I was riding around Stanley Park in Vancouver with my wife Karalee this weekend. We both stopped to take pictures of the Lions Gate Bridge spanning the entrance to Burrard Inlet. It reminded me of how fortunate we are to be able to live in and experience such a beautiful city.
I haven’t always had such deep appreciation for what I have. Seven years ago, I was unhappy in business and as it turns out in life. I hired extraordinary coach Kevin Lawrence who has helped me experience and live life and business in new ways. Looking back on our journey together, I see seven reasons why entrepreneurs need a coach.
1. Being Overwhelmed Versus Being In Control
Like most entrepreneurs, I always have a lot on the go. With so much going on, it is easy to go from keeping all the balls in the air to dropping one or more of them, instantly feeling overwhelmed. A coach can show you a path through the madness of an incredibly full life.
2. Dealing With Situations You Don’t Know How To Handle
We all get into new situations where we are lost. For entrepreneurs, this can be every week or every day. An experienced coach can show you how to deal with new situations by sharing their experience. While they don’t need to have experience with your particular situation, having helped themselves through thousands of challenging experiences, they can show you a way through your situation.
3. You Are Alone, But You Don’t Have to be Lonely
It’s a cliche that it is lonely at the top. I’ve got news for you—it is lonely at the top. As an entrepreneur and leader there is just too many things you cannot take to your staff, your senior leadership team, your board, or your chairman. At the same time it is critical to have an unbiased sounding board with no skin in any of the outcomes of what you are dealing with. This is invaluable in providing clarity and honest feedback. A coach lets you lean in when you are feeling alone.
4. Holding You Accountable
There may be some people on the planet that can hold themselves accountable to achieving phenomenal goals. I’m not certain that I’ve ever met one. A coach helps you clarify the really important actions that need to get done and then holds you accountable to getting them done. It is amazing what you can achieve, when you are truly accountable to someone you trust.
5. Help You Grow
We all have blinders on about ourselves. Places where we need to grow if we want to realize our dreams and visions. Team members around us either don’t know where we need to grow or have their own biases and expectations about your behavior. A coach works with you to identify and clarify those areas where you need to grow in order to move to your next level in business and in life.
6. Get the Courage You Need to Solve the Problems You Cannot Solve
Albert Einstein told us “Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.” Not only are we unable to see the core of the problems in front of us, our built-in fears and stories stop us from tackling them. A coach shows you the problems you face while bringing creative ways for you to chew away and solve seemingly insurmountable challenges.
7. Have Someone 100% In Your Corner
We all need someone who 100% covers our backs. A coach let’s you talk about anything, in your life, or in your business, without judgment. Even the stuff you never, ever wanted to talk about. You can go forward with confidence because you know you have someone right behind you every step of the way.
Entrepreneurs do extraordinary things because that’s how they are wired. Yet every entrepreneur, including myself, reaches a plateau and gets stuck. A coach accelerates you past where you are stuck to the next level of experience and success that you want to achieve.
I have received so much from my coaching experience that I have decided to become an entrepreneurial coach and give back the gifts that I have been so fortunate to receive. As I launch this next phase of my career, I am offering a free one-hour coaching session to the first five entrepreneurs who reach out to me by September 30, 2014.
What are you waiting for?
