The Value of a Coach

Last week-end offered me a great reminder of the enormous value that a good coach can bring to bear on individuals with aspirations.

At the risk of losing some of you at the outset of this newsletter, I’m going to dwell briefly on sports – and rugby in particular.

Even if you know nothing about rugby and couldn’t give two hoots about sport in general, please indulge me for a minute or two and you’ll see where I’m going with this.

The Super 14 competition is one of the (if not the) premier competitions in the game of Rugby Union, outside of international rugby. Teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand slug it out for over three months in an intensely competitive battle to be crowned the top regional side in the southern hemisphere.

In 2007, the competition was won by the Bulls, a South African franchise based in Pretoria and known for their tough, uncompromising style of play. They narrowly beat Durban franchise, the Sharks, with a last gasp try in a thrilling final encounter.

The Bulls coach was highly regarded in rugby circles for the disciplined structure, hard work and great team spirit that he cultivated in the side. So highly regarded, in fact, that he was almost voted in as the new Springbok coach, after the departure of world cup winning coach, Jake White.

Sadly for him, though, he came second and, sadly too for the Pretoria fans, he withdrew his candidature for the Bulls coaching job in 2008.

And the Bulls fortunes have plummeted as a result. In the latter half of the 2008 season the previously much vaunted 2007 champions find themselves languishing just a few points off the bottom of the log. After an embarrassingly poor performance on Saturday, they risk ending up propping up the log!

Is this fall from grace solely due to the loss of a great coach?

Well, if one looks at the team, not a great deal has changed since last year. The bulk of last year’s group of heroes (which boasts more than half a dozen Springboks) is still around. Has the administration changed that radically? Surely not. And the Bulls’ affliction appears not to have spread to their main rivals of last year. All are at, if not close to, the top of the league table again this year.

Whichever way you look at it – and it seems to me to be clear from the Bull’s lack of structure and fluency on the field – the change of coach has to be the determining factor in their decline.

Now, armed with some powerful evidence for the case I want to make, let me move away from rugby and talk more generally about coaching and coaches.

What do I mean by this?

Well, we all have dreams…

From the young girl who dreams of becoming a famous ballerina dancing Swan Lake to appreciative audiences around the world, to the shack dweller who dreams of a leak-free roof over his head at night, to the regular employee with fifteen years experience who dreams of the day when he or she can leave the rat race to start their own business working from home.

Dreams abound. All of us have them. Few of us ever achieve them.

But why?

The answer is not always straightforward or easy to appreciate, but it is always, always to be found in ourselves. When we don’t achieve what we desire in life, there’s only one place to look for the reasons – and that’s in the mirror!

But for most of us, looking in the mirror’s a really tough thing to do, because we often don’t like what we see. So we engage the many self defense mechanisms with which we are equipped - like procrastination, projection, justification and blame - to deflect responsibility for our shortcomings elsewhere and so help us feel a little better (at least in the short-term).

Now this is where the real value of a good life coach comes in.

A life coach will hold up the mirror to you; help you expose all the complicated and intricate little tricks and manoevers you may employ to avoid taking the actions needed to propel you towards the life of your dreams; assist you in uncovering ingrained beliefs that hold you back - exposing them for the lies they are and replacing them with empowering beliefs that unlock your real power and strengths.

A good life coach will help you blow away the mist that prevents you seeing your life purpose and then provide you with the tools to live your life on purpose. He or she will show you how to run as a well-oiled machine operating at 95% efficiency rather than the 60-70% or perhaps less that you may be used to.

In short, with a coach you will find the motivation and wherewithal to do the things that you would ordinarily not get round to doing, not have the courage to do, or simply not believe are possible to do.

In the way that a good sports coach can turn a good team into a champion team, a good life coach can turn a regular person into someone with the personal freedom and confidence to achieve spectacular growth.

If you’re passionate about helping other people live their dreams, while you experience terrific self-growth and fulfillment, why not consider training with New Insights, in your own time and at your own pace, to become a certified life coach. Live a life of purpose while enjoying excellent financial rewards.

If this appeals to you please visit our website, drop me a line or give me a call. I’d love to hear from you!

Till next week…

Warm regards

Bill.

New Insights Africa Life Coaching Skills Training - Putting an Extraordinary Business within reach of Passionate People.

If you think you are Life Coach material why not study, at your own pace and in your own time, with New Insights Africa? If you have the passion, we have the skills, knowledge and support to offer you. Please visit our website.

https://www.Life-Coach-Training-SA.com

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