Education and Coaching – Powerful Elements of Business Growth

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in Business

Ignorance rocks… sometimes.

The older I get, the more I realize how much more I can learn.

(I’ll talk about why this is important later in this post)

While playing professional football, however, I thought I was the smartest (and toughest) person in the world.

Boy was I wrong.

It couldn’t have been farther from the truth but I guess there is something about being young, and padding it up everyday to take on some of the meanest athletes in the world that makes you think you know it all.

It wasn’t until I got injured and retired from the game when I realized I didn’t know much about anything.

The Power of Education

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of our current education system in schools.

I had a great time at my high school and while in college, but it was more about the friends I made, the sports I played, the girls I chased, and the overall personal experiences… not as much on the classroom experience.

I don’t want to get into debate about our education system but if you want to then check out what friend Michael Ellsberg has to say about it in his book The Education of Millionaires.

Check out this video see what type of eduction I’m talking about (the powerful kind).

The education that makes the most sense to me is when you continue to educate yourself on your craft (for me it’s business, speaking, marketing, building relationships, etc) and on personal development.

It doesn’t matter how good you are at something because you can always improve and take your game to another level.

The greatest athletes in the world continue to practice harder, longer, and more deliberately than their competitors.

This is what makes them great.

Enter Coaching

I’m a huge fan of having a coach.

I’ve had many great mentors.  The more intimate ones that I would call or meet in person early on were Stuart Jenkins, Chris Hawker, Frank Agin, among others.

I spent countless hours bugging these wise individuals, asking them questions, challenging their thoughts, and offering value in any way I possible could.

I can’t thank them enough for putting up with me :)

I also had many mentors that I followed online.

Some I’ve become great friends with as I’d email or  call from time to time for advice, while others I would simple learn by following their example.  (shout out to Gary, Chris, Carrie, Seth, Tim and others who have been so helpful in many ways)

Just as the best athletes practice harder than everyone else, they also seek top coaches to take their game to the next level.

I was pretty ignorant about business a few years back, and it’s mostly due to having zero experience in the business world.

Finding a coach and mentor allowed me to learn quicker than I could alone.

Watch this video to learn more about the power of coaching for your business.

What do you think?

Do you continue to attend workshops, conferences, and training sessions to improve your skills?

Do you have a mentor or a coach that guides you in the direction to achieve your goals?

Or are you just going about your days wondering why you aren’t seeing the results you desire?

Would love to hear your thoughts below.

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corporate 37 pts

This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. This is very nice one and gives in depth information. Thanks for this nice article.

boat propellers Mercury 49 pts

Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school.

chad2012 6 pts

everything you say just makes since. really appreciate all the insight you provide.

http://www.globaldatebooks.com

crichter 5 pts

My business has been fairly flat for years now.  I've gotten lazy and have no coaching. There is nothing I hate more than being accountable, I mean, what if I get a great new idea but have to continue working on executing my plan.

 

Solid basic advice I needed to hear from some guy I'm never met.

 

Thanks dude.

XLibris 5 pts

Well that’s superb article, Lewis! I really like this article. It contains a lot of useful information about Coaching. I can set up my new idea from this post. It gives in depth information. Thanks for this valuable information for all.

teamkeldyn 5 pts

Thank you so much for your effort posting this article. I love reading this and I’m pretty sure that it will help me make a wonderful output. God bless! I have also an article <a href="http://remediesforstomachache.com/">Remedies For Stomach Ache</a> that you might be interested too.

 

JoeyElmore 5 pts

Thanks for the post Lewis! I've been involved in some offline network marketing businesses and know the value a mentor or coach has. Now that I have relocated to the other side of the country and decided to begin online business building I will need to find virtual mentors. I will take your advice given to some other comments and reach out to the leaders in the industry and offer value first. I'll use some of Charlie's techniques to do this :) (wanted to thank you for your post on Charlie, I hadn't seen anything on him until then, I'm a fan).

PGS 5 pts

Coaching is essential (as is Mentoring) and needs to be a formal component of your business activity.  The initial barrier for (mostly new) business owners to overcome is the fear of asking for help, the fear of being seen to not know everything.  Well here's the reality - nobody knows everything and it takes real strength to know when you need help to develop and grow.

 

The two main routes to learning are learning by doing, and learning from the experience gained by others.  By far the fastest way is to combine both of these.

Daniel C Cudone 6 pts

Jackie Lee That was an EXCELLENT point and to be honest I needed to be reminded of this personally. Sometimes we can try too hard to connect or glean from people in mentorship, or relationships period, when there is simply a communication/personality difference that poses a challenge. People can simply be mismatched. Incompatibility however is one thing, but sometimes we need the opposite personality types in our life to wake us up, push us forward, and hit us in places of our soul and spirit to help us grow into the people we want/need to be. Its relative by perspective really. Great point though :)

Jackie Lee 59 pts

I think it's very important to keep learning and growing. I think one of the big keys is to make sure that the mentor you choose is able to connect with your personality type and your learning style. If you're a complete introvert, and the person you're learning from is a complete extrovert (depending on what you're learning about) you may end up learning things you're never willing to implement. So, make sure you connect with a coach who's willing to not only teach you, but teach things you're going to be able to act on.

JeffHowell76 7 pts

Lewis,

Having a coach/mentor is VITAL to someones personal and business growth. I was fortunate to have one and while it didn't directly help in the business I had at the time, it has paid off in spades in my new marketing role. A lot of the lessons learned from coaching I have been able to wrap up into my marketing consultations to help my clients get better. It's been awesome to see that wisdom come out in a much different place than I expected.

timbickers 5 pts

The more answers I get, the more questions I seem to be asking. ;)

Here's a quick question for you: how do you go about reaching out to business leaders that inspire you, receiving a response from them, without begging, pleading, and demanding that they "mentor me right now" ?

I've been on both ends of the spectrum here. Had a guy reach out to me recently and demand that I mentor him...not only did I run the other way, but I didn't want anything to do with him.

That said, I'm also reaching out to people that inspire me and I don't want it to be a spam fest either.

Thoughts?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

rajeshrajan 5 pts

timbickers Here is a link to a post by Ramit Sethi. He talks exactly how to network with busy people. He gives email scripts and a very practical approach. It is a long post post but worth reading. http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-use-natural-networking-to-connect-with-anyone-including-the-exact-email-scripts/

timbickers 5 pts

rajeshrajan thanks for the link and helpful info! appreciate it.

LewisHowes 54 pts moderator

timbickers good question Tim. ... best thing I'd do is give value to the person you want to mentor you first. give as much value without bugging them as you can and just continue to support and follow what they say.

timbickers 5 pts

LewisHowes thanks for the tip here, Lewis. I always enjoy your content. Keep up the hard work and world domination! ;-)

thedigitalceo 5 pts

Lewis,

Couldn't agree more. A coach or mentor can help you in ways you can't see yet, can't even understand. They push you past boundaries, question limiting beliefs, and present a path never before considered.

They also offer the inspiration we all need to get through the dip (thanks, Seth) by their example.

Excellent insight, excellent post.

Daniel C Cudone 6 pts

Its good to see people who are genuinely happy with what they do and succeeding with real support groups that are like family. Lewis, this was always in to you to be an influencer more or less an business man. When its in the makeup its intrinsically yours :) Some leaders are born, other are made. I think its likely both here lol.

LewisHowes 54 pts moderator

Daniel C Cudone thanks Daniel. .

John Falchetto 769 pts

The more I learn the more I discover how little I know.

I couldn't agree more about the importance of coaching (obviously I'm biased) but I realized that even a coach needs a coach. This is something great leaders figure out early.

When I got frustrated with my marketing I asked for help and still use a great coach.

I attend as many conferences as possible, buy info products and keep on learning everyday.

LewisHowes 54 pts moderator

John Falchetto You are a smart man John :)

AntoniaLoGiudice 28 pts

Amazing Post, Lewis!! I can't not tell you how much I relate to your story...I have had awesome mentors as well, people who have shown me just much I had room for improvement. Furthermore, It led me to making a huge change in my life and follow what I am truly passionate about. You know, traveling has taught me sooo much more and has taught me that there is so much more out there to learn and grow from!

LewisHowes 54 pts moderator

AntoniaLoGiudice Great stuff Antonia... keep working it!

GambrillCom 7 pts

So true Lewis! As Brian Tracy says, winners are aware of their E vs. E Ratio (Education vs. Entertainment) and lean heavily toward the education side. Awesome post!

LewisHowes 54 pts moderator

GambrillCom thanks my friend. I'm a big fan of learning... it's just how we learn sometimes that gets me frustrated (or excited)

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JamieCrager
JamieCrager @JamieCrager 24 Jan

Eduction and Coaching – Powerful Elements of Business Growth http://t.co/myI09cCf via lewishowes RT seanmalarkey

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