In 2016, I started a blog. I had no plans to write a blog when the idea struck me. I was ready to share my song lyrics with the world at large, in hopes of finding musicians who would take the song out of my head so others could hear it on the radio. One of the songs, the first one I have ever written, has been bouncing around in my head since 1992. It is catchy, and it has staying power.

When I decided to do this, admittedly, I needed a lot of help. It is a process to start a blog and build a website, with a steep learning curve. For the first year, I used the free platform on WordPress, and after writing consistently for a year, I made the decision to buy a domain name and start my own website. Since then, I have moved the original free website to the new domain name, but I left the free website open. I no longer post there, but as I am not officially certified to build a website, I didn’t want to risk losing any of the work I put into the free one.

This year, I have moved the domain name to a new hosting site, and the tech support alone is worth making the change. I am really liking it, and being a DIY website builder, having people on the other end of the chat wanting to help me to succeed is a perk I will keep paying for.

Something I have done a lot in the last four years is what this article is really about. When I first started my blog, I was in a writing group, and I asked questions there about how to proceed. I got my answers but was also asked why I wanted to set up a blog if I wasn’t planning to blog at all. That question started a whole new career path for me. Becoming a published author. Again, this is a digression. Let’s get to the reason I am writing this week.

Self-improvement is what I am addicted to.

Online learning in particular. I am learning to set boundaries, and not say yes to every opportunity to learn that crosses my Facebook feed. The ads are tailored to what you click on when you surf, and four years ago I stumbled upon a free challenge to learn how to build my brand. That was the beginning of my addiction, and it was actually something that my friend I met in the writing group encouraged me to try.

I have had to grow a thicker skin since I took my first free challenge. When it was over, there was an offer to join a program, and the first time I wasn’t able to sign up literally destroyed me. I sobbed when I saw the cost of the program, and knew there was no way for me to join in to keep learning wonderful things about building an online business with my newly formed brand. Since then, I have taken dozens of online courses, and most of them have been free.

I have even repeated the same challenge more than once, to see what is new and if there is anything else I can learn from industry experts.

Why?

Repetition is necessary in order to make new concepts stick in your mind. A year later, I am not the same person I was a year ago, and I know I have experienced a lot of personal growth in the four years I have been signing up for these programs. My perspective changes and I might absorb something the second time around that wasn’t even on my radar the previous time through the challenge.

They all have a pitch with an offer at the end. Sometimes they have more than one offer, and different tiers with different investment levels. Then they start adding bonuses, to increase the value of your investment. I have been tempted, more than once, to purchase a course from the free training.

A couple of times, I did. The industry experts tell you when you are in the program, and making their offer, that you need to spend something to prove that you are serious about your business. In some cases, that is correct. The high ticket offers are not something I have ever paid for. I have purchased low to medium-priced offers, and because I choose them so carefully, I believe that they are sound investments into me and my business goals.

I don’t know everything.

Learning as much as I can online for free is the way I have learned how to build my brand, how to take better quality photos for my blog, how to increase sales in my network marketing businesses, and how I built my own confidence in my abilities. In the free challenges and courses, they purposefully do not give you the information you need to complete the task you are learning about. A good one will provide you with enough content that you do finish learning something you can take with you. The takeaway points. There is enough in there to tempt you to sign up. If you do not want to sign up, the challenge has not done its job effectively.

I have grown jaded towards the offers. I know they are going to be there in the end, if not before, and I have learned to not get involved with that part of the free programs. Once the pitch comes, I usually stop listening. I do watch to see what the offers and bonuses are because maybe one day my path will lead me to be the one making the offers, getting people to sign up to learn from me. I watch the cost, bonuses, and what is included, but I do so objectively. It is purely research for me at this point in the challenge.

The other reason I am not purchasing the all in one course that will change my life as an entrepreneur and help me get richer faster (yes, that is a little bit of my sarcasm there) is that I have done so much on my own, that I believe I can find my way. Not without help along the way, and it might be harder to figure out on my own, but I can figure this stuff out. I built a website and moved it twice. I had help, but I got it done. I have created a website. I had help, and I did it. I changed it when it was time for a new look. Same thing, with help. Do you see the pattern here?

Reaching out for help, whether it is from your friends or the tech support team is how to advance.

After taking so many online courses and challenges, I have learned the secret of what they do. They present you with what they can do to help you to solve your problem, but they don’t tell you how to do it. I know that I can figure it all out. Sure, it would be easier to hand over the cash and have someone guide you step by step to the profitable online business they are promising for your investment. Getting it done faster is always tempting, but what if you get there and you have to keep relying on someone else to help you run the fundamental part of your business? Will you have to pay them for the next fix you need, and every time you get stuck after that? Having it done for you is an option, but it is not one I have ever chosen for myself or my business.

The industry experts will also tell you that it is easier to do what you want to do with a coach or a mentor by your side. I can’t argue with their logic, it is easier to do things when someone is there to walk you through the steps, but I also have to wonder, will they be there for you when you take your leap into launching your program? Will they catch you if you fall? Some will, I am sure, but not all of the people that you do business with will have your values and code of ethics.

I sometimes find myself signing up for free challenges and not being able to participate. When this happens, I know I need to take a break from online learning. It is hard though, because there are so many people out there, offering information on everything you could possibly imagine. The amount of knowledge I have gained in the past four years is still being processed. At times, I am too worn out to sign up again. Being the optimist I am, I may still sign up, even if I can’t possibly attend. In that case, I will look for the replay when I have time, and see if I can learn something else.

I have invested a lot of time and energy into online learning. I can say I have also invested a modest amount of money towards self-improvement and my entrepreneurial goals. It is an addiction, but with healthy boundaries, I believe it does me more good than harm.