I almost gave up on my dream of working online five years ago. And the funny thing is, it wasn’t because I couldn’t find anything to learn.
It was because there was TOO MUCH to learn. 😅
The Problem With Learning New Skills Through Free Online Resources
Back then, I was trying to figure out how to become a virtual assistant. I spent countless hours watching YouTube tutorials, reading articles, and basically consuming anything that could teach me how to get started.
And OMG, it was overwhelming.
One tutorial would tell me to do one thing, another would suggest something completely different, and then I’d come across another article that made me question everything I’d just learned.
Very productive, right? 😂
AI wasn’t even a thing back then, so I had to manually organize all those videos, articles, and notes just to give myself some kind of learning structure.
I was spending more time organizing information than actually learning and applying anything.
Eventually, I almost gave up.
I was running out of money, nothing was coming in yet, and I was starting to wonder if I should just go back to the same kind of jobs I hated.
Why I Decided to Invest in a Paid Online Course
So I took a risk.
I invested the last few pesos I had in my bank account in a VA course.
And I’m so glad I did.
It wasn’t that the course contained information I couldn’t possibly find for free. What made the difference was having a structured learning experience.
I finally knew what I needed to learn, what to practice, and what steps to take next.
I genuinely believe that without that training, I wouldn’t have been able to start earning online when I did.
Why Paid Online Courses Don’t Always Guarantee Results
I’ve enrolled in several online courses throughout my freelancing career, and I’ve realized that not every course is going to work for everybody.
You could buy the most comprehensive, highly recommended course out there and still get very little from it.
Because aside from the quality of the course, your readiness matters, too.
Are you learning something you actually need right now? Do you have the time and capacity to practice it? And more importantly, are you willing to implement what you’re learning?
Or are you just collecting courses because enrolling makes you feel like you’re doing something productive?
I’ve been guilty of that, too. Apparently, buying another course doesn’t automatically install new skills into your brain. How inconvenient, right?
How to Make the Most of What You Learn From Online Courses
These days, I’m becoming more intentional about the courses I take.
I still enjoy learning new things, but I try to choose skills that are relevant to what I’m currently doing or planning to do.
And I’ve also realized that I don’t have to finish an entire course before I start applying what I’ve learned.
Sometimes, you learn more by trying something, making mistakes, and figuring things out along the way.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with learning just because you’re curious. But when you’re investing in a course to improve your career or business, I think it’s worth asking yourself what you actually want to do with that knowledge.
Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t to finish as many courses as possible. It’s to become capable of doing something you couldn’t do before.
Otherwise, you’re just building a very expensive collection of unfinished lessons. 😅
And considering how many courses are available these days, that’s a collection that can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Photo by: Ravi Kant
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