Okay, so now we have the counterpart to the Online Course Taker’s Mantra, which is the Online Course Maker’s Mantra. And this one goes like this: I promise to remember that done is better than perfect. Only fossils are set in stone. And that although the first is the worst, this doesn’t mean it has no value.

So as before, we’ll go through it line by line. And first up is I promise to remember that done is better than perfect. And you may well have come across this phrase, or cliché or saying before from other people that you see on the internet. And that doesn’t mean that it’s any less true.

Effectively, what I mean by it is that you can’t sell something that isn’t finished, okay. But there is going to be a tendency for you, and particularly the earlier you are in the course creation learning process, you’re going to want to try and make things perfect, okay. And the temptation to just tweak or delete or re-record or redo this or redo that or find a different way, and so on and so forth is going to be huge.

And I would say to you, please, please, please cut yourself some slack, okay? Remember that this is something that could be quite new to you. But also remember that there is actually no such thing as perfect. It just doesn’t exist in any aspect of online course creation. There’s no such thing. Even people who’ve been doing this stuff for years. Yep, like me, will do stuff, and I think, oh, that could have been better. But the difference is, I’m not going to let that stop me from getting something out and into the world okay? So perfection doesn’t exist, try not to try for it.

Remember, that done is better than perfect. So once you’ve got something done, that is absolutely good enough to get out into the world. Okay, next up, only fossils are set in stone. Now, this is something to help you really remember that it can be quite overwhelming, sort of a dizzying array of choices in front of you, when you first start learning about online course creation. And maybe you’re learning about it before you do it. Or maybe you’re learning as you go.

But at some point, you will come to a bit of a decision crossroads or a fork in the road or a lot of information that’s saying go this way, no go that way. And it can be quite overwhelming. So I am absolutely proof and evidence to say that I have changed my mind so many times about different things that I want to do with online course creation, whether that is the way in which I deliver the information or where I host my courses, or the type of filming equipment that I use all sorts of things, all sorts of decisions that have to be made at some point in the course creation process, I have made them and then I’ve made a different decision at a different time.

And this is because there’s no such thing as ‘best’ okay, and it kind of makes my heart sink a little bit when I see that come up as a question in one of the many online course creation groups that are out there on places like Facebook, when somebody says what’s the ‘best’ hosting platform? What’s the ‘best’ filming equipment? What’s the ‘best’ way to do whatever it is. And inevitably, they will get bombarded with a load of people giving the answer of the thing that they’re doing.

And the trouble is, that might be the right thing for the person asking the question, or it might be completely wrong for them. The only thing that you can do is find the thing that’s right for you right now. And that will be the best thing for you to use. You can absolutely always change your mind at a later point, I promise you, I’ve done it lots of times. And that, although the first is the worst, okay, so it’s a new skill. If you’ve never created an online course before, it is absolutely a brand new skill to you. And I don’t know about you, but I have never been able to pick up a new skill and been brilliant at it immediately. I’ve had some beginner’s luck, for sure in various things.

But I’ve never been able to pick up a new skill and been brilliant straightaway and not had to practice to get better. It’s exactly the same with online course creation, it’s a new skill for you. Even if you’ve already created one, it’s still a new skill that you’re learning and certainly my methodology might be a little bit different, or in some ways it might be a little bit different to what you have previously learned, or certainly gone about doing. So just again, cut yourself a little bit of slack. It’s a brand new skill. And it’s also addictive!

So as you’re going along, you will almost certainly think about things that you want to do better. So take a leaf out of the done is better than perfect book. As you’re thinking, oh, I could do that better. Remember that’s better than next time you do it not better right here right now. Your very first online course is much more about learning the process of online course creation, as opposed to the actual creation of your online course. And I know that if you are someone who is coming to this thinking, well, I’m going to create my first course is going to be my signature course, I only want to do one of them. That’s okay.

But I would suggest that your very first online course is something that kind of doesn’t matter too much. If it actually gets out into the world and is sold, even though that will be the aim of what we’re doing here. So all of my methodology is aimed at you being able to do that to create something, be proud of it, and to get it out in the world and to sell it if that’s what you want to do. But don’t make your big signature course, be the very first one that you create, because you absolutely will be better at it the second time around.

So the first time you do this, it’s more about learning how to create online courses than it is actually about the course that you’re producing. And this doesn’t mean it has no value. So although the first is the worst, ‘worst’ isn’t synonymous with ‘terrible’, okay, if you follow the methodology that I give you, you will absolutely produce something you can be proud of, doesn’t mean it’s terrible, it just means it will be the worst version of whatever you produce because it’s the first time you’ve done it. That’s all that means, try not to read too much more into it than that. Value in online course creation and in taking my online course here now isn’t just about value that you provide for learners.

Value is also in what you learn yourself about the way you feel most comfortable creating your online courses. Your deepest learning is going to be experiential, which is why I encourage you to create as you go along. And also that’s another reason for choosing something a little bit shorter and not quite as ‘signature’ as you might be thinking about because by doing you will have the best learning experience to be able to understand what you would like to do differently the next time around. It’ll be the same for your learners as well.

And when we come to that bit, we will be talking about how you can give that experience to your learners as they’re going along. Alright, so that’s it for the what and the why of this particular lesson. If you are happy that you’ve got it then great you can skip on over to the next lesson. If not stick around and the next video we’ll talk about how you can make sure you really take the Online Course Maker’s Mantra to heart. See you there.

Hey there, and welcome to this video for the Online Course Maker’s Mantra.

Don’t panic, you haven’t stumbled on the wrong video again. But really, I think if you’ve seen the How To video for the Online Course Taker’s Mantra, you probably know what’s coming for this one. So in the name of saving a little bit of paper, I think all we need to do is just take all of this information and just take that and change it to that.

So exactly the same again, I want you to write it out, I want you to make it really colorful, really bright and make it stand out. And then I want you to stick it up, preferably next to the Online Course Taker’s Mantra so that you can see it at the same time and it catches your eye and you really take to heart all the messages that are contained in the Mantra.

I cannot emphasize enough how important both of these Mantras are to keep you going when you’re in the depths of online course creation. So do your best with those and by all means, put a picture up in the community if you can, of what you’ve created. I would love to see them. I’ll see you in the next video.