IF... THEN.. ELSE...

It was 1983 and my best friend Neil Roper had just been given the most awesome birthday present I had ever seen…

A Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K!

It was the iconic, rubber-keyed home computer that, along with rivals like the Commodore 64, spawned a whole generation of gamers and nerds.

Neil and I would spend hours on end playing games like Manic Miner, Hungry Horace and Jet Pac. And when Christmas came around, there was only one present on my wish list.

Somehow my parents found the money (which was close to £500 in today’s terms) and on Christmas morning I received the “toy” that set the path for at least the next 20 years of my life.

You see, much as I loved the games, what really captured my imagination was being able to create my own little programs using the Spectrum’s built-in BASIC language.

And one of the most fundamental building blocks of that language was the IF… THEN… ELSE… statement.

IF (score > 70) THEN PRINT “Pass!” ELSE PRINT “Fail”

And as primitive as this construct is, it’s also a useful way to think about the potential impact of your online course.

Here’s an example…

IF: You take my productivity course

THEN: You’ll finally master your daily to-do list

ELSE: You’ll drown in a rising flood of incomplete tasks

Here’s another…

IF: You join my “Clarity and Purpose” program

THEN: You’ll finally start living a more meaningful life

ELSE: You’ll continue drifting and feeling unfulfilled

In my experience, course creators work hard to articulate the benefits of their programs (as they should) but spend much less time reminding people of the cost of inaction.

So spend a few minutes today thinking about your “ELSE”. It could be the key to getting your market to finally take action.

See you soon,

Glen