What do you guys think of Sara Blakely's Masterclass?

[Andy Black]

There are so many masterclasses like this on youtube that you can watch for free. Why would you pay money for this?

I’d pay because it’s *not* free. Because the expectation is then that they deliver the appropriate value.

In my mind “free” means I pay some other way. Maybe in time hunting things out, or worse if I get the wrong information. Sure, a paid course could also have the wrong information and could also take me time. I just expect it to be put together better.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Been a customer of Masterclass for a few years, worth every penny and I find value in every class, even ones that might not be related to writing or business.

I just wish I had more time to take some of the classes.

I hope at some point to watch Sarah's class, for now I have to just add it to my growing "to watch" list.

 

[RazorCut]

I just had a quick look.It's currently £199 (UK) for a year for 65+ teachers.

There are some exceptionally talented names within those ranks. In fact they probably are all outstanding in their individual fields, However I would be ignorant of many as their speciality is not of my interest.

It does seem heavily weighted to the arts and theatre (acting, directing, singing, story telling, film making, music production, photography, writing etc.) I know that MJ speaks very highly of Masterclass if the subject matter is in your sphere of interest.

Personally for the price I think it is a no-brainer as it provides excellent value and you are guaranteed high levels of quality and insight.

 

[Strategery]

Self-made billionaire.

Or Masterclasses in general?

Anyone ever joined one?
When I have time to start off, I do want a guide / mentor.

I've been on the fence forever about her class and Deadmau5's. I just purchased All-Access, I'll let you know.

 

[Strategery]

I'm only on lesson 2, and I'm already finding massive value in this course. There is a video and a written section (with actionable steps!!) for each lesson, 14 lessons total. The written portion should take up quite a bit of time if you really get into it.

Sara approaches idea generation in an awesome way, and could get anyone fired up with her positivity. I'm not going to tell you to buy it, but so far I'm glad I did. If I remember to I may post up a more complete review when I'm through.

 

[csalvato]

I'm a huge fan of Sarah Blakely – this is really exciting.

I was hesitant to join Masterclass because, back when I first heard of it, it was heavily focused on film, writing, etc.

There are now 3 business/leadership courses on there, at least. And I love learning to cook, etc. Seems like it's time to take the plunge!

Going to wait to see if they do a Black Friday sale, then buy in early December even if they don't.

Thanks for surfacing this new content @fastlanedoll

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

Sara Blakely is not going to spend a few weeks or months, 9 - 12 hours daily, sitting at her desk in her sweatpants and unwashed hair, hustling and creating these content and not doing anything else, any more likely than Kylie Jenner sitting at her PC all day, sourcing for manufacturers and coming up with the website design and solving logistics / fulfilment issues when she started her lipkit business.

Give people the right incentive and you'd be surprised what they'll do to get it.

Blakely owns her company entirely, so she has total choice over her schedule. She could spend 18 hours a day in her sweatpants at her desk if she felt like it.

Ever notice how easily almost all people give advice? It is because having people listen to you and emulate you makes you feel like you matter - it's one hell of a drug. So even beyond pure altruism, she might enjoy making the class because she likes the idea of people wanting her advice. Or maybe she just likes the challenge.

 

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[csalvato]

Why would I be wasting my time researching somebody I have never heard of just because one guy is asking what to do based on what we think about some (possibly yet another) promoter of a holy grail? I assumed the sarcasm in my question was obvious... I guess, it wasn't. Are you buying any intimate apparel?

Most of these promoters of masterclasses, blueprints, magic formulas, are making money selling holy grails to schmacks like me and you (yes, I was buying in the past, too) but they keep selling you what is 99% of the time free on the internet or in the library.

You need to talk less, listen more.

Masterclass is a service that has master classes run by people at the absolute top of their game, for $180 year (less on Black Friday offers). You're confusing FB ad guru "masterclasses" (which are shit value at tens of thousands of dollars + upsells) with the Masterclass product (which is an incredible value at $180/year)

Sara Blakely is the billionaire founder of SPANX, who has a masterclass on her advice on how to be an entrepreneur. It's a gem.

 

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[RazorCut]

Is it just me, or does that seem extremely cheap?

Totally for the value. Imagine how much it would cost to buy the time of just one of those experts for just a single hour (if you could). And having multiple experts within the same field means you get a different slant and a different point of view with each one.

 

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[Xeon]

I doubt these masterclasses are created by these top guys themselves.
Most likely the folks at Masterclass created the content themselves, then approached these guys to give their approval and recite the script, these celebs make some adjusments, stamp their brand and release it.

Sara Blakely is not going to spend a few weeks or months, 9 - 12 hours daily, sitting at her desk in her sweatpants and unwashed hair, hustling and creating these content and not doing anything else, any more likely than Kylie Jenner sitting at her PC all day, sourcing for manufacturers and coming up with the website design and solving logistics / fulfilment issues when she started her lipkit business.

 

[fastlanedoll]

Self-made billionaire.

Or Masterclasses in general?

Anyone ever joined one?
When I have time to start off, I do want a guide / mentor.

 

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[Raja]

Who is Sara Blakely?

there is an awesome tool called "Google". try using it sometimes.

 

[BizyDad]

I like telling what I think and what my opinion is.

If you are going to be that way, do us a favor and learn to think better.

Spouting opinions out of ignorance is just nonsense. Like this...

But what makes you think that it is a deal when this masterclass is either a conference call with 200 other people on the call or an in-person meeting in a large auditorium with 500 other people sitting there with you?

To be clear this was a total guess on your part.

You can't be bothered to Google, but you'll type all these words that describe nothing even remotely close to reality.

People tried to tell you that you weren't getting it, and you kept sharing your unfounded opinion.

@csalvato didn't block you because he can't take criticism. He blocked you because you won't educate yourself on the subject matter being discussed. You are proudly and willfully ignorant, but you're talking like your opinion should be respected.

You don't know Sarah Blakely or Masterclass, so you're just hating to be a hater. You're talking s***. Oh, how enlightening.

Here's a list of current Masterclass contributors:



Learn guitar from Tom Morello or Santana. Probably can't get that education for free or in a library. Learn writing from James Patterson or Neil Gaiman. Directing from Scorsese or Ron Howard. Photography from Leibovitz. Chess from Kasporov. Etc.

There's masterclasses on entreprenuership, leadership, negotiation, advertising, messaging, persuasion and sales.

It doesn't promise to make you successful. It doesn't promise to even make you money. But if you can't get $180 worth of value out of it, I promise you're an idiot.

I would say "winners don't buy courses" but I'd get rocks thrown at me from all of the people with cognitive dissonance who paid a lot for courses and would rather call me an a**hole than be confronted with the reality that they wasted their money to satisfy their need to action fake.

Go start a business or go buy a course. Choice is yours.

I, generally speaking, hate courses too. Still...

Plenty of winners went to college. That's the height of coursework.

Do you have to go to college or sign up for courses to start a business? To make money? To be successful? No. Of course not.

Of course you have to learn to read somewhere, and for many that takes place in coursework, but I digress...

Look at the list of billionaires and tell me how many of those successful winners never signed up for a single course. Even if you find one or a dozen, surely the fact that they are the overwhelming minority speaks to how difficult it is to be a winner absent of course work.

Paying for a quality education is not an action fake. You can get that education in school, in a course, in a book, hiring a coach, or as my dad always says, "In the School of Hard Knocks". Sure, the belief that life and experience is the best teacher certainly has validity, but it also costs you an arguably more precious resource than money. Time.

And people who figure it out as they go tend to make costly mistakes that can be avoided if they had only known a little better. This forum is filled with such stories.

So why is wasting money on, for example, bad adwords mistakes while figuring out how to run AdWords somehow more "winner mentality" than say, signing up for Andy Black's course to give you foundational, actionable knowledge?

That makes no sense.

There are people who can succeed without courses, and vice versa. And there are people who can fail with courses, and vice versa. But we can't draw any universal truths out of these facts.

Everyone has their own journey. You're not an as****e. You have certain gifts that help you figure things out faster than most. Not everyone is like you. Some people need courses to get to where they are going. And that's ok too.

 

[1step]

There are so many masterclasses like this on youtube that you can watch for free. Why would you pay money for this?

Can you link to 2-3 of them?

 

[Everyman]

When I have time to start off, I do want a guide / mentor.

I recommend you find a real one. Masterclass provides a lot of value and is not that expensive. But real mentoring is about getting to know you and giving you appropriate guidance and working with this. You won't have a discussion with any of these people and you won't socialise with them. They won't challenge you directly.

If you need gold nuggets there are plenty there.

For me one of the biggest would be Kasparov talking about what a talent is (answer - ability to work hard).

I am just watching Sara talking about her approach to mindset. I don't have to watch anything else because business ideas are a plenty. Building business is 'easy'. Everything is 'easy' when you have the correct mindset.

I just had a quick look.It's currently £199 (UK) for a year for 65+ teachers.

If you use VPN and login through US ip then it goes down significantly (or at least it used to).

There are so many masterclasses like this on youtube that you can watch for free. Why would you pay money for this?

Because it's condensed in one place but of course doesn't mean it's worth paying for it... Could you be so kind and paste here any masterclass that you think are free and provide a lot of value? Thanks

 

[daivey]

i signed up for masterclass. they had a buy one get one deal.
I've watched quite a few of them. My favourites:
#1 Chris Voss
#2 niel degrasse tyson

good watch (no order)
Paul Krugman
Howard Schultz
Bob Iger
Chris Hadfield
Sarah blakley

cooking:
they are all great


I tried watching the other categories but I didn't really get into them and couldn't connect..
For example, there is a Steven Curry teaches basketball.. well, I have to agree with others on here, he's not teaching rocket science on how to throw a ball correctly..
Samuel Jackson, one of my favorite actors.... i dont know, I guess it's positive reinforcement for people that want to go into film?? Ijust dont see how watching a masterclass will help u with these "skills"..

I also tried watching the poker ones... they were ok... not a whole lot of secret sauce...


I think Chris Voss is the best masterclass to actually LEARN from and put something into practice vs. all the other masterclasses. He's really simplified his process and streamlined to actualy learn from..
whereas the other people are not really teaching you as much...

 

[csalvato]

What is your problem? You do not like criticism? Is the spirit of this forum patting each other on a shoulder and telling you what a great value you are providing?

I like telling what I think and what my opinion is. And my opinion is that this thread is crap. Go to any forum providing opinions on all sorts of products, be it movies, music, or gurus no matter how big B they have and you will find trillions of different opinions, all of them worthless because they are subjective.

Welcome to the forum. You're going to have a rough time here.

 

[Everyman]

I doubt these masterclasses are created by these top guys themselves.
Most likely the folks at Masterclass created the content themselves, then approached these guys to give their approval and recite the script, these celebs make some adjusments, stamp their brand and release it.

Sara Blakely is not going to spend a few weeks or months, 9 - 12 hours daily, sitting at her desk in her sweatpants and unwashed hair, hustling and creating these content and not doing anything else, any more likely than Kylie Jenner sitting at her PC all day, sourcing for manufacturers and coming up with the website design and solving logistics / fulfilment issues when she started her lipkit business.

THere is a lot of truth in what you wrote. They definitely didn't invent the whole platform themselves.

I still think they wouldn't approve anything even close to 'ingenuine'. Their achievements and customers speak for themselves. You have to have immaculate work ethic, which in simple terms means - you cannot cheat your way to the top. And they definitely apply it to everything they touch. Or they don't touch it at all (i.e. because it's a waste of their precious time)...

But you can also find negative comments under some of the celebs' video there, which is how customers have their say about it - and most of them are positive. Big names can only go this far. There has to be value.

 

[csalvato]

Sara Blakely is not going to spend a few weeks or months, 9 - 12 hours daily, sitting at her desk in her sweatpants and unwashed hair, hustling and creating these content and not doing anything else, any more likely than Kylie Jenner sitting at her PC all day, sourcing for manufacturers and coming up with the website design and solving logistics / fulfilment issues when she started her lipkit business.

I dunno dude...recently she seems really intent on giving back. I see her making appearances on lots of podcasts, and sincerely think this phase of her life is all about giving back.

It might be cynical to think successful people wouldn’t invest time in helping others. At her level of success, what more is there aside from finding your own way to give back and send the elevator back down?

 

[NMdad]

I find value in every class, even ones that might not be related to writing or business.

Totally agree with this. For example:

• How Malcolm Gladwell deconstructs & reveals his writing & interviewing processes/tactics/strategies.
• How Tom Morello talks about breaking up guitar practice into 4 segments, which each have a different focus.
• How Gordon Ramsay chooses & then highlights specific characteristics from specific ingredients in a given dish.

Even if you don't play guitar or write nonfiction or cook, those are strategies you can extrapolate & apply to things you do in business or any other endeavor.

It's like they lift the veil so you can see how they do what they do.

Once you see that, it's clear how they excel at what they do. The level they're at isn't because of random chance or because they were born supremely talented (although they do have innate ability). They've had strategies & practices they've been doing for years that create the output we see from the outside. And practices & strategies are behaviors that anyone can start implementing in their own endeavors.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Has anyone completed it? Thoughts?

 

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[Kid]

Fake gurus selling fake programs for $1000's.
Everyone: I'm thinking of joining.

Real, top successful people selling program for $180.
Everyone: Scam! Boo! They cheat!

You really gotta wonder how does this work.

 

[MichaelCash]

There are so many masterclasses like this on youtube that you can watch for free. Why would you pay money for this?

 

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[Roli]

I just had a quick look.It's currently £199 (UK) for a year for 65+ teachers.

Is it just me, or does that seem extremely cheap?

 

[Madman1996]

I bought the course let me tell you it is worth every penny she goes not into theory alone but in practice to
she talks first about how to discover your why and purpose and what do you like and what are you good at and how do you want to serve the world and then she goes into when you have these questions answered and you like drinking tea or something she says don't run on autopilot
meaning ask your self how can I make this better etc and then she talks about prototyping
manufacturing getting your product to the market as soon as possible and build awareness and a brand and making you stand out of the competition

 

[foodiepersecond]

I mentioned the Black Friday BOGO deal and teamed up with a fellow member here to purchase it. I naturally went straight to the food section. I'd say if you have the money for it, go for it.

 

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[Strategery]

Has anyone completed it? Thoughts?

I did! I really enjoyed it. It’s mostly mindset-type stuff, but she has a lot to say about company culture, pricing goods (physical), marketing and manufacturing. She’s super hands-on during the development stage.

I really enjoyed it, especially since I want to produce physical products, but anyone could benefit from hearing what she has to say. She really had a lot to say about coming up with ideas, which you don’t see too often. I started carrying a small ideas notebook after she recommended it, and I’ve come up with some cool shit by developing the habit of writing down problems/dislikes.

She’s also recommended an audio lecture by Wayne Dyer called How to Be a No-Limit Person which blew my F*cking mind, I’ve listened to it 3 times now.

She has also continued adding value by having online Q&A’s for students of the class, there’s one coming up this Wednesday. Awesome person.

That said, just watch it. It is worth every cent.

 

[csalvato]

Has anyone completed it? Thoughts?

I have.

For an experienced entrepreneur there’s definitely some good nuggets to takeaway, just a few though.

If it’s your first resource, it’s a great start. Particularly for female entrepreneurs and those getting into physical products (particularly in the fashion and textile industry).

Personally, any resource where you hear a billionaire speak at length is good to hear how they think. It’s worth it for that on its own, IMO

 

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[Raoul Duke]

@csalvato

NOTABLE! - No one will mentor me! Wait, no, that's too hard!

On @Vick's legendary GOLD thread on the INSIDE, he was quoted as saying this: Anyway, been taking some masterclasses online at masterclass.Com as well as a ton of other research. (He's taking a class on screenwriting, which interests me) I never heard of Masterclass.com so I took a peek...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

$teal imo.

 

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[Johnny boy]

I would say "winners don't buy courses" but I'd get rocks thrown at me from all of the people with cognitive dissonance who paid a lot for courses and would rather call me an a**hole than be confronted with the reality that they wasted their money to satisfy their need to action fake.

Go start a business or go buy a course. Choice is yours.