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Hey Coach Put Me In The Game 8

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images (33)What could a coach do for you that you can’t do for yourself? The truth is sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know – until you know that you don’t know it.  Sometimes it takes a coach to point out the not-so-obvious. You know where you want to go – but it may take a coach to teach you the skills you’ll need to get you there. You may need the help of a coach to get you to the next level. You only know what you know – it’s what you don’t know that can hold you back or better yet – propel you forward. The most talented of musicians, athletes and actors can attest to that. Even Tiger Woods works with a coach to help him stay at the top of his game.

Worth Remembering …

“In order to be a teacher you’ve got to be a student first” – Gary L. Francione

All Coaches are not created equal  

Think of a Coach that you admire. What is it about their style that resonates with you? Bobby Knight, Coach K and Scotty Bowman have all had success as coaches.  Yet all three went about it differently. What style of coaching would work best for you? Someone who’s been there and done that so they know what they are talking about? A good communicator and listener. Someone who understands you – your strengths and your weaknesses. A coach who won’t tell you what  you want to hear but will tell you what needs to be said.  Someone who is patient when they need to be yet unforgiving when the situation warrants it.   A disciplinarian – a teacher, guidance councilor, cheer leader and mentor all rolled into one. A Coach who will push you to reach higher and go farther than you thought you could.

Worth Remembering …

“If you want something you’ve never had – then you need to do something you’ve never done.” – Drina Reed

A Coach can’t do the work for you 

There are no silver bullets here. A coach can’t do the work for you. You still have to play the game. You still have to put in the time and effort it will take to get you to where you want to go.  A coach can show you the way – but you still have to walk the path. When you come to a fork in the road they can steer you in the right direction. If you are mentally and physically capable of taking the next step – then the only person standing in your way is you. Motivation is inside out – never outside in.  A coach is not there to be your best friend. They are there to help you get up off the mat and begin again. A coach is there to help up fill in the gaps and teach you what you need to know.  So go out and find a coach you can work with – one who can help you get in the game. – Cheers 🙂

 Copyright 2013 (c) |Brian Smith -Author, Communications Expert and Management Consultant works with people who want to learn how to communicate and interact more effectively; and who want to discover how to get the best out of themselves and others.  To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you or your organization visit http://briansmithpld.com

One More Giant Step Towards Success 4

Leadership Development, Personal Development, Planning, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , , , , ,

I know there’s no such thing as a perfect world. But let’s suppose for a moment that there is. What would that world look like to you? What would you rather be doing than what you are doing right now? If you knew you couldn’t or wouldn’t stumble and fall where would you rather be than where you are right now? We truly are masters of our own successes – only we get to decide what path to take and what choices to make. Only we get to decide what success and being successful looks like to us. What’s getting in your way from doing what you’d rather be doing? And what are you prepared to do about it?

I know I make this sound simple – but it really is. Life – your life – my life – everyone’s life – is a planned event. And where we  end up is determined by the choices we’ve made. You may not like some of those choices – but – none the less – you do have a choice. You can either choose to sit back and do nothing or you can choose to do something. Each step we take can either move us closer to where we’d rather be or take us farther away. We truly are masters of our own successes. We have the power within ourselves to do those things that make us happy – satisfied and fulfilled or not.

Anytime is a great time to start a new beginning – so why not now? Wishing a hoping won’t make it so. Your past is not your future if you decide to change the here and now. Go ahead – get out of your comfort zone and take one more giant step towards the life you envisioned for yourself. And if you happen to stumble and fall – that’s ok – just take a moment to collect yourself – and then get back up and press on. We all stumble and fall. That’s part of the learning process. If you aren’t stumbling and falling you aren’t stretching enough – you aren’t trying hard enough. Nothing worthwhile comes by chance. If you are willing to put in the time and effort you will end up right where you should have been all along. 🙂

Change The Habit – Change The Result – What New Habit Are You Working On? 4

Leadership Development, Personal Development, Planning, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , , , , ,

When you change the habit – you change the result. Sounds simple enough – right?  Just stop doing one thing and start doing another – and if you do it often enough – it will become you. (Behaviorists suggest that if you do something 21 times in a row – you’ve developed a new habit) Everything we chose to do alters our brain and it fundamentally changes who we are, a process that continues until we die. Dr. Richard Restak – author of “Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain’s Potential” believes that the human brain has the ability to reprogram itself and that most adults have the capacity to learn new things. If you could only pick one thing – that would benefit you the most – what would it be? What one thing is getting in the way of you being more successful at what you do?

Anytime is a good time for a new beginning. So why not start now. Why not make the CHANGE. You’ve got nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain. Do you want to learn how to manage your time more effectively? Problem solve or deal with difficult people and challenging situations better? Do you want to learn how to communicate and interact more effectively with others? You just need to decide what it is you want to improve upon. What one thing do you want to get better at?

C – Commit to a new beginning. If you aren’t willing to give it your all – then don’t bother. No sense wasting valuable time on trying to accomplish something that you aren’t 100% committed to doing.

H – Habit – Stop doing one thing and start doing another. What new habit or habits will you need to learn to accomplish what you’ve set out to do?

A – Action. Start now. Have a plan and then work your plan. Commit your action plan to writing. That way you can refer back to it often to make sure you are still on track.

N – Never ever give up. There will be times that you will revert back to the familiar. It’s human nature. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Just keep going.

G – Goal orientated. Visualize the end result. See yourself in the winners circle. Keep reminding yourself about how much you are going to benefit by making the change.

E – Evaluate your plan and reward yourself. Celebrate small victories along the way. If you aren’t getting the kinds of results that you hoped. Not to worry – time to put a new plan together and start again.

Think it, Act it, Become it. Make this year your best year yet. Commit to a new beginning – make that change.

Leadership Lessons – Fluent in Friendliness? Apply Within

Coaching, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Dealing with Difficult People, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Soft-Skills Training, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fluent in Friendliness? Apply Within. Hats off to Lowe’s who posted that sign outside of their newest location under construction. I spent 30 years in the retail business both as a general manager and business owner –  so that sign naturally caught my attention. The one-on-one service that you provide to your customer is the only competitive advantage that you have. It’s not your product or service. It’s not your selection or price. The only competitive advantage that you have to set yourself apart from your competition is the level of customer service you provide.

Every time you come in contact with a perspective client it’s a moment of truth. Every time you come in contact with a perspective client they get to decide if they want to continue to do business with you or not. And most often that decision is based upon the way they feel they have been treated. When was the last time you had “Wow” customer service? When was the last time you got “So-So” customer service? I’ll bet the “So-So” out numbered the “Wow” ten to one. (Ten so-so to one wow)

You don’t need to like everyone you come in contact with – But if you want to get repeat business you need to learn how to get along with them. The same holds true with the people you work with.  You don’t have to like them or socialize with them – But you do need to learn how to interact and collaborate with them. If you’re the one who gets to pick who is on your team you need to make sure you’ve surrounded yourself with people who like being around people. Managers and business owners need  to make sure they hire people who like  helping people. You can’t afford to have someone on your team who is turned off and have tuned out. You need to be just like Lowe’s and hire people who are “Fluent in Friendliness” and get rid of the ones who aren’t.  🙂