. I’m hearing more and more stories of people spending $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 on a course that tells them the exact same info as a $1,000 course and a good coach. As a course creator and passionate teacher and coach, I want to elevate the industry with ethics, accountability, and results. I also love helping people get what they want and shift out of frustration to flow and peace. Let me know how this information impacts you. I’m ALWAYS looking for better, more creative ways to solve modern problems.
So first let’s break it down so we know what we’re dealing with here. There you are, on the inter webs, minding your own business when a shiny pin (or Facebook ad or Instagram post) catches your eye. The creator promises their course will give you that result you’ve been thinking about getting. The website is professional, it doesn’t look like a scam, the creator has a $10,000 dye job and blow out (always important), and the copy seems to have been taken from your own thoughts. You get excited and add to cart. Sound familiar?
Let’s pause here because we are already not setting ourselves up for success. Purchasing a course is not a plan for getting what you want, it can be part of a plan, but in and of itself isn’t the whole journey. In order to make a plan, you need to have a goal. A very well constructed, values driven goal that makes sense for the life you are wanting to create. Without this, it becomes easy to forget about the course, even if you paid a lot of money for it.
So then the question becomes, what’s your goal? A useful goal has 4 aspects:
a specific, external result that is S.M.A.R.T.
an internal, general standard you want to met
alignment with your values
guidelines for HOW you want to accomplish the goal, the day to day logistics
If you want more info on these 4 aspects, I’ll be writing a guide soon or you can work with me one on one to clarify your goals. I LOVE helping clients do this.
Once you have your goal, it’s time to make a plan. Give yourself a timeline and work backward breaking it down into week, month, and yearly subgoals. What resources, skills, and time blocks do you need for each subgoal? What skills and resources do you already possess?
If you already have the skills and resources needed to complete your goal, PAUSE here. Do not press purchase on that course. If you already have the know-how, resources, plan and goal, but you still haven’t been successful, you don’t need another course. You need support. Depending on the goal, reach out to a friend, co-worker, your network, or a coach to set up some support. It could be a co-working session, an accountability check-in, or a coaching session where you and your coach identify obstacles, problem solve together, and ensure you keep making progress.
If you identified some gaps in your skill set, THIS is where a course can be extremely helpful. When I was ready to start my coaching practice, I had the passion but I didn’t have a lot of the hard skills I know a great coach needed so I signed up for a coach training program.