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My colleagues at The Harnisch Foundation know I have been off on a half-baked rant about The State of No Union of Coaching, and I promise to post a fully-baked rant soon. One of my main concerns is that there are thousands of coaches in the world who know nothing about the existence of the others and how they coach.
We may never have heard of some of the “biggest” names in coaching, simply because their thousands of colleagues are not affiliated with any other coaching anything anywhere. Historian Vikki Brock, who thought she had identified almost every branch of coaching, is surprised to discover not only new branches, but new trees and new forests.
This reminds me of that scene in Men In Black II where there’s a major-but-miniature civilization contained in a locker. The entire population is a worshipful cult dedicated to the man who occasionally brings light by opening his locker.
You may never have heard of Dave Buck, but he’s the guy who opens the locker for a little civilization of a few thousand coaches you may never have heard of either. The late Thomas Leonard bequeathed his coaching business to Dave, including Coachville and its affiliated schools.
That particular locker is where I first learned about coaching in detail, from Thomas. Dave had an impossible act to follow. So he didn’t. He has his own style, and his own ideas, and I quote him often. One of my favorites is Dave’s response to those who would enact government regulation of coaches: ‚Äö√Ñ√∫You can’t legislate deep conversation.‚Äö√Ñ√π
Dave sends out a newsletter for Coachville members, and today’s is so useful (and helpful to the civilizations in other lockers) that I wanted to post excerpts on the Coaching Commons.
Dave says you can share his work with proper attribution, so please respect that. He’s collecting comments at www.coachblog.com and you can learn more about Dave’s work at www.coachville.com.
One of Dave’s fundamental tips below includes giving service to others. If you are so inspired, please sign up to learn more about The Gift of Coaching. I am so excited about the upcoming launch that I can hardly wait. More about that later. Now, here’s Dave!
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Hey Coach! Coach Dave Buck here.
My bank failed the other day (Wachovia). Scrambling around the web trying to figure out what would happen with my accounts was a disconcerting experience for sure. My cash is safe – Whew! While I am not a big purveyor of news – I don’t even own a TV – the tsunami wave of fear surrounding the global financial turbulence is a major force. The best thing to do with a BIG wave…
RIDE IT!!!
It takes courage to ride a REALLY BIG wave. You have to resist your instinct to run or hide.
AND if you manage to ride it out – it can really take you places!
How do you ride a wave like this – you keep paddling! OK, enough of the metaphor.
What you do is: focus on fundamentals.
What fundamentals will you focus on while we ride this wave? I really want to know.
NOW is our time, coaches.
The inspiration economy is right around the corner. This current global financial meltdown is the sign we have been waiting for. It is time for us Coaches to step up and lead the way. If we do, we can bring coaching into mainstream reality – you know, where everyone has a Coach as commonly as they have a dentist and an accountant.
I believe that if we rally together, we can ride the wave and make this the BEST time ever to be a Coach. We can make a solid case in our communities for coaching as the ultimate antidote for fear and failure. This financial wave is going to take us there. We can be the natural leaders that others are drawn to in times like this and ride the wave together to the good times ahead.
Four Fundamentals
Life is Sweet
It really is. No matter what the global markets are doing. Sometimes they go up. Sometimes they go down. Either way, it’s a miracle to be alive. What keeps you connected with your love for life? Meditation? Running? Reading inspiring stories? Playing with children? Do it! Do it a LOT! When you maintain your love for life every day you will become a source of strength for everyone around you.
Remember, most people have a scarcity consciousness even when they HAVE money. So it doesn’t take much turbulence in the markets for people to get scared. And for sure, those who have lost or are in danger of losing their homes might find it challenging to recognize the perfection of their situation right now.
But, there is perfection in EVERY situation. If you really look for it you can find it. Know that everything happening is happening to serve you and your purest intentions in some way. When you know this you can maintain your sense of JOY in any situation – and stay fully present with any client in any situation too.
(Coaching Proficiency #7 – Recognizes the Perfection In Every Situation)
This fundamental first came to me when I was deep in debt, homeless and living in my car for nine months! So I know it is possible to see it even in tough times.
You are a light in the world.
Master Your Craft
There are several productive ways to deal with a slow time; especially when we KNOW that a HUGE growth curve is coming.
1) Use the time to rest. Perhaps you have been running hard for a while and a time of rest is being served up for you as if by design! Don’t underestimate the raw power of billions of thoughts and feelings like: “I can’t keep going like this. I need a break!”. OK, here is your break!
2) Dedicate yourself to coaching A LOT. Reduce your fees by 30-50% – meet people where they are right now financially. Coaching people during tough times is a fantastic way to build YOUR skill AND certainty. Fear will always be a powerful force in our lives and the lives of our clients because it is a natural consequence of playing a bigger game. All that is happening now is the market turbulence is making everyone feel like the game is bigger and the stakes are higher! So it is a PERFECT time to Coach LOTS of people. As a Coach in tough times your inner strength will be honed and your resolve to be of service deepened.
3) Learn new skills like super conductivity coaching or group coaching. Learn something that will expand or improve what you have to offer. Group Coaching combined with office hours for short 1-1 coaching bursts is a great way to create a coaching service that is easier for people to cost justify. Build a new practice around high community value and high personal leverage and use the extra time to take on a bunch of pro-bono clients who really need you right now.
Remember: More Coaching = More Practice = Deeper Mastery
Contribute to community
“Wealth is what you have left when all of your money is gone” – Roger Hamilton, Author of Wealth Dynamics
The folks in our communities need us to be BIG right now. If we PLAY big now – with ideas, with inspiration, with energy, with leadership – we will be rewarded BIG when the wave settles down.
Generosity is a key coaching tenet and now is the time to embrace it and express it. Remember that wealth has many forms; Nine according to my model: Knowledge, Experience, Talent, Character, Community, Spiritual connection, Health, Financial and Relationship. SHARE what you have in abundance.
(Attraction Principle #2: Add Value for the Joy of It!)
Live Your Game
PLAY! Take your attention off of yourself – and put your attention on your game. There is nothing wrong with you (or your clients) no matter what your financial situation is. First of all, most of who/what you think you are is a story anyway. Secondly, what you think and feel about money is definitely a story you learned a long time ago, and thirdly, we have soo soo much less control over what is happening in our lives than we imagine that we do; that includes when things are rosy too!
The business or career and financial freedom games that you are playing are serious games. AND right now the scores don’t look so good by the standards you have set. You MUST remember that it IS a game.
So, as long as the game is still in your heart, keep playing! And focus your attention on playing a little better every day, NOT on the scoreboard.
These are just a few of my fundamentals.
What are YOUR fundamentals? Please visit CoachBlog.com and share!!!
I may even ask you to join me on CV Caffeine to talk about it!
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