30 days ago, I signed up for Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole's cohort-based course, Ship 30 for 30.

In that time, I wrote & published 30 Atomic Essays, learned the fundamentals of Digital Writing, made friends, and started gaining clarity over what my niche might be. It has been a very rewarding (and challenging) journey, and I am more excited than ever to keep writing online.

Here are the 3 biggest things writing & publishing consistently every day for 30 days taught me:

1. You learn effectively within a community.

Community means we come together as one.

It’s in our nature to learn together. We each have an innate desire for mastery. It’s a part of what drives innovation and bolsters our chance of survival in new situations.

The Ship 30, like many online communities, has systematically supported my growth as a digital write — and I am grateful for all of you.

2. You grow quickly when mentors share their insights.

Expert curriculum is critical to the process of growth and development. You can struggle on your own, and as a result slowly, painfully reinvent the wheel. Or, you can tap into the experience of those who have done it before.

Dickie & Cole have earned my trust with a thoughtfully designed course that balances rapid growth with a compassionate pace.

3. You gain power by doing for yourself.

You commit to a practice in order to challenge yourself and learn what you are capable of.

If you “fail,” you can use the experience to learn more about yourself. If you “succeed,” you can add complexity to find out how much farther you can go. Either way, it’s about the journey more than the destination.

Successfully completing the 30 for 30 commitment has taught me that I can be a digital writer. I’m the one who makes that true.

If you have been thinking about getting started writing online too, let me know. I'm happy to share more about the experience and what I learned.