Who’s Coaching You On Your Path To Success?

Who’s Coaching You On Your Path To Success? Written by Jack Canfield | Wednesday, 11 May 2011 00:00 You would never expect an athlete to reach the Olympic Games without a world-class coach. Nor would you expect a professional football team to enter the stadium without a whole team of coaches; head coach, offensive coach, defensive coach, and a special teams coach. Yet, many people believe that they can achieve their goals and new levels of success without any outside support or assistance. If you fall into the category of people who believe that a coach is “good for some people, but not right for me,” I urge you to challenge this belief. Because of all the things successful people do to accelerate their trip down the path to success, securing the services of a coach is at the top of the list. A coach helps you clarify your vision and goals, supports you through your fears, keeps you focused, confronts your unconscious behaviors and old patterns, expects you to do your best, helps you live by your values, shows you how to earn more while working less, and keeps you focused on your core genius. The best part? Today, coaches are available to support you in achieving nearly every professional or personal goal, whether growing your business, losing weight or simply achieving the balance life you crave. Worth More Than Money Throughout my career, I have had many coaches who have helped me achieve my goals: business coaches, writing coaches, marketing coaches, and personal coaches. The results have been tremendous. First and foremost, I immediately doubled my free time. I delegated more tasks, scheduled vacations rather than merely thought about them, and hired additional staff that ultimately positioned my business to earn more. And that was just in the first few months. Not only did my business benefit, but my family did as well. For me, coaching wasn’t just about making more money. It was about helping me make better decisions for myself and my business. The truth is, most coaching clients are very smart. Yet they still know the value of accessing someone who can be objective, honest, and constructive about the options they are facing. Why Coaching Works Regardless of whether the program is designed to achieve a specific business goal (say, increasing your real estate listings) or whether it’s set up to help you simply gain more clarity and progress in all areas of your personal and professional life, a coach can help you with the following: • Determine your values, vision, mission, purpose and goals • Determine specific action steps to help you achieve those goals • Help you sort through opportunities • Keep you focused on your top priorities • Achieve balance in your life while still accomplishing your business or career goals Different Formats for Coaching Coaching can be delivered privately or in groups. Most often, it’s done through regularly scheduled telephone contact, although it can also be done in person. Over the course of the sessions, you’ll work together with your coach to develop goals, strategies, and a plan of action that is positive, desirable, and realistic. Support is often provided between sessions through e-mail and other media. Other coaches – typically those who are more established in a certain industry – help many clients at one time via group-coaching programs. This format allows you to tap into the energy of a group and learn from the experiences and challenges of other group members. These programs often feature structured large-group teleconferences in which you listen to valuable information, and then implement what you hear on your own. Some coaches will work with you every week and others once a month. Still another form of group coaching are experiential seminars. These types of events go far beyond a simple lecture and PowerPoint presentation. Instead, they get you out of your seat to participate in hands-on transformational activities, such as small-group exercises, processing and sharing. You do the work you would normally do one-on-one with a coach, but instead you are among dozens or even hundreds of others engaged in the same activities. My company offers all three types of coaching. Because I can make a bigger impact when working with many students at one time, I lead group coaching in the form of my Platinum Group, a small-group yearlong program, and a 7-day large-group program called Breakthrough to Success, where I lead participants through dozens of life-changing exercises and processes. But if you prefer one-on-one work, youcan opt to work with one of my highly trained coaches. How to Find a Coach There are literally thousands of coaches available to work with you. There are personal coaches, life coaches, and business coaches. Some are industry specific (dental, chiropractic, real estate, and speaking), some are job specific (executive coaches), and some are interest specific (strategic planning, health and wellness, finances, and career transition). You can find them on the Internet, in the phone book, and by asking around. There are organizations like Coach U and the International Coach Federation that can help you find a coach near you. In my experience, the reason many of us are not living up to our fullest potential lies in the gap between knowing and doing. Often, we attempt to close that gap with the New Year’s Resolution only to find ourselves back where we started come February or March. If you want to achieve more, find a coach to challenge you to do more and be more.