1) Your Prep Work
Get clear on the format of your curriculum.

For the duration of Curriculum Lab, what is the type of curriculum that you’ll be working on?

Retreat?
Workshop?
Multiple-week course?
Something else?

At this point, how long do you sense your retreat, workshop or course will be?

(It may seem counterintuitive to get clear on format first, especially if you’re not totally clear yet on your content. But I have found that it is actually very helpful to have at least a general sense of your container FIRST, before going any further).

Get Clear on Where Your Ideal Client is right now and where she wants to be by the end of your course/curriculum.

I recommend making 2 lists for this.

List #1: The Result

Start at the end & begin to clarify the RESULTS you want your participants to have by the time your course/retreat/program is complete:

• What will she have accomplished?
• What will she have learned?
• How will she feel by the time the program is complete?
• What will her Inner Growth have been?
• What will she know?
• Why will she be satisfied?

List #2: The Starting Point
The second list is about where your participants are BEGINNING when they step into your course/retreat/program:

• What has your ideal client already accomplished in terms of the subject matter you’ll be helping her with?
• What is her current understanding/knowledge is of the subject matter you’ll be helping her with?
• What are her current blocks? Where is she having trouble with the goals she wishes to accomplish?
• How does she currently feel?

A note to your Inner Perfectionist: Throw away any and all ideas about PERFECTION. Perfectionism kills creativity, learning, risk taking with ideas, and much more. Allow yourself to be imperfect as you do this homework. Allow yourself to be OK with writing down answers that may not be 100% “correct”. Allow what you come up with to not be “complete” for now. And most importantly, get curious & have fun with it!

A note to those who either aren’t yet clear on what their expertise is or who have many different ideas: For now, pick something even if it’s not the perfect thing. Remember, this is a process, and we simply need to start somewhere. Some questions that can help you decide what to pick to start off with:

• If there was one thing you would want your ideal clients to know about the world or themselves, what would it be?
• What are the techniques, tools, wisdom, practices you use in your own life or work that have created the most satisfaction, happiness or growth for you? How have they done that?
• What are the ideas and wisdom that currently feel most exciting and alive for you? Where are your current interests?