After All These Years, Why I Still Need a Coach (and You Do, Too)

I flew all the way across the country for this.

I’ve come to San Diego to attend a live event for entrepreneurs where I’ll get to hear from some great coaches. Some of the biggest names in the industry will be here, and I have no doubt that I’ll walk away with new skills and perspectives that will help me in my business.

And I’m here – even though I already get a ton of help through my own outstanding coach back home.

I hired my first coach waaaay back in 2002. I was doing a lot of public speaking back then, and loving it. But I thought of it as a marketing tool – not a revenue source – so it was all free.

I hired that first coach to learn how to get paid. And with her help, I went from free, to $1500 for a one hour talk. (And back then, that felt like a LOT.)

To say the investment was worth it, is an understatement.
 

Since then, I’ve worked with coaches in four different states. They’ve all had completely different personalities, focused on completely different areas in their business, had completely different skills sets and taught me completely different things.

I’ve learned from all of them. And today, my income is roughly double what it was back then.

And each time, I’ve invested at higher and higher levels, because I know, now, what a difference good coaching makes.

I do this even though I’ve been running my core business for 25 years, and several smaller businesses on the side. And I do this even though I’ve had a world of experience in leadership, program development, organizational management, project management, event planning, and a host of other things one needs when running a business.

You’d think I’d have it all figured out by now, wouldn’t you?

But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the more advanced my skills become, the more I want – and need – to learn.

The learning never stops.

Those big names you see on line? The heroes in your industry that you wish you could be? They all have coaches, mentors, and guides. At least – the smart ones do.

I’ve been with my current coach for several years – because I am still learning and growing under her tutelage and the support of her program. But even with that, I continue to seek out expertise from others in all kinds of areas.

Because that, too, is how you reach success, y’all.

If you’re just starting out, you may think that those successful people you see have some kind of magic. Perhaps they’re smarter. More talented. More put together.

Perhaps they’re just lucky.

But I can tell you – none of that is true.

They work really hard. They make a lot of mistakes.

And those who are truly successful for a sustained period of time, those who continue to grow and expand and deliver in their businesses – they have a coach.

They may have two or three!

An Olympic athlete knows that no matter how good they are, they need the continuous input of a good coach to keep upping their game, expanding their abilities, reaching new heights.

Business is no different.

That said, getting coached can be really hard.

A good coach will hold you accountable to the dreams you say you want, and will call you out when you’re getting in your own way.

A good coach will love you and support you, but also challenge you in ways that can be pretty uncomfortable sometimes.

I know. I’ve been there.

I’ll never forget the first time I faced my coach with a problem I really couldn’t see my way out of. It was one of those moments when I felt utterly crushed – totally convinced that I was at a dead end and there was nothing I could do about it.

I broke down in tears – in front of everyone – and was mortified.

But she looked at me with such compassion – and clarity – that I’ve never forgotten it. She offered a few ideas about how to resolve the problem I had, and that was good.

But more than that, she never wavered in her belief that I could do better.

And that shored up my belief as well.

Who’s doing that for you?

Lord, I hope someone is. Because you deserve to have that in your life.

Are you working with a coach, a guide, a mentor of some kind?

If not, why not? And what are you waiting for?

I ask because I know how scary – even painful – it can be to step forward into what is possible in your life, and your business.

But that’s nothing compared to the pain of staying the same.

If you don’t already have this in your life in some way, do yourself – and your business – a favor.

Go find a coach.