I was at a bar in Lawton, Oklahoma.
The town just outside Fort Sill. A couple Army buddies and I were out having a few drinks and playing darts (me smokin’ them since I was a freakin’ darts sharp shooter!) when it happened.
This dude was sitting in the corner…
And he kept eyeballing us.
I generally try to keep things chill so I let it ride for awhile. But, he just kept staring us down and it was blatantly obvious. So, finally, I just walked up to him and asked him “What’s up?”
What he said floored me.
He said, “Are you Sergeant Morris?”
Uh, what?
“Yeah, do I know you?” Didn’t recognize the kid at all. He said, “Probably not, but I know you. You taught the USD (Unarmed Self-Defense) class I went through before I deployed.”
He continued…
“I thought it was you, but wasn’t sure. Man, I just wanted to tell you thank you so much. Everything you taught us… I used it so many times when I was over there. You literally saved my life multiple times.”
I’m gonna be straight up.
I still get choked up when I think about it.
That was the first time I’d met one of the tens of thousands of soldiers I trained… AFTER they’d come back. And having already been to Iraq myself, I knew he was serious and exactly what he meant.
It was also the day the idea of me being a teacher…
Solidified in my mind.
This is what I was born to do.
As it happens, he told me, he was a part of a unit who I’d actually chewed their butts halfway through the class. I’m talking First Sergeants and Majors — people that way outranked me.
I gave ’em an earful…
Because they weren’t taking it serious.
And, again, having been over… I knew what they were in for. I told them to look around at the people next to them. That some of those people were going to die because they wanted to f*** around.
Which was damn true.
Anyway, I was extreme back then. As serious as serious can be… because I felt like I literally held their lives in my hand. And, if something happened, to any one of them, I felt like their blood was on MY hands.
It was MY job to reach them.
Get them to pay attention.
And teach them how to survive.
In any case, that’s where I learned how to teach — in that intense environment. And, a funny thing happens when the stakes are that high. All the BS, all the nonsense, all the ego, all the fluff… goes out the window.
And you zero in on what matters.
I take a very similar approach to how I teach even today. Because, for a lot my students, their life IS on the line — whether they recognize it or not. You get one shot at this deal. And all your hopes, all your dreams, everything you want…
I believe it comes down to skills.
And what you can learn.
So, it’s damn serious to me. If I don’t make an impact, lives will be crushed, families broken apart, possibly even lives lost. Which is why I don’t teach to entertain… I teach to produce results.
Period.
Always have. Always will.
Doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun.
But, that’s never the focus.
There a profound lesson there…
For both you as a teacher… AND a student.
In any case, I also happen to believe that I’ve refined and honed a method for teaching that does just that: produce results — while still keeping it straight-forward and simple for the teacher.
A method to rapidly crank out course after course…
Yet, cram each one with actionable value…
That gets results for YOUR students.
I’m sure not every single one of my students would agree. But, I have hundreds of positive reviews and a nearly-90% satisfaction rate on all my courses. That’s rare in this industry and it all goes back to the method I use.
In any case, the big secret is how you craft your course outline.
That’s what will make or break your course.
Is it actionable enough? Does it have depth to it? Is it loaded with value? These are the things students are after. And this course-building method ensures you answer “yes” in every course you create.
In any case, I teach this method in my new “Sane Course Creation” course — which you can get right now for essentially free. That’s because it’s uploaded over on Skillshare.
And, as a teacher there…
I can get you an exclusive 1-month free trial of the site (the normal trial is just 7 days). With that, you get 100% unfettered access to every course on the site, including mine.
And then, if you cancel before the month is up…
You never pay a penny.
Certainly a few hoops to jump through, but may be worth it to you. Especially since the course will be coming off Skillshare at the end of the month… at which point, I’ll sell it on my website for probably around $150 or so.
So, if you want it essentially free.
This is your best chance.
The link to start your trial is here: https://myjohn.us/sane.
Once you’re in, just use that same link (which will take you right into the correct course) and watch Lesson #2. That’s where the full Sane Course Creation course is housed. And that’s it.
Later,
John
P.S. For Patrons, you already have access to the course here: https://myjohn.us/patreon.
