Everyone needs a coach

They say that no man is an island. No woman can do it all by herself. It was the coach's fault. Wait what?

These three statements all align the same fear that people most often have BEFORE they find a coach. Each provokes feelings of isolation and project negativity on the mind. Jim Rohn says "Negative is normal. It's not useful, but it is normal". A "normal" person typically does not have a coach, mentor, guru, or sage to council with on their most pressing focus in life. More often people follow pundits, or an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called on to give opinions about it to the public (thank you Google Dictionary for this precise definition).

Through the cult of personality, there are pundits whom some follow. In the social media business arena this could be Gary Vaynerchuk, in the arena of Purpose this could be Tony Robbins, for outrageous fashion this could be Kim Kardashian. The list goes on to infinity as the availability of opinion and imagery continues to build in our often electronically dominated daily lives.

The dissemination of material by pundits leads to direct consumption by their flock, and in turn changes the very fabric of their minds. But, this is often a one-way flow of energy. The pundit sculpts the end consumer's conscious mind. At best, the speaker is able to capture a person's attention for some minutes, and a very small amount of that attention capture is stored in the long term memory of the viewer or listener. A soundbite, or a meme, perhaps a motivational image.

And then the momentum dies. Cold. Hard. Death.

This end of momentum marks a slow reprieve before the return to normal, most often negative and isolating thoughts.

After returning to baseline, a person will remember their seminar, photo, or soundbite and know that they can do more. But without a tangible arena inside of which to wage battle, this person can merely sigh, and know that for another day, they have left potential untapped.

Depressing right?

Yep!

Andrew, why are you harshing my vibe on such a nice Tuesday?

To share with you the glowing lightbulb over my head that switched on just a few weeks ago, after chatting with my fellow McMaster Alumnus Greg Ballantyne.

Greg was kind enough to share his book with me and I could not put it down. During a roadtrip to Vancouver, it was cover to cover reading. Greg pulled the wool back on something that I have experienced so often in the past but did not grasp the significance.

A coach is not a know it all, "I have all the answers, you must only listen to me", cash hoarding ego maniac.

A coach serves. A coach leads. And the very best know to listen for what is not said and look for what is not shown.

This is the difference between a pundit and a coach. Pundits are for the masses, but a coach is all up in your grill, calling the blind-spots that you can't see, and stimulating you to choose the path of most resistance.

One is for idle consumption, and one requires action.

One creates a trite fragile spark of momentum, and the other fuels a fire inside that burns away self doubt.

Think back to the times you have had a coach. Maybe in organized sports through school or local leagues, a masterful fundraiser in volunteer groups, or a senior colleague in the workplace. These individuals did not simply spout off rhetoric and leave you comforted with soothing phrases.

They pushed you to leave idle comfort and bite off more than what you thought you could chew. And then stayed engaged with you. To make sure that big bite would not be your last. It is this mutual accountability to see hard things through to finality which makes coaching invaluable.

Everyone needs a coach.

No man is an island, and no woman can do it all on her own.

Until next time,

Your friend Andrew