There is very little that I do at half intensity. If I’m going to commit to doing something, I want to do it well.  This is true for work and play.  Because of this, for the important activities in my life, I have coaches. A coach that stands in my blind spot and watches me as I engage with full intensity. Then based on what they observe, they make small suggestions that, over time, improve my effectiveness.

I have a financial coaching team that I meet with at least twice a year that keep me focused on meeting my family’s financial goals. I have a presentation coach that watches me and the audience to help me make the most of my audience’s time. I have a golf coach that I work with 3 or 4 times a year, which saves me money on golf balls (this makes my financial coach happy). I also have a ski coach. And it was our 1-hour session last month that illustrates the value of coaching for anyone trying to improve.

I love skiing the bumps. My coach is helping me improve in this endeavor. Less falls, more fun. I was working on some fundamentals. Weight forward, shoulders down the fall line, reach for the pole plant. Easy on paper, much harder in real like. Kind of like teaching. My coach watches me on a couple of runs. He sees me struggle, he sees me fall, he hears me cuss.  Finally, he says, “Loosen your boots.”  

“What?”

“Unbuckle the tops of your boots. They are too tight. That’s preventing you from getting any ankle flex.”

“Ankle flex?”

“Unbuckle the tops. It will make it easier to keep your forward lean and you’ll quit falling.”

I did it and he was right.

Could I have figured that out by myself? Maybe, but I hadn’t in 20 years of skiing. Evidently, trying harder and not quitting wasn’t the answer to my current performance problem. The answer was loose boot straps.

If it’s important to you, if your results matter… Get a coach.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

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