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Coaching

David Sherry
3 min read

By now we know that your education doesn’t stop after school.

In fact, upon leaving school… you quickly realized how much you don’t know. And that the people at the top have put in serious effort over long periods of time. Not that youth can’t excel early, Zuckerberg was 19 when he started Facebook.

But experience matters, and people have more of it than you think.

From career to money to priorities to relationships…it’s a big world out there. And as a teen you think you have ideas about what should be done, that things are obvious. But life is complex and…

Today there are so many variables, big decisions, and lateral moves we make just to build a career. It makes sense that coaching is an industry growing to help support knowledge work.

And that coaches exist in every niche you could imagine. Which, btw I think is a good thing. There are those who have gone deep and can help you do the same, assuming you’re flexible and open to change.

Most advice just confirms our assumptions. Ditto for business information being shared on social media. It doesn’t get you anywhere. It’s bumper stickers.

Not that the information on Twitter is useless, in fact it’s a large chunk of my higher education.

But if you want to change you need guidance, someone to see your blind spots. This could be your friend group, but they might be drinking the same Koolaid. Or trapped in a bad line of thinking.

So what do you do? Where are the role models?

You can build your own tribe. Take the lead and offer input while fostering an environment that promotes the same. This is a necessity regardless, you need a team.

Everyone needs team, one that’s got their back and doesn’t let them slip through the cracks. Like so many others, who feel like they’re putting in effort but getting no where. That’s the truth about careers, you put in effort and go nowhere until suddenly you’re somewhere. And your team are the one’s with you when you weren’t successful. Isn’t that what musicians always say?

Those who quit… they miss the progress. And a team, community family, all can help you when you’re down to stay in the game. Doing so will get you farther than most. But if you think it’s just you against the world you’re in for trouble.

But this post is about coaching, and I know I know you’re skeptical. Marketers ruin everything.

But coaching is just mentorship and guidance you can pay for.

If not to help you build skills but also to keep you accountable and speak a truth you have been uncomfortable to look at. It’s not about information, it’s about learning from experience.

It's about observing with a keen eye how someone operates. Not to copy but to absorb what’s useful. And it's hard to absorb everything from a book.

And coaching is an investment.

Do you want to excel, invest in your mind in body for good?

If you’re in this for the long run you know about compound interest. That small improvements today turn into large ones, just later. So you’ve got to delay gratification and do the hard work of recognizing just how far you truly have to go.

I started working formally with a coach a few years out of school and I haven’t stopped since. What has this done for me?

In short, it’s made me a more clear thinker, which has made me more productive and less stressed. It’s changed me at the level of perception and understanding instead of the level of information. It’s hard to quantify.

Because information is everywhere but I’m looking to cut through the noise. And some of the benefits might take time to play out. These are micro-adjustments that change the macro.

You don’t need a coach.

But if you want to grow and are interested in the long run…

If you enjoy investing in yourself…

It’s a lot like therapy.

You might like it more than you think.

xx David