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I remember when I was in high school. I played on the tennis team and had a coach that was one of the nicest men you would meet. He, admittedly, didn’t know a great deal about the game of tennis, but he loved being around kids and helping them reach their goals. I was a pretty decent player and understood the game pretty well, but just having a coach there to see the mistakes that I didn’t see made all the difference in the word.
Michael Jordan, arguably, the greatest basketball player of all time made the comment that he reached the level he did because he had coaches that helped him along the way. There is no doubt that Michael was twice as good as any coach he ever had, but it didn’t matter. A coach can see things in you that you can’t see.
My wife and I have recently hired business coaches to help us see things that we just don’t see. Sometimes you think you are covering all your bases, but just by having a coach looking from the outside in can make all the difference.
Without a doubt, our business is reaching a level that it would have never reached without the direction of our coach. He is given us a plan that I never even thought of to help us reach and exceed our goals. Matter of fact, we hired a second coach to help us in a different aspect of our business.
The premise of this article is to have athletes, parents, and coaches to develop the mindset that the quickest way to improve your game, business, and life is to get the help of someone that has already done it, or someone that can coach you to reach your goals. Why try to reinvent the wheel when there are so many people that can help you.
I vividly remember the first time my wife and I started a business many years ago. We didn’t have any help, and frankly didn’t know where to go for help. We just felt we could learn along the way and figure stuff out. Well roughly six month later we were packing our bags and selling parts of our business off because we failed. Our concept was great, the knowledge to do what we knew best was in place, but the fact that we didn’t have a clue about the financial, marketing, and sales side of our business proved to be the downfall of our venture. Had we sought out a coach to help guide us and get us around all the pitfalls, we may have still been in that business today.
Thinking back to when I used to coach high school athletics, I can remember so many occasions having stubborn young boys that felt they knew it all. I would try to help them to avoid some tough times by showing them a better way to perform a skill, but they did not want to listen. They failed to reach their potential as a result.
The funny thing is, we have coaches all around us and we don’t seem to notice or take advantage of them. For example; our parents or grandparents are great coaches. Anyone that has gone through many experiences are great resources. Maybe you have a neighbor that runs a business. That person would be a wonderful coach to get ideas from. Even if they don’t run the same business as you, they still can coach you in certain aspects of your business. Kids, stopping taking what your mom and dad are trying to teach you for granted. Who else has your total best interest than your parents and family? They will help you with anything they can and they are an ongoing resource. I can’t tell you how many times parents bring their children to our Lee Taft Speed Academy and say, “I can’t tell him or her, what he or she is doing wrong or how to do it right. They won’t listen to me anymore.” What a shame, I am sure I did this as a kid as well, but what a great way to shorten the learning curve, and for FREE.
Let me send you off on a final note. When you set a goal in life, it may be for athletics, business, fitness, or personal you need to seek out a coach. It needs to be someone that can help you reach your goal sooner than if you tried to do it alone. The other reason a coach is so valuable is they will show you how to avoid the long and winding road and save you time, money, and energy that would normally be wasted attempting to go it alone. So get yourself a coach and achieve more than every before!
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