Is it reasonable to get annoyed by a path?

I’m lucky enough to live near a park that’s undergone a substantial renovation. After months of construction and (supposedly) careful planning, with lots of community input, the new park has finally reopened.

It’s beautiful. New playground equipment. Fresh landscaping. Clean benches. Modern lighting.

But there’s one fundamental problem that has me baffled:

Some of the paths are just way too narrow.

I’m talking barely-two-people-can-walk-side-by-side narrow.

And if someone approaches from the opposite direction? One of you is stepping into muddy grass.

Every. Single. Time.

This isn’t a minor inconvenience—it’s a basic function of what a park path is supposed to do: allow people to comfortably walk through the park.

And it struck me: Surely this was something so easy to get right? There must be recommended dimensions for park pathways. It’s not rocket science.

Yet somehow this fundamental detail was overlooked.

It reminds me of something my lovely student Cara, who recently shared in a video testimonial, said: “I’ve learned so much through Course Creation Academy…even things I didn’t know I needed to know.”

That’s exactly it.

Many aspiring course creators focus intensely on their content (the equivalent of the park’s beautiful landscaping and playground equipment).

But then they overlook fundamental elements they didn’t even know to consider.

After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Just like I assumed park designers would automatically get path widths right, many course creators assume certain fundamentals will simply “work out” without specific attention.

Here are just a few examples of “path widths” that course creators often overlook:

1. Finding your unique teaching angle – Even in crowded topics, your personal approach makes all the difference. It’s like creating a distinctive path that stands out among all the generic ones.
2. Structuring your content for completion – Many creators organise information logically to them but confusingly for students. The right structure is like a well-designed path that naturally guides people forward.
3. Balancing different content formats – Too many videos, too much text, or not enough practical activities creates an uneven learning experience. A well-balanced course is like a path with consistent, comfortable paving throughout.
4. Building in quick wins – Students need early successes to stay motivated. These small victories are like rest areas along your path that encourage people to keep going 🙂

These elements might seem secondary to your expert knowledge, but they’re actually the pathways that transform information into transformation for your students.

That’s why I’ve created Course Creation Academy – to help you build both the beautiful “park” of your expertise AND the properly-sized pathways that make it accessible and valuable to your students (ok…I might be going too far with the path analogy ;-))

So make sure you are on the waitlist and I’ll let you know as soon as a space becomes available.

JOIN THE CCA WAITLIST HERE

Here’s to building courses with perfectly-sized pathways 😉