Stop Buying Courses You Never Finish! Do This Instead

Spoiler: It’s not laziness or lack of talent

photo credit: Lynn Hardin

The truth is: most people never finish an online course! Only 3-5% do! 🤯

They buy it. They start excited. Life happens. It fades.

Today’s guest post by artist Lynn Hardin (life coach, mixed media artist, and former school principal)…

…landed hard when she first shared it. It spread fast because it told the truth.

There’s no wrong way to take a course. But most on-demand courses leave you alone.

My January Bootcamp is NOT JUST ANOTHER on-demand course.

The LIVE Substack Kickstarter Bootcamp includes:

• 4 days flat of LIVE sessions
• 10 guided implementation days
• 24/7 community access
• access to 500 plus like-minded writers
• On-demand bonus trainings
• Substack Notes scheduling tool access
• And even more bonuses I’ll reveal soon

Lynn finished one of my Bootcamps.

And yes, she’s an A Plus Student (take the quiz at the bottom of this post!)

Because she showed up. And she was supported.

⭐I am co-hosting this year’s LIVE Substack Kickstarter Bootcamp with psychotherapist and Bootcamp grad Ellen Scherr. She has been there. She finished. Now for the very first time she’s teaching alongside me. You’ll learn how to read the mind of your audience, write magnetic long and short form posts and click-worthy headlines.

⭐And then there’s Jerry Keszka. He transformed his whole 50plus life (ex-scientist, fashion aficionado, blogger) and is now helping building an online business. He’ll show you how to build your LOVELY online home that is Substack, as guest author and artist Lynn did so beautifully for herself.

⏰For the next 24 hours, you can join for $299 $129 with code

EARLYBIRD

Read Lynn’s post below. See yourself in it. Then join us, we support you and your natural strenghts and complete this time and say:

Goodbye non-finisher syndrome or future course regret!

But now let’s hear it from Lynn from Make Art~Be Happy/ Art

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Let’s just name it:
You saw the course.
It spoke to your soul.
You imagined yourself curled up with a hot drink and your sketchbook, maybe in some Pinterest-worthy corner of your home.
Your inner artist whispered, This is it.
You clicked Buy Now with the best of intentions.
And then… crickets.

The course sits unopened. Or maybe you watched the first video and never went back.
And now you’re left wondering: Why do I do this?
What’s wrong with me?
Spoiler alert: nothing is wrong with you. But there is something worth exploring.

Here’s what I’ve found—both in my own life and in conversations with other creative women: finishing (or even starting) these courses isn’t about laziness or lack of commitment. It’s about invisible resistance masquerading as productivity, perfectionism, or plain old avoidance.

Let’s unpack it.

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1. We Buy Hope, Then Get Hit With Real Life

Buying the course felt like action. And it was—a hopeful, empowered move.
But once the buzz wears off, you’re left with… life. Laundry. Kids. That weird feeling in your shoulder. Your mother’s drama. The news.

Courses ask for time, space, and attention. And creative women?
We’re often already stretched thin meeting everyone else’s needs before our own.

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2. Perfectionism Kills the Starting Line

The irony? The more we care about something, the less likely we are to start it.
You love art. You want to get better.
But the thought of “ruining” a clean sheet of paper or doing the assignment “wrong”?
Paralyzing.

Perfectionism doesn’t show up as “I need to be perfect.”
It shows up as:
“I need the right supplies.”
“I need more time.”
“I need to finish the laundry first.”
And so you delay. And delay. And eventually forget why you signed up in the first place.

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3. There’s No Deadline, So There’s No Urgency

Online courses live in that no-man’s land of “I’ll get to it later.”
Unlike a live class where people are expecting you—or even a yoga class where you’ve paid for a spot—online courses are often self-paced.
Which means: no accountability, no urgency, and no built-in feedback loop to say, “Hey, keep going.”

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4. The Course Was Never Meant to Be Finished

Let’s be honest.
Some courses are too packed.
Too many hours, too many materials, too many lessons trying to cover everything from color theory to selling your work online.

Many creative women don’t need everything. They need a doable place to start.
But we sign up for the buffet, get overwhelmed, and leave with a stomachache.

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5. Deep Down, We Don’t Feel Worthy of the Time

This one hurts, but it’s true.
Somewhere along the line, we were taught that play is frivolous, that art is a luxury, and that our creative pursuits matter less than other people’s needs.

So even when we do carve out time for the course, the guilt creeps in.
We wonder if we’re being selfish.
We think we should be doing something more productive.
And so we close the laptop and go fold the towels instead.

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Here’s the Reframe:

You didn’t fail the course.
You didn’t waste your money.
You didn’t flake out.

You are a creative woman living in a chaotic world.
You long to make beautiful things.
And you can still begin.
Now. Today. With what you have.

Even five minutes counts.
Even a messy first try is sacred.
Even just opening the course portal is a win.

What if you gave yourself permission to not “finish” but just start again?
What if you asked less of yourself, not more?

What if your art wasn’t something you earned after all the hard things were done,
but the very thing that brings you back to life?

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🤔Quick quiz. What kind of course taker are you?

Answer fast.

1. I love structure and live deadlines

2. I move slower but I stay consistent

3. I wait and then binge everything

4. I enroll now and start when ready

5. My energy and schedule change often

Your style:

1. The A Plus Student

2. The Steady Climber

3. The Power Binger

4. The Strategic Starter

5. The Flexible Creative

Lynn is the A Plus Student. She leaned in. She finished.

Tell us. What type of course taker are you?

⏰Join the Bootcamp for only $129 (instead of $299) with…

EARLYBIRD

…for the next 24 hours!

Say:

Goodbye non-finisher syndrome or future course regret!