When accepted wisdom beats uncommon insight

I was chatting to another online course mentor recently.

We don’t know each other well, but we check in with each other every now and again.

While we were swapping a few stories and hard-won insights, he said something that struck a chord.

He said he’s often surprised about many basic things his new clients haven’t really thought about yet.

We’re talking about foundational things about course creation that are just a Google search away.

And I’ve seen the same thing.

Now, we’re not judging these people - folks are at where they’re at.

Maybe they hired an expert specifically because they wanted someone else to tell them the basic things to think about.

But as a potential course creator, it’s easy to assume your audience already knows the accepted wisdom on your topic.

They must have tried it and found it didn’t work. That’s why they’re looking for extra help. Right?

So you logically conclude that your job is to offer them an alternative:

A clever strategy that goes against the grain.

Or a uncommon insight that blasts through their stuckness.

And sometimes that’s true.

But more often, the accepted wisdom is good enough.

Your job isn’t to teach them something new, it’s to help them discover, engage with and apply what already works.

When it comes to the accepted wisdom, ask yourself:

• How can you make the boring stuff more interesting?
• How can you make the hard stuff easier?
• How can you make stale ideas feel fresh?

Don’t reinvent the wheel for your audience, just teach them how to use it.

See you soon,

Glen