Brian E. Walsh. – Unleash Your Brilliance

How is Building a Second Brain different from other methodologies?

Here are some of the main differences between the Building a Second Brain methodology and other approaches to productivity, organizing, and learning.

This isn’t yet another method for “how to be successful.”

It is the method that prepares you to benefit from all those other methods – how to gather and organize the knowledge you acquire from all the other sources you have access to.

This isn’t a monolithic system that you have to implement perfectly to get any value from.

Applying even one or two of the methods taught can revolutionize your productivity and learning.

This method doesn’t assume you have any particular pre-existing knowledge or skills.

It only requires you to have the most basic familiarity with how to use a computer.

This method doesn’t force you into a one-size-fits-all box.

It equips you to develop a system adapted to your specific needs and goals.

This method isn’t abstract and theoretical.

It was developed in the trenches of running a real business, not in a laboratory or classroom, which means it is highly practical and useful in the real world.

This method isn’t a random collection of disconnected “tips and tricks.”

It is a holistic system that works in an integrated way to capture, organize, and share your ideas.

This method doesn’t exhort you to work even harder and do even more.

It teaches you how to do more with less, how to use the sources of leverage available to you, and to offload as much effort as possible to computers.

This method isn’t about optimizing or perfecting yourself.

It’s about optimizing an external system so you are free to imagine, create, and simply relax.

This method doesn’t condemn technology and the Internet.

It teaches a balanced approach to using these amazing tools to enhance creative work, without getting distracted.

This method isn’t about forcing you to work in a certain way.

It’s about providing a support system so you can create value no matter how you decide to work, and a safety net so you have the confidence that no detail is falling through the cracks.

The Building a Second Brain method combines practical technology skills with the bigger picture of how and why idea management can transform your career, your business, and your life. This course focuses on practical skills, but doesn’t stop there: it also cultivates the deeper mindset and the paradigm shifts necessary to thrive in an age of information abundance.

Can the methods you teach be implemented piecemeal, or do they all build on each other?

The honest answer is: both.

Each and every technique I teach in the course is valuable and effective on its own. Many students report that adopting just one of them completely revolutionizes their ability to manage their digital life. You can implement them in any order, a little bit at a time, and you don’t have to “launch” the entire system all at once for it to be valuable.

At the same time, all the methods DO link together to form an integrated system, which I call your “Second Brain.” This isn’t just a random collection of tips and tricks. I’ve carefully chosen each of the three main techniques to target a key leverage point in the flow of information through your life.

My goal is to help you get your Second Brain to a minimum level of functionality by the time the course ends. Once it is set up and working in your daily life, you’ll notice a constant stream of new insights about how to use it. The system then becomes self-improving, since you can document ways to improve your Second Brain in your Second Brain!

I’ve signed up for online courses in the past and had mixed results… how will this course be different?

This is my favorite question.

I’m an online course junkie myself. I’ve spent many thousands of dollars on various courses, webinars, ebooks, and downloads, and had a hard time benefitting from many of them.

I designed Building a Second Brain to address the pitfalls and weaknesses that I observed from existing products:

We focus on implementing a working system, rather than just learning interesting concepts
I show live walkthrough videos of me actually completing each step, rather than assuming you’ll be able to figure it out on your own
The online community is a core part of the experience, not a sideshow where no one engages
Each assignment is part of the implementation process, rather than an academic exercise
Instead of telling you all the possible ways of organizing your notes, and leaving you to choose one on your own, I advocate for the best way, based on my experience and research
I use real-world examples and case studies, rather than making up ideal scenarios
I give you the option to complete the course self-paced, or as part of a live cohort, or both
The core curriculum presents a standardized system you can copy directly, while the online forum contains numerous alternative examples

And if this approach doesn’t work for you, I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. The last thing I ever want to do is keep an unhappy customer’s money.

What happens in the live cohorts?

Approximately 3-4 times per year, we facilitate a “live cohort” of the course for all current and past students.

These will often be “special editions” of the course, focusing for example on writers, entrepreneurs, students, or special use cases such as public speaking, travel, organizing photos, or creating online content.

All previous students will automatically be invited to join future live cohorts, as long as they remain subscribed to the graduate email list.

Each live cohort takes place over 4 weeks, in 5 90-minute live sessions delivered via the Zoom videoconference app. During these 4 weeks, office hours are conducted weekly using the messaging app Slack. Each of these live sessions is recorded and uploaded to the Media Library shortly after it finishes, in case you can’t attend live or want to review them later. Pre-recorded lectures are assigned before each live session for watching on your own time, and the call itself is relatively flexible depending on the needs of the group.

We usually discuss students’ current challenges, have small group discussions via breakout rooms, and share relevant examples and resources. These may include presentations of supplementary material, my ongoing research and learnings, or new case studies.