Are You Coachable?

I learn teaching from teachers. I learn golf from golfers. I learn winning from coaches. – Harvey Penick.

Leaders aren’t born, they are made. They are made just like anything else, through hard work. That’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. – Vince Lombardi

Happy Monday! I hope you made the weekend count!

It is late Sunday night and I am sitting in a hotel room in Dallas. I came to Dallas for a seminar with a couple hundred of the top real estate agents in the country that coach with the same guys I do. That’s right, coaches. Yeah, I know I am not a professional athlete, so why do I need a coach? The answer is simple; I realized early in my career you don’t know what you don’t know and coaches and mentors are a critical component of success.

When I decided to get serious about my business a few years ago, the first thing I did was hire a coach. I hired the best in the country I could afford. It was one of the absolute best decisions I have made (besides marrying my wife!). I don’t think I am overstating the facts when I say coaches have changed the outcome of my life.

No one cares about your success more than you do. Hire a coach and you have someone that cares almost as much. When I have a coaching call, I know one thing; the guy on the other end of the phone has one goal, and that is to ensure my success. Think about that! Coaches help train your thought processes, manage your time, make you take action, and they hold you accountable.

However, the most important thing about coaches is they expand what I refer to as your “idea field.” Take your top five best friends. Estimate their salaries and figure an average salary for the group. I can tell you with high degree of certainty that their average salary will be your salary. Your friends are limiting your success without evening knowing it! I am not saying a higher salary is a way to measure success or that you need to get new friends! I am saying coaches help you generate ideas from outside your sphere of influence. It is the same reason I make it a point to sit with people I don’t know at seminars like this. Ideas and thoughts are the lifeblood of success!

I get calls from REALTORS® all around the country almost weekly asking me if I think the coaching program I am in is worth it. These are successful REALTORS® that almost need a coach to tell them they need a coach! My response is always the same—if you aren’t going to invest in yourself, what are you going to invest in?

That is the point of this week's Mojo. Invest in yourself! It doesn’t matter if you want to be a better golfer, salesperson, husband, wife, or even a scrapbooker. Take action this week to join a mastermind group, find a mentor or counselor, or hire an expert in that field to help you improve your skill set.

One more thing on being coached: You either control your ego or it controls you. If you want to be successful, check your ego at the door and open your mind to new ideas. Be the open-minded person in the front row of life, not the one in the back row with your arms crossed!

I want to say thanks to coaches Lisa Girruzzi, Melody Burns, and mentor Felton Mclaughlin. You guys took an interest in my career and helped me early on and I really, really, really appreciate your advice!

As always, you are awesome and I appreciate you taking the time to read this! Have a great week and make it count!

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