How To Go Through The Black Friday Sales Without Spending Money On Online Courses
Some deals are so good it feels stupid not to buy.
I’m one of those individuals who signed up for a bunch of newsletters to help me get better at writing, improve my productivity and myself (in general).
A lot of these newsletters offer online courses that can help me 10x my performance.
However, prices for these courses are too expensive for my budget. I tell myself, “I would love to 10x my performance, but I don’t have the money so I’ll just wait it out until I get the money I need”.
That excuse is squashed when the Black Friday Sales rolls in.
Prices of these courses are discounted so low that “not having a budget” is no longer an excuse.
The offers are structured such that it feels stupid not to buy. This is why I gave in last time. My desire to “10x my performance” was pretty strong.
But despite that strong desire, I was not able to 10x my performance.
It wasn’t because I was scammed into buying a useless product.
It was due to my lack of commitment.
That lesson did not dawn on me overnight. It took me 3 years to notice this consistent pattern of myself when it comes to buying online courses. I have been a sucker for these courses because — who wouldn’t want to 10x their performance?
It just doesn’t make sense for someone to say “No…” to that.
Below is the internal debate that happens in my head whenever I’m tempted to buy a course:
“This is too expensive for my budget. I shouldn’t even bother. But wait…it has to be expensive — it’s an investment! If I’m thinking about investing, NOW is the time. Why wait? You don’t wanna be one of those people who wished they invested in Bitcoin a decade ago. Why would you wanna delay again and miss out on the best deal you are ever going to get?”
It’s a struggle…
Here are the 3 “filter” questions I ask myself to pull me out of that mental struggle:
Am I being duped by the copywriter into buying it or do I really really want it?
In the marketing industry, there are persuasion experts known as “Copywriters”.
Copywriters are aware of our innermost desires. The content of their copy touches on those desires, to make what they offer irresistible. It’s not because they wanna straight up manipulate you. They are just creative at turning “This is good” into “This is amazing!”. That is the whole point of having a sales copy.
The most common one I see is when prices are slashed by more than 50%. It’s like finding an item from a luxury shop at the dollar store. If everyone finds out, you’re going to have to compete with others to get it (hashtag “stampede”).
“People seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.” — Robert Cialdini
But before I submit into buying, I need to confirm if the decision I’m making is mine alone. This means, making sure I’m looking at this whole thing objectively, not because I’m giving in to the pull of scarcity.
Then I proceed to the next filter…
Can I keep going without it?
These deals make me forget the fact that: significant results take time.
That said, in a short timeline, what does my next year look like if I continued whatever the heck I’m doing without the online course? What if I took the course? If the course can help me 10x my performance sooner, how soon are we talking about here?
When I caved into buying those online courses in the past, I was blinded by my desire to achieve my goals in an instant.
But that’s short-term thinking.
It’s the same thinking that holds me back from 10x-ing my performance.
That needs to be fixed first. Otherwise, there’s a high likelihood that my next year is going to be the same with or without the online course (regardless of how good the course is). Therefore, I shouldn’t even bother thinking about buying.
If I’m really serious about 10x-ing my performance, then I need to take consistent action.
“Knowledge isn’t power; it’s potential power. Execution trumps knowledge any day of the week.” — Tony Robbins
And when I’m confident I can follow through the online courses exercises, I will then ask myself the last filter that disregards the two other questions:
Am I willing to block out time to practice what I’m going to learn?
If you’re thinking about ways to 10x your performance, chances are you are already too busy to add more tasks/activities to your daily schedule.
I’m a father with a full-time job, who, also wants to pursue a creative career online. Taking care of my family already uses a lot of my time. “Me-time” is scarce. It’s the time I’m not willing to trade-off.
My family is that important to me…more important than whatever improvement I’m looking for.
If I’m really serious about 10x-ing my performance with the help of an online course, then, I need to give up some of my precious “me” time.
That’s what’s at stake whenever I’m tempted to buy an online course.
If I’m not willing to trade my “me-time” to commit to the online course, then I shouldn’t even bother thinking about buying.
But I still want to improve…what should I do?
My mental energy is better used for finding cheaper alternatives.
Nothing groundbreaking but anything that can move me forward. That could be books, YouTube videos or podcasts. There’s so much free information out there on how to succeed.
It’s not the information I need, it’s the discipline to take action.
The people I admire who sell these online courses got to where they are today due to their work ethic. That’s something I need to emulate first before I consider joining their online courses.
Before you think about skyrocketing your success with online courses, you need to make sure you can commit to it.
Otherwise, your investment will go to waste.
