Unleash Your Inner Creator: 10 Online Courses That Will Inspire and Challenge You

(And 10 more on my wish list...)

I'm addicted to learning.

Do you ever feel like there isn't enough time to learn everything you want to learn? I feel like that. Every. Single. Day. And as a course creator, educator, and entrepreneur I’ve learned that being a learn-it-all is part of the job.

During the pandemic, I started taking online courses.

One led to another. And another. I learned how to write online. How to craft marketing emails. Make YouTube videos. Build a community business and more.

And it doesn’t stop there.

I have a self-paced course cued up on creating a content system. And another - here's where it gets meta - to learn how to create self-paced courses.

I have more courses on my wish list.

But I have promised myself not to buy any more courses until I finish the ones that I have started. And not until I wrap up the current cohort of my own course Breakthrough Facilitation. 😅

The courses I have gotten the most value from have 4 magic ingredients:

✔️ An experienced and relatable course creator. They are experts in their field. And they also understand your struggles from having overcome the same struggles themselves.

✔️ A solid learning model. They have teased apart the components of the skill they teach. Many use the self-assessment tool MySnapshot so you can track your learning, application, and results.

✔️ A method for teaching the skills quickly. They focus on the super specific “how” of the skill they teach. And they give you resources and templates so you can put your skills into practice straight away.

✔️ A learning community. They have live sessions where you can interact with the instructor and a motivated community of peers who keep you accountable.

Online courses have inspired and transformed me.

I have had aha! moments sitting in front of my laptop. I’ve grown an international network of collaborators through the people I’ve met. And I’ve learned skills that I use every day in my professional and personal life.

In this blog post, I share 10 online courses that have had a profound impact on me as a creator. I have also included 10 more that are on my wishlist. I hope this list helps you unleash your inner creator as well.

Before we jump into the list I want to share a few disclaimers:

• Not all courses are for everyone. These 10 courses have helped me fill timely gaps in my own skills and knowledge. Your list may look very different from mine.

• Online courses vary in price. The courses on this list run the gamut from US$18 - US$4000. Many course creators offer scholarships, discounts, payment plans, and purchase parity programs.

• North American courses dominate the list. I would love to expand the list to include diverse course creators from other parts of the world with different life experiences. If you have recommendations I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

At the moment, I don’t get any financial benefit from recommending these courses to you. They are on the list because I genuinely got a lot of value from them.

🥁OK, here’s the list👇

Live cohort-based courses

1/ Write of Passage, David Perell

What it teaches: How to write online

👉I went from never having written online to starting a weekly newsletter. It also helped me to start writing regularly on Twitter and LinkedIn. I met people from around the world on a similar writing journey.

2/ Scaling Intimacy, Jenny Sauer-Klein

What it teaches: How to design meaningful group experiences

👉It gave me a deeper understanding of experience design with top-notch facilitators.

3/ On Deck Course Creator, Andrew Barry (*No longer being offered)

What it teaches: How to create an online course

👉It helped me launch my first online course and connected me to a global network of course creators who have become close collaborators.

4/ Keystone Accelerator, Billy Broas

What it teaches: Crafting clear, distinct marketing messages

👉It gave me a framework for writing story-based marketing and an opportunity to learn with a motivated group of entrepreneurs. Billy has just launched a self-paced course called The Five Lightbulbs Method.

5/ Ship 30 for 30, Nicolas Cole & Dickie Bush

What it teaches: How to develop a consistent online writing habit

👉It helped me publish consistently for 30 days on Twitter. It gave me a ton of writing frameworks and templates for publishing posts faster.

6/ Build a Community Business, Tatiana Figueiredo

What it teaches: How to launch or grow a membership community business

👉It taught me the secrets to building a community business and introduced me to a network of incredible community leaders.

7/ Part-Time YouTuber Academy, Ali Abdaal

What it teaches: How to launch and grow a YouTube channel as a part-time gig

👉It broke down in detail how to create a YouTube channel and grow an audience with inspiring guest speakers and high-quality content (P.S. I haven't launched my channel yet!)

Self-paced Courses

8 / The LinkedIn Operating System, Justin Welsh

What it teaches: Growing and monetizing your LinkedIn Account

👉It helped me level up my LinkedIn presence as a "solopreneur" with super-specific tactics.

9/ Master Your Meetings, Caroline Goyder

What it teaches: Speaking with impact in meetings and interviews

👉It taught me techniques from a professional voice coach on how to build my presence on screen. It helped me to supercharge my virtual facilitation.

10/ Essential Paint Trees in Watercolour, Nicola A Blakemore

👉From never having painted before, I learned how to paint a range of impressive-looking trees with watercolors. It’s a great way to relax and think about something other than work. Check out more of Nicola’s courses here.

Courses I haven't finished yet👇

1/ Building in Public Mastery, Kevon Cheung

What it teaches: How to grow a online community with your work and stories

👉I am learning to test ideas and product ideas on Twitter and LinkedIn with a motivated group of creators.

2/ The Content Operating System, Justin Welsh

What it teaches: Building a content production system

👉I got so much value from the LinkedIn Operating System that I bought the Content Operating System.

3/ 30-day Course Creator, Paul Xavier and Dan Geyer

What it teaches: How to create a profitable online course in 30 days

👉Confession: this one was an impulse buy about 6 months ago. I still haven’t completed it.🤦‍♀️ I am planning on creating a self-paced course. I am hoping that this course will show me how.

Here are a few more courses on my wish list👇

4/ Teach What Lights You Up, Alexandra Allen

What it teaches: How to create a cohort-based course

👉I have already created my cohort-based course, but I love Alexandra’s approach to instructional design and course creation.

5/ Facilitating Experiential Learning Online, Romy Alexandra

What it teaches: How to bring experiential learning methods to your online sessions

👉I would like to skill up in teaching experientially and Romy is my go-to for all things experiential learning.

6/ KinShift, Kelly Terbasket

What it teaches: How settlers can cultivate relationships with Indigenous peoples and place

👉I am curious to learn how to uncover my blindspots and see different perspectives. Kelly and her team are top-notch facilitators who have created an experiential workshop based on indigenous values.

7/ Cool on Cam, Cam Houser

What it teaches: How to stop feeling weird on camera

👉There are so many ways to use video that don’t require you to start a YouTube channel. That’s what I’d love to learn more about in this course from Minimum Viable Video creator Cam Houser.

8/Authority by Design, Terri Lonier

What it teaches: How to create a portfolio of Visual Frameworks

👉 Knowing how to explain complex concepts with simple, powerful visuals is one of those “power” communication skills. I would like to level up my visual communication skills from an expert in the field.

9/ Build an Engaging Game for Learners in Just Two Weeks. Stefy Bolaños & Hugo Diaz

What it teaches: How to create a learning game using AI and no-code tools

👉Game-based learning has always intrigued me. I’ve never taken a course on how to do it. You can get 10% off with this promo code: GWYN23

10/ Build Your Website Essentials, Ryan Clover

What it teaches: How to build a website that grows your business

👉I actually went ahead and hired Ryan and his brilliant team to help me re-design my website. The course is another option for creating a website you feel proud of.

What online courses are on your list?

Hi, I’m Gwyn.👋 I am a Facilitator and Experience Designer based in Barcelona, Spain. I’m on a mission to help you design & lead engaging live online sessions that get better results for your groups. I run a 5-week live online cohort-based course called Breakthrough Facilitation. I write a weekly newsletter called The Quest with actionable insights and tips for leading live online sessions. And I offer 1:1 coaching and custom training programs. Visit www.gwynwansbrough.com to learn more.

Subscribe to The Quest 👉 here.