Put Me in, Coach, I'm Ready to Play
“Everyone has a purpose in life… a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.”
~ Deepak Chopra
Did you know that many of the most successful people in the world (in business, sports, music, etc) have a coach (or several)?
My Coaches…
Personally, I have several coaches in my life.
I have a few different coaches that help me in my business.
I have a guitar ‘coach’ that is always giving me new things to practice so that I can be consistently improving my technique (I’m about to start working with a voice coach as well, to help me with my singing technique).
I have an exercise coach. Even though I have several certifications in personal training and could easily work out on my own, I find it really valuable to have someone to train me and push me harder than I might otherwise push myself.
I have a spiritual ‘coach’ who helps me to continually grow and thrive on a spiritual level, teaching me things that I wouldn’t otherwise know.
I don’t need these coaches with me all of the time… but it’s great to have them there sometimes to throw new things into the mix and keep me on my toes, allowing me to be constantly improving my skills in all of these different categories.
What is a coach?
A coach could be defined as someone who carries a valued person from where they are to where they want to be. Or one who goes before and shows the way.
Coaches may be known by different names and titles…
In England, a “guide’ is one who knows and shows the way.
In Japan, a “sensei” is one who has gone further down the path.
In Sanskrit, a “guru” is one with great knowledge and wisdom.
In Italy, a “maestro” is a master teacher of music.
In Greece, a “mentor” is a wise and trusted advisor.
You get the picture…
Often times, the coach or teacher learns as much as the person they are coaching or teaching. It’s basically impossible to help others get closer to their goals without getting closer to our own.
Where we get tripped up sometimes is when we think that we don’t need a coach, that we’ve got it all handled on our own. Remember, there’s ALWAYS room for improvement (even Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and Oprah Winfrey have coaches!).
And often times, that improvement comes from having someone outside of ourselves
· To push us to the place where we weren’t willing or able to push ourselves,
· To validate us for who we are and what we’re doing, and
· To point out our strength.
Are you coachable?
No matter how great the coach is, the coaching won’t be effective unless we are coachable. We’ve got be able to listen to our coaches and apply the coaching, otherwise it will do no good at all.
Remember in the movie, “The Karate Kid” how Daniel was getting angry with Mr. Miagi (his coach) for making him “wax on, wax off” and paint the fence? He couldn’t see how doing those things was going to help his karate technique and thought he knew better than his coach. And then one day the coaching really paid off…
I know that I haven’t always been coachable… and sometimes I still resist being coached. But I also know that the greatest accomplishments that I’ve made in my life happened when I gave up being right and decided to listen to my coaches.
And some of my other greatest moments came when I helped someone else get closer to where they wanted to be…
Sometimes (and often), I’m utterly astonished and amazed by the the level of contribution human beings are capable of providing for each other.
Amy Starr Allen is a home-based business entrepreneur, author and founder of Moms Empowering Moms, Abundance Resources, and the Go-Giver Success Group. Learn more about Amy @ http://www.Club100kSuccess.com, http://www.MomsEmpoweringMomsCafe.com
