Take It All In

Think about an initial conversation with a prospective client.  It is here where we get to know the individual, and this helps us partner with them based on who they are and their interests.  It is a basis for our effectiveness as a coach.  Really hearing the individual is the foundation on which a coaching relationship will be built; as a coach it is our responsibility to meet the client where they are and work with them in a way that is best for them as an individual.  Each coaching relationship is beautifully unique.

Given this awareness, it is important to remember how valuable the details may prove.  For perspective, consider hobbies.  How do we choose hobbies?  Hobbies interest and inspire us so we bloom.  Closely related to that consider volunteering: there is a draw to a cause, volunteering is fulfilling something different then all we gain from our jobs, families, and spirituality.  It is insightful to consider and explore how hobbies and volunteering speak to our innate talents and strengths.

Consider how many people realize the importance of their hobby, often giving up or changing careers where they have invested years, and pursue their hobby to find success beyond what they had imagined:

• Demetri Martin, the lawyer who became a successful stand-up comedian.
• Bassam Yousseff, the cardiac surgeon who became a satirist.
• Oprah the journalist who became a media mogul.
• Dr. Phil the forensic psychologist who became a talk show host.
• Kristin Wood, the wine supplier who became a jewelry designer after being on forced bed rest and picking up her old sketch pad, where she had drawn jewelry prototypes as a teen.
• Jill McKeever, the starving artist who became a successful perfumer.
• Susan Walvius and Michelle Marciniak, the 2 girlfriends who left their thriving careers as college basketball coaches and dove head first into creating Sheex, the luxury bedding line.

The list of power players such as these goes on for pages, and so does the list of people outside the public eye, any of whom is potentially a coachee.

The common denominator in all of these stories is the underlying, often times dormant treasure that wears the guise of a hobby.  As coaches, we throw a flood light on this remarkable and ever present pilot light that our coachees then utilize to its full potential, generating income, and finding joy and satisfaction.