I was coached in triathlon (I'm a very low-level 'athlete') for approximately 10 years.
Two different coaches coached me over that period of time, but Simon, my now friend and bike partner, was a million miles the best coach for me.
I was coached in business really seriously and intensively by Chris Barrow for 18 months and then by other people over the years, ad hoc, in different ways and places, and so I understand what it's like to be 'the coached'.
I also understand what it's like to coach people, and so I have, I guess, the privilege of coaching people in various aspects of life, including clinical work and business, but also in jobs outside of dentistry where I give my time to organisations and people who have asked for me to help, and that's another type of form of coaching.
The thing about coaching (and being coached) is that it is an advice service, but if you're not willing to take the advice, not in a position to take it, or don't want to take it, why the royal f*ck are you being coached in the first place? And the flip side of that is, if you are coaching someone who is not taking your advice, why are you taking the money off them or spending the time on them when they're clearly not interested?
One of the mottos we have here in our business is teaching, "You don't get fit by joining the gym; you only get fit by going to the gym". This is as true a metaphor as you are ever likely to see.
I'm very lucky that I get lots of emails from dentists asking for advice on various things who come on our courses and seek help and guidance, but the most common email I get is from people telling me that they are utterly overwhelmed and don't know where to start.
That is many, many people now who just don't have the ability to run from one task to the next because they're building something which is beyond the size of them, and they just don't know where to turn.
If that is you, there is a solution to this, and the solution is focus.
"Comparison is the thief of joy and, in fact, the thief of life", so set your path, the way you want to go and what you would like to achieve, and then go.
It's fine to step aside now and again to have a little look at what the market's doing or what other people are doing, but it is not fine to spend your life comparing yourself to other people and becoming more and more overwhelmed and unable to take the advice of the people you trust.
Creating a bigger circle of advice or a bigger circle of comparison is never ever going to be the way forward; staying on the track (the one that you defined for yourself) is the path to happiness.
Pretty much none of us here needs any more stuff; what we need is a ton more life.
Blog Post Number - 4208
Leave a comment