Unstacking the Learning Journey: Kickstart Edition!
Hi there,
Welcome to The Learning Stack. So here it is, newsletter number 1. It's quite scary staring at a blank template and deciding what to write.
I think the best thing to do is start with the "Why". Now I don't necessarily agree with Simon Sinek's concept of "Start with Why". It is useful in some situations but for me, when thinking about the space I work in, "Why" often sits behind "What" or "How". You might think that this makes no sense, but let me explain.
I work in the world of learning - course creation, training delivery, learning experiences. The first thing that any student wants to know when they see a course that sounds interesting is "How will this help me?" or "What will I be able to do additionally/better/differently after the course?". Maybe this is me just playing with words but....
So, back to my "Why". Why am I embarking on this journey of writing? Well there are a few reasons.
- I have been working in the corporate world since I was 17. According to my pension providers, I can start dipping into my pension pot in 5 years' time! This makes you stop and think about what the future holds. My take on it is that I don't want to be in corporate life for the next 20 years and it is time for me to start thinking about how I can escape that world and use my skills and experience to create a solo business that I have full control over.
- I feel I have a lot to share and my research has shown me a few opportunities. Newsletters seem old hat but in fact, according to this article, 74% of Americans choose to subscribe to between 1 and 10 email newsletters, so for that reason this newsletter is my first step. The other areas I will be focusing on are Youtube content aimed at showing you how to use your knowledge to build courses you can sell, and unsurprisingly a course or two of my own to take you through the entire process of creating your courses.
- Ultimately, I want to work on something I love, when I want, how I want, from where I want. I want to spend more time with my family, travel the world more, get a motorhome, and work as it suits me. I have no deadline in mind - I enjoy my current job and work with amazing people, but I need to take the first step to see if it is something I can be successful at.
So what can you expect? My aim is to cover a combination of some of the following each week:
Main Feature:
- The core topic of the week, delving into areas like course creation tips, learning technology reviews, or productivity hacks.
Something I Learned This Week:
- A section where I share a new insight or lesson learned from the past week.
What I'm Reading:
- A book, article, or blog post I found insightful
Tech Spotlight:
- A brief review or highlight of a technology tool that can benefit you in your course creation journey.
Subscriber Spotlight or Q&A:
- I would love to get you all involved here - what do you want to know, what are your challenges, what cool stuff have you found?
Social Media Recap:
- I want to highlight some interactions and content shared on social media that can inspire you, or help you think in a different way.
So that's Main Feature for this week!
For now, I am going to leave you with a couple of things:
I am currently reading 2 books from Thiago Forte, both related to Knowledge Management. His "Build a Second Brain" is a fantastic read that enables you to organise your thoughts, projects, tasks, digitally. "The Para Method" gives additional context to Thiago's thought process.
Alongside that, I am putting his process into action (probably the most important part of any learning you undertake) by learning how to use Notion as my Second Brain tool of choice. More to come on Notion in a future newsletter.
That's it from me for now. See you next week!
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Thank you again for joining The Learning Stack. I appreciate your time is limited and full of distractions. Please let me know if you have any feedback, or any topics you would like me to cover in the future.
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