This weekend I did something I haven’t done in a long time – played golf. It was so nice to get out on a beautiful course with one of my best friends on the planet, Keith Cook.
The comments on Instagram are quite funny about our shirts and one of our beards…guess whose.
While I love playing golf, I’ve never been great at the sport. If I shoot under 100 I’m pretty darn happy. Keith, on the other hand, is a boss! He played in school and has continued for years. As we started the round, I already had the feelings of eminent failure. I had plenty of reasons as to why I would soon be frustrated.
- It’s been a long time since I’ve played.
- I’ve never been great at the game.
- I’ve never had proper coaching in the sport.
All things that would almost insure I was not going to be under 100 that day. Before we teed off,
Keith made a suggestion. He looked at the hole and said, “You know, I think I’m going to hit my 5 iron twice for position instead of trying to reach it with my driver and putting myself in trouble. Besides, two great shots with a 5 iron is the same as a great driver shot and a chip in. You might want to try that as well.”
It totally made sense, but that meant that I couldn’t do it my way. And my way was to rip the driver in hopes that I don’t duff it short of the ladies tee (some of you know what happens then), or crank it into the river right next to us.
As someone who coaches a ton, I knew it was time to be coached! I decided to go with the advice and it worked. I kept with his advice and left my driver in the bag for a while. At one point, he made another suggestion that I only take a very slow 3/4 backswing and see what happens.
Not only did I crush the ball, but I picked up an extra 30 yards with that club, AND it was straight as an arrow! Step after step Keith coached me to have a phenomenal game compared to my usual frustrating one. It also prompted me to post some of the ways we hold ourselves back in business and in life.
5 Ways You Hold You Back
- Keeping with the status quo – So many times we know we need help, but we’re not sure who to ask or where to look. Every time I step foot on a golf course I know I should take lessons from a coach. Instead, I utilize my time making mistakes, taking unnecessary detours, and taking considerably longer than I should to get mediocre results.
- Confusing instincts with desire – I absolutely believe there is a paper-thin line between instinct and desire. If you’re anything like me, you have trouble from time to time knowing which one it is. My golf coach’s instinct for me to hit my 5 iron instead of my desire to hit my driver panned out. We need to know when to ask for help from someone who has the answers that we don’t have.
- Thinking you don’t have the capacity – Often I see people who have convinced themselves they are currently at their capacity and don’t have room to grow. This is a ridiculous idea. What you don’t know is absolutely holding you back! Just one of Keith’s ideas would have been plenty to change my game for good. Praise God he didn’t stop there.
- Not making the right choice – Again, as someone who coaches a lot, I have a lot of different coaches for the areas I need help with. I’ve known for years that when I want to be great at something, I need someone who already is great to coach me through it. But for some reason, I hadn’t with golf until the other day. Therefore, Keith is my new golf coach. With only a few insights he changed my game considerably for the better!
- Stopping at better – While Keith coached me to be better in just one game, I don’t want to just be better. My goal is to be my best. The only way I can accomplish this is to put my newfound information into place, and then continue tapping into the wisdom of my coach for more new ways to grow.
The excitement I now have for golf is one that I want in every aspect of my life, especially my business. And it starts with knowing when to get help. If you are ready to take your business, leadership, or your life to the next level, then don’t be the thing holding you back! Click here and get started!
Question: How has coaching helped you?
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For new businesses (one man show), what is a good rule of thumb for the amount of money to invest in a coach then every penny is maximized to start.
I look at it from the side of how much money is the coach making you. If I give someone advice that’s worth 10 times what they paid me, they should see how many times we can keep doing that.
If that’s the case, do as much as you can afford. But to start, you have to test to see which coach can actually make you money. That’s not always in money making ideas.
All of the people who continue to come back to me as a coach, are doing so because we’ve solved big issues that were holding them back, or focused on great ideas that push them forward.
Does that help Robby?
Chris,
Thank you, I never thought of it that way. Great Perspective.
“Stopping at better.” = Brilliant!
Thanks Dan!
I love the part about having different coaches for the different areas we need help with–makes complete sense and yet I think we often default to thinking that if we find the right coach, he/she will help us improve in every area. Good stuff!
Absolutely true Norma. I am the not the coach you want for detailed tax info. Finances – yes! Taxes – nooo
Ha! You crack me up…you were the one coaching me out there!
Yeah, but that was only on selecting the healthiest thing on the food cart.
“Thinking you don’t have the capacity.” You’re right Chris- I think we are capable of getting more done than we think we can. Having a coach can really accelerate our ability to increase meaningful momentum.
Thank you Melissa!
Hi Chris, been a big fan of yours since entreleadership podcast and I’d just like you to know that your leadership and personal development advice has really helped me a lot. Thanks!
The points you mentioned above are spot on and I was hit especially by the “thinking you don’t have the capacity” part. Sometimes, no matter how I try to be positive, I still unintentionally feel inferior but this has totally changed since I embraced blogging. It kept my self-esteem high and made me have a positive mindset.
Keep blogging and podcasting bro! Your content helps a lot of people.
Thank you so much! This is just what I needed. “What you don’t know is absolutely holding you back!” There is so much I didn’t know and still don’t know but at least after coaching I know where to start. I am forever thankful for life plan! I know at times it seems I’m borderline obsessed with sharing what life plan did for me. But I have no shame!