Now that I have had some time to work through the Business Book of coaching, I wanted to share a bit more of my process looking at these assumptions.

This is about what I learned about myself while reading about the Assumptions of Coaching.

Here are the last two:

• You need to follow a predefined formula for success
• You need to be a genius at marketing yourself

Assumptions that we make, limit us to what is possible by going through our own process, and finding our own path. This is really telling in the 5th assumptions.

Assumptions #5: You need to follow a predefined formula for success

Much of what was discussed about this assumption is that formulas work in the right context. Many times the formula works great for the person who built it, in their environment, for their audience, and their strengths and weaknesses. Many times, if several different professions, this is not what works the best to succeed. This is also true about what we admire about other people. We may think that if we just followed their formula, we would be as successful, and reap the same rewards of that person.

A quote I really appreciated from this chapter was:

“Following someone’s formula doesn’t work. Understanding why it worked for them does.”

Ajit Nawalkha

So like much of what is out there is knowledge we can learn from. To practice it, and see what fits into our routines and our systems, is what makes them even more powerful.

How do I apply this?

As part of the homework, they asked us to find three people we really admire. For each of them, reflect on three factors that contributed to their success:

Rich Litvin

Rich Litvin is a coach in the high performance space that speaks quite a bit about how he has made his career work. I appreciate his candor, and his personal relationship stance on doing business. I see one of the factors that has made him successful is that he was a teacher passionate about teaching and training. This is something that I relate to. I do enjoy helping others to gain new insight, skills, and understanding of something that was previously out of their reach.

Another factor that contributed to Rich Litvin’s success as a coach is he practiced at first with no pressure. This allowed him to give himself permission to trial things, experience them, and learn, before it had the stress of a ‘job’, and instead as a game. The last factor that contributes to his success is that he slows down to speed up. When we go too fast, we are more error prone. So as we slow down we see more, experience more, and can process more. In this case, slow is accurate, and accurate is fast.

Dwayne Johnson

I admire Dwayne Johnson for his successes as well. A key factor he talks about is that he has a great family supporting him. Not everyone does have this kind of support, and luckily I do have close family that is supportive of me. Having a circle of supportive people around us is key. People that provide honest feedback, and love us even when we fall down is huge.

Dwayne Johnson is very outgoing, and charismatic. You have to be able to project your ideas out to the world to be in the acting space and professional wrestling. So his tendency to be bold, direct, and exaggerated I believe was a factor that lead to his success. So I ask myself where will I be bold? Where will I go over the top to deliver for my clients?

The last factor I feel contributes to his success is he has great discipline in order to get the look and results he wants. He has spoken many times about his routines, both with his fitness, and his business. This amount of discipline, willing to do what must be done to achieve the result, is key to growth. When I only go as far as I am comfortable, I realize there is no space for growth. The success is in that space of growth, so being discipline to go into that space is what I apply in my day.

George Lucas

George Lucas is the last person I look to apply factors they applied in their life to be successful. The first factor is that he had a big vision of what he wanted his world to look like. How he envisioned the results was very particular, and he articulated this to people so they could deliver on that vision. Taking this stance for what he wanted, lead to a franchise that is still growing 4 decades later, and inspired so many other works in comics, books, cartoons, and movies.

He exceeded the edge of what is possible, and always pressed for more. Even if the technology didn’t exist yet to help him create his vision, he challenged his teams to think for new ways to accomplish it. When his first Star Wars movies came out, not only did they need to be creative, but also frugal on how they created it. They didn’t have much of a budget to pull from to create the visuals we saw on the screen. I believe this contributed quite a bit to the popularity of his earlier films.

The last factor was he merchanded in a new way to make a profit after the delivery of his entertainment products so people could take a piece of it home. George Lucas didn’t focus on only one way to entertain his audience. He was one of the first to really popularize the ability to take home characters, vehicles, and landscapes from his movies. This was a genius move on his part. I look to think outside of the norm for the business, to deliver things that best serve the audience I seek to serve.

A few other deep questions that Ajit asks:

What is success to me?

Achieving the results, with growth from the delivery of a service, and the increase in quality of life for those that are served.

What does it look like for my life?

It is how I see further than others see at the moment, and then challenge them to take a step towards where they say they REALLY want to go. In the recognition for the work that is done, and what I have contributed.

What mindset do I need for success?

My mindset of service, to be ready to deliver 100% of what I have in that moment. Being bold, and audacious with my questions and assertions to help people get out of their rut. Persistence to see every conversation to a Yes or No For Now.

What do I need to do to take the first step towards my personal success?

Ask more questions of myself, to practice. Then, I can take that to others.

Assumptions #6 – You need to be a genius at marketing yourself

This assumption is that in my profession I need to be a genius at marketing. What Ajit points out is that the ability to market is less important than:

• faith in the product or service,
• courage in putting yourself myself there
• consistent action towards marketing

I really liked this quote:

Marketing won’t make you a successful coach. Your ability to deliver results will. — Ajit Nawalkha

Between being good at what I do, and showing up fully in every engagement I have with people, this reinforces my brand. Consistency in that message is also very important. I seek to support others to dig deep into their lives. Living intentionally is hugely important to me. Being direct, and on purpose, is also a staple of my coaching. Growth is something I am working towards. I feel I need to do it on my terms, and in a way that is respectful, aware, and serving.

What is it about my offer that I love the most?

It flows from one step into the other, and asks the right question for the next step. I really want to see people succeed in their lives in all areas, and love it when I see people record their wins on their progress.

My offer began when I lead a men’s team. My mission for the team was to support men to be successful in all areas of their lives. Even though I completed with the team, I am still on that mission. To bring men together to join a team of others that are working towards a clear vision for their life, and then taking the steps to create it.

Focus primarily on the men’s growth market. I use tools to discover deep truths, and give men the space to express their physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual fears, so they can vent them and move forward into the next best version of their life.