Recently I spent a weekend on the island of Maui, and while I was there had the honor of spending some valuable time with my good friend Beverly of Symmetry Coaching. Beverly is an amazing lady, and I’m always astounded by how great and focused I feel after a conversation with her. It’s difficult to describe, but she has this ability to help me see what’s gunking up my life and refocus on the things that serve me and my business.
The fact is that sometimes we all need a little help, even though as entrepreneurs we’re accustomed to doing it all. In many cases, it’s all about perspective, and coaches are experts at shifting perspective.
So, if you’re already successful, why would you want to hire a coach?
It’s not as if coaches have secret powers or have some deep-seated knowledge of your industry that could open the door to more success. Coaches are mere humans like you and me. However, good coaches can help you see what you’re missing and identify your blind spots.
Coaches have great BS detectors that can help us learn where and how we’re lying to ourselves. They’re trained to help people grow. While most successful people work hard, had some luck and are “self-made,” all of us hit plateaus and have blind spots. Many of us have entire areas of potential that we’ve never explored or pursued. A good coach can recognize and help you address that.
Often success is elusive or simply unfamiliar — most people who experience success aren’t ready to slow down or relax because they’ve spent years building a company or a career and they habitually push themselves. A good coach can ask you questions that you wouldn’t think to ask yourself and no one else would dare ask, such as:
- What do you really want?
- What’s most important to you?
- Why are you working so hard?
- When are you going to celebrate your success and how?
- What kind of legacy do you plan to leave?
- What kind of impact do you want to make on the world?
Beyond those questions, after any successful period, it’s important to take stock, re-evaluate and decide what’s important to focus on next. With every level of success there is another level of success just beyond the horizon that requires thought, decisions and actions that a coach can help you accelerate or think through.
