What do LaBron James, Bill Clinton, Hugh Jackman, Alex Puccio, and yours truly (me) all have in common?
If you said awesomeness, you would ALMOST be right (let’s face it, awesome is a pretty generous word to describe Jackman, don’t you think?)
The CORRECT answer would be that each of these individuals have utilized coaching during key turning points in their lives. For some it was sport specific coaching, for others it was self-improvement coaching or personal life coaching, and for some, business coaching. I have actually experienced all four (guess I need more work than most).
But my point is that most of those on my list one would think would not really need that much work. Present company excluded, they have each been at the very top of their particular discipline at some point in their lives, which begs the question: what exactly can a coach do for them?
A common misconception of coaching is the picture of a more skilled Mr. Miyagi taking in the young Daniel (remember? Wax-on, wax-off). And yes, that is definitely a part of coaching: that early passing on of basic skills and traits that lead to a level of competence.
However coaching, especially great coaching, never stops there. The truth is: all highly successful entrepreneurs, athletes, actors, and the like still utilize coaches well after they have ‘made’ it. Have you ever wondered about that? I mean, what exactly does one ‘teach’ LaBron?
The truth is that coaching is much less about teaching, and much more about observing, highlighting, and offering feedback along with a level of accountability that can then take an individual from good to freekin’ outstanding.
My personal favorite part of having a coach (right now I have a business coach) is not the ability that he may have to tell me how to change something, but rather the freedom that I give him to call me on my bluffs.
We ALL do that. We bluff. Most of the time we don’t even realize we are doing it. We’re doing the same thing we’ve always done, the stuff that has worked. But something else is usually at play as well. We convince ourselves that the way we do it is the best way or the only way or the most efficient way (I mean, if it wasn’t, we would change. Right?). That’s where a great coach comes in. They are outside of our myopic view of life, and can much easier see our challenges.
Literally. I had the opportunity a number of years ago to train at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder, CO with then TeamOfTwo coach, Justin Sjong (same dude that has coached Puccio, Woods and many other climbers). On a particular climb that I was working on with him at my max, I was about to top out and couldn’t find my foot hold. After falling, he asked me what happened. “I just pumped out,” was my answer. “Wrong,” Justin replied. “You got scared that you were going to pump outand got tunnel vision. The foot chip you needed was right in front of you the whole time.” He was right, it was exactly where I was trying to place my foot, but I just didn’t relax enough to see it.
Want to make 2017 your best year ever? Get a coach. If you’re a public speaker and want to step up your game, get a speech coach. If you’re a singer, get a voice coach. And of course, if you would like to raise your climbing game, give us a call and we will find a climbing coach just for you. Sure, you can probably eventually figure out some areas to improve, but why not fast forward the whole process and become an more awesome version of yourself today?
Heck, maybe you could even reach the awesomeness level of four out of the five individuals in that first sentence.
Train smart, train hard, and . . .
Follow Your Bliss,
David