There’s Something Missing From Online Content
I am scrolling through Facebook when I see it…an ad for a course, coincidentally pointing out all of my pain points and knowing exactly what I have been thinking about in my brain. The Facebook ads are onto me - but I can’t help myself…this course promises me: more money, more time, more expertise on a subject I love…I must resist…but I can’t. If I take this course THEN I will know how to market/shoot/communicate/ask for money/lead a group/improve my life better…and good news! It’s online, so I can learn from the comfort of my pjs and on my own schedule. I excitedly pay my money and check out, promising myself that this course will be the one that takes me to the next level. AND this course, I will commit to for the next 30 days…until it’s 5 days in and I have to run errands/take care of kids/help my mom/make a craft/scroll the internet/go out for tasty food/move my body/answer an email….I find myself lamenting that I will “get back to it soon” but…soon never arrives. By day 10 I’ve actually forgotten I’ve paid for it and I won’t remember until I’m charged again in 20 more days….but it’s okay. They said I have it for life, so I convince myself that I will do it “when I have more time”….but time never shows up. And suddenly, I’m scrolling facebook and a new course related to something new I’m interested in shows up and the cycle repeats itself all over again.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Yeah. Me too.
Since 2016 I have been creating online courses for the internet. What started with a really fun pdf guide called Confident Curves back in 2016 has now become an entire suite of photography + self image courses and digital products that have helped thousands of creatives to challenge themselves and their work - but with all of that, I have come to realize one major hangup with online courses and that is….duh duh duuuuuuuh
ACCOUNTABILITY
As an avid taker of online courses and reader/learner I have noticed that even I, a grade A student, still gets distracted and pulled away from putting into practice the concepts and theories that I’ve learned. In fact, it’s become such a huge issue that I have stacks of books I’ve read and only minimally remember because no one was there to hold my feet to the fire.
Now, don’t get me wrong - I still think online education has its place and has truly revolutionized WHO gets access to content (now, everyone does!) - education is no longer trapped behind ivory towers and elite Universities and Colleges - you want to learn how to master something, there’s a course for it on the internet somewhere. But I still think there’s something to be said for in person learning + learning alongside other individuals. I know personally for me, I know I have learned something when I can teach it to someone else or confidently talk about it with my peers - if I am in my isolated cave of artwork and twinkle lights, I am not able to have the rich conversations that are needed for me to the truly process what I am taking in. Even when I used to do lives after my positive psych classes in order to percolate the information, it was missing the back and forth of other like minded folks to challenge my thoughts, approaches, and to steer me in the direction of mastery.
I always joked that one day I would have a school or university where folks could come and we could immerse ourselves in the richest of discussions and application of the theory we were learning and then go our separate ways. It wouldn’t be school forever, but it would be for an intensive period of time. In fact, I remember back in uni, my favorite courses were summer courses because it was intensive and we were held accountable like no one’s business because unlike our traditional courses, we had to have a solid grasp on the information in 3 weeks instead of 3 months.
So, what does this mean for me and my online content?
Do not worry - the courses and content that are currently available for diy learning will still be available and accessible because I understand that not everyone can travel to me or even have a desire to do so. That being said, I want to enrich the learning process by including in person aspects to my upcoming courses - whether this means spending a year connecting online for us to come together in person for a year end retreat or doing an intensive week+ long experience like I do with Body Image Bootcamp where every day is highly focused on theory PLUS application - there is minimal distractions and you leave with work DONE, not just added to the to do list when you get home. The benefit to bringing an in person element is that classes will be more intimate and you will get to have deeper more enriched relationships with your peers as you learn to challenge your thoughts and ideas and businesses and creativity. You will be supported in real time as you try to work through something that makes you want to throw in the towel. You will be celebrated when you figure that thing out and achieve whatever outcome you desired. As the teacher/facilitator I will be there to guide you in real time as you confront previous held beliefs and ideas. Personally, my best coaching comes out of intimate conversations with folks during workshops - this is where my magic flows!
I think we’ve gotten too used to starting and stopping online courses when it gets hard and frustrating and it’s through no fault of our own. After reading Stolen Focus by Johann Hari I realize that we have all been at the mercy of big tech companies who want to steal our attention at whatever cost and it is affecting the ways in which we learn, process, and create. By taking the online offline, we will be working together to make something tangible from the theoretical and esoteric concepts that we discuss and I cannot freakin wait.
In addition to that, so many of my peers (myself included) believe that courses and education will be THE thing that gets them to the success they are desiring, but if there’s one thing I have learned as an education whore, it’s that application of many education sources/courses is the thing that makes the success happen. Without application, it’s just ideas percolating in the mind. Having the added element of accountability and a finite amount of time for us to process, gives incentive to actually DO the work and APPLY the concepts to get the most out of a situation. As my friend Jen teaches about Parkinson’s Law: “Humans will use up as much space/time as they are given. If you have 8 hours to do a 4 hour task - it will take you 8 hours. If you have 4 hours to do a 4 hour task, it will take you 4 hours.” (In essence, it’s the same reason we fill our large plates - our brain loves to maximize space and time.) When we have DIY courses with lifelong memberships (and I do!) chances are you will give yourself a pass because you can “always do it later.”
But later never comes.
Personally, I love learning as much as I love teaching and I always did the best in classes where I could have real time engagement and understanding. Seeing full body language and getting one on one time with the instructor was paramount to my understanding and application of a subject - and these are all the things I cannot wait to bring back to the creative education space.
If you are interested in learning in person with me, make sure you have signed up for the newsletter to be first to know when registration for in person education drops!
