Teach What You Know: The Hidden Path to Value Most Creators Miss

A few days ago, I was chatting with a friend who’s been in leadership for decades, both in the military and in the educational space. He has a unique ability to build teams through integrity and loyalty. He has built successful teams in some of the most challenging of environments.

Yet when I asked if he’d ever considered teaching his methods, he paused.

“Who would want to learn from me? There are so many others out there with courses and workshops.”

I smiled, opened my laptop, and showed him a simple truth from entrepreneur Seth Godin:

“The person who knows more than you is not your teacher. Your teacher is the person who knows just one step more than you do.”

Why we doubt our teaching value

I’ve noticed a pattern among skilled professionals and creators: we dramatically underestimate the value of what we already know.

We compare ourselves to the top 1% in our field and think, “I’m not qualified to teach yet.”

Meanwhile, there are thousands of people who would benefit enormously from what we’ve already learned.

The version of me from five years ago craved the knowledge I have today. But the current me often discounts that growth, focusing instead on what I haven’t mastered yet.

This happens to so many creators. We build expertise through years of practice, overcome countless obstacles, develop unique approaches to solving problems - then we lock all that value away because we’re not “expert enough.”

The cost of keeping your knowledge to yourself

I have been spending months struggling with how to write useful content for my website. I watched countless videos on YouTube and spent hours and hours down rabbit holes but continued to struggle.

Then I discovered a simple tutorial from someone who had solved the exact same problem.

It wasn’t created by a famous guru or a recognized expert - just someone slightly ahead of me on the journey who took the time to document their solution.

That 30 day challenge saved me weeks of frustration and thousands of dollars.

I realized I had been sitting on dozens of similar solutions that could help others, but I’d never shared them because I didn’t feel “qualified” enough. I was making the same mistake my leader friend was making - assuming that only the absolute experts should teach.

How to start teaching what you know

This isn’t about setting up a fancy course platform or positioning yourself as the ultimate guru. It’s about honestly sharing what you’ve learned in a way that helps others. Here’s how to begin:

Identify your “earned secrets.” What problems have you solved that others still struggle with? What workflows have you optimized? What mistakes have you made that others could avoid? These are your most valuable teaching assets.

Start with the smallest viable audience. Don’t try to teach everyone everything. Focus on one specific problem you can help solve for a particular type of person. Specificity makes your teaching more valuable.

Use the “last year” method. Ask yourself: “What do I know now that I wish I had known one year ago?” This immediately identifies valuable knowledge that’s fresh enough for you to remember the pain of not having it.

Create before you feel ready. The perfect time to teach is when you’ve just solved a problem yourself. The struggle is still fresh, you remember what it was like not to know, and you can explain things in a way that connects with beginners.

A simple framework to start teaching

Here is a basic format that anyone can follow:

• The problem I faced: Describe the specific challenge and why it matters

• What I tried that didn’t work: Share your false starts and mistakes

• The solution I discovered: Explain what actually worked

• How you can apply this: Break down the steps for implementation

• What to watch out for: Share potential pitfalls and variations

This approach works for blog posts, newsletters, social content, videos, or even conversations. It focuses on value rather than credentials.

The Bottom Line

That knowledge you’ve accumulated through experience and struggle? It’s not just valuable to you - it could be transformative for someone else. And you don’t need to be the world’s greatest expert to share it effectively.

The version of you from a year ago needed what you know now. Someone else is in that exact position today, searching for the solution you’ve already found.

Teaching isn’t about positioning yourself as perfect or all-knowing. It’s about being generous with what you’ve learned so far.

You know more than you think. And someone needs exactly what you know.

This whole mindset I’m describing isn’t about pretending to be more expert than you are.

It’s about stopping the habit of undervaluing the expertise you’ve already developed through experience.

That teacher exists right now.

You just have to let them speak.