What are you willing to do to rise above the noise?
What value would you place on setting yourself apart from everybody else in your industry who is making online courses and doing similar work as you?
What would it take for you to rise above the noise so that you stand out in the sea of sameness?
For us, the cost was a 12-month labour of love while building the Great eCourse Adventure.
It took us stepping back and questioning everything about online education, as well as taking an honest, hard look at ourselves and how we were conducting our business.
It required us to think outside of the box, journey into the unknown and discover a new way to teach and facilitate transformation in the digital space.
It meant we had to transform our mindset, learn many new skills, risk our reputations, livelihoods and the $30,000+ in pre-sales money we made when we came up with this crazy idea.
Rather than focusing on marketing funnels, conversion rates and growing our list, we chose to put our energy and creativity into crafting a remarkable student learning experience.
Instead of charging $1,000-2,000 like we had been, we decided that in order for our ideas to spread, we needed to make our work as accessible as possible. And so we changed our business model to a 14-day free trial, plus $35/month (which was super scary).
Rather than upselling to coaching, we included it in the price so that all of our students had the best chance at success.
To get away from the noise and distraction of Facebook groups, we built our own focused community container for all of our members to work on their courses, collaborate and climb to Launch Summit together.
So back to the question. The price we paid to stand out? It was priceless.
We had to undergo a metamorphosis. By honestly questioning everything and approaching our work with curiosity, we awakened to a new dimension of creativity and self expression.
We replaced old values and ways of doing things with new ones that felt more in alignment with who we wanted to be in the world and the kinds of businesses we want to create.
We shattered belief systems and the bullshit brainwashing of the online marketing industry.
We put down our manipulative sales funnels and said fuck Facebook ads.
Instead, we did something wild and crazy. We chose to trust. We chose to believe that if we created the greatest eCourse we could possibly imagine, then in time, the right people would show up and it would grow.
Rather than getting rich quick, we decided that we would be okay to cash in on our efforts in 2-5 years. We realized that we are not just building a course, we are growing a culture of people around us who value the same things we do.
Now.
Now.
I feel so grateful and so blessed that we put in the incalculable amount of effort, sweat, tears and sacrifice to bring this vision to life.
All of the doubts I had about The Great eCourse Adventure were washed away this last week.
I am sitting in an airport right now after spending the week with 120 brilliant, creative, successful and ridiculously awesome transformational teachers, leaders and entrepreneurs down in Santa Cruz.
Two days ago, I shared a stage with Marisa Murgatroyd who just ran her million dollar launch for her Experience Products eCourse.
The two of us were coming at experience design from different, yet completely complimentary viewpoints.
After my presentation, I had a lot of people come up and thank us for the work we’re doing to disrupt and transform the online education industry.
After being relatively under the radar for the last couple years with our work, it felt like we finally came out of the digital closet and received some high praise for what we’ve been working on. It felt great.
I will say, I have fought disappointment at certain times throughout 2017, feeling like we weren’t growing the Great eCourse Adventure fast enough. But behind the scenes, Andy and I had a lot happening. Under the surface, the little sprout was fighting to reach the light.
I do believe this little sprout has just poked it’s head through the soil and has finally reached those golden rays of sunshine.
I feel more excited than ever about 2018 and for all of the new friendships and partnerships that I cultivated in California.
The moral of the story is this. Take your time and do awesome work.
Pour your heart and soul into it.
Be patient and play the long game.
It might take you years. It also might not. Let go of that kind of time-related expectations though.
Because if you focus on quality, you WILL get to where you want to go. You will be rewarded for your innovation and persistence.
Just stay true to the course. Stay true to you.
Some times, we need to have unwavering faith in those moments when the Universe tells us to build a virtual mountain, put on some wigs and teach our lessons “that way”. LOL
I laugh at the silliness of it all. But in truth, it makes perfect sense.
We did not come into these bodies on Planet Earth to create mediocre shit as a means to make money.
We are Creators.
We are here to create.
We are here to be fully expressed in our creative brilliance.
Making the decision to stray from the traditional blueprint model and instead, to create a business that is a work of art and a lifestyle that reflects that artistry, was the most liberating choice all of us on our team have ever made.
To be the very best version of ourselves and do the very best work we are here to do, there will come a moment where we have to step over the ledge and trust in the unknown. Trust in yourself.
In this moment, I am celebrating that we’ve created something that not only stands out, but acts as a solution to a big problem in our industry.
I’m definitely not saying we are perfect and I know the job and learning curve is nowhere near complete. However, I am proud of how far we’ve come.
I also want to say, if you don’t find your own unique, creative voice and way of expressing your point of view, you will be boxed in with “the rest of them”.
Potential students and clients will look at you and see you as another “one of them” rather than “the one they’ve been waiting for.”
So I ask again, what value do you place on standing out?
Are you ready to own your weird, unique expression of self?
What are you willing to do to rise above the noise?
Share below what you’re standing for in 2018 with everything you create.
The event I was at was called, The Transformational Leaders Retreat. I definitely recommend going next year if you are in this field of work. You won’t regret it.
They also do an event called, The Client Attraction Summit. I was gifted some free scholarships to give away (click here to apply).
If growing your audience and impact is on your to-do list for next year, you should definitely sign up. It’s an awesome community of people who will support you to grow your vision and business. Plus, you’ll learn a lot.
I am not normally the type to promote “grow your list” events, but after spending three days with these people, I can tell you that the authenticity and integrity of this group is real and your life will be benefited from going.
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