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“how to prepare to be a coach”

The Endless Trap of Preparation for Coaches

So many coaches, both novice and seasoned, are heavily invested in preparing themselves for the position of running the coaching business of their dreams. Pouring thousands of dollars into educational books, high-level training, marketing courses, and working with other coaches, all to help hone in on their craft.

We all know how time and money invested into the betterment of yourself offers the biggest return on investment of all. But how many of you are using this facade of “preparation” as means of avoiding actually getting started or doing the work?

Still not seeing it? Well you’re not alone. Let me explain…

I’ve been involved in the coaching industry for quite some time now, and year after year, I watch coaches struggle:

They either try the coaching thing for a little while and then get burnt out for a little while longer…

OR

They just push through, year after year, never actually “making it”, but never quite failing either.

Unbeknownst to themselves, this is often perpetuated by what I like to call, The Endless Trap of Preparation.

A trap that befalls all sorts of people from all walks of life, but it’s especially tragic for coaches.

Why is that, you might ask?

Well, precisely because coaches are the people who should know how to get out of this trap! Or at the very least, recognize the trap for exactly what it is.

We coaches are the ones who have spent all of this time, money, and energy training to be able to help people create momentum, and become accountable for their own goals. To get people up and out of the “idea” phase, and moving through the motions of actually creating and implementing the necessary steps to bring their goals to fruition.

Yet somehow, even the “best” coaches in the world, with mountains of training and experience, still miss that which is right under their noses… they fail to recognize their own personal shortcomings and fears in the face of their career.

This “trap” of getting stuck in the preparation-phase is not only experienced by coaches. Anyone can fall subject to this fear-based obstacle which rids the potential for any momentum to manifest.

Momentum, being the catalyst here to the success of any endeavor, big or small.

There is one truth I have come to know as being the secret to success. It is a truth so simple, that many times it goes unnoticed, even by the most seasoned coaches and entrepreneurs.

This truth is captured by one of my favorite quotes:
​

The universe moves for the deed, not the doer.

-Dusan Djukich

​

The message behind this quote is so simple, it’s alarming. In some ways, nothing else matters but what you do. You can come up with a million and a half ideas for what you want to be doing or creating, but until you actually DO it, these ideas will only ever be just that, an idea.

Now don’t get me wrong, preparation is important– and your mindset does have a huge impact on the outcome of any endeavor. The mentality you bring to the plate as you take action does deeply affect the final product… but all of this is no match to the overwhelming effectiveness of action. Even bad action is necessary in the grand scheme of momentum and all things success.

This is why the endless trap of preparation is so insidious, because one will let the fear of “messing up” or “doing it wrong” stop them from ever actually DOING. You can prepare and prepare and prepare a thousand times over, but that doesn’t change this one simple truth of the matter:

When you are preparing, you are not doing.
​When you are training, you are not doing.
​When you are trying, you are not doing.

Only doing is doing.

Doing is what matters.

The Illusory Safety Of Preparation: The Land of Lies

There is a magical land I see many coaches living in, called the land of preparation. 

In this land your dreams are safe, your risk of real, rejection is minimized, and the hope of one day being a great coach is ever present. It is so lovely in this land because it feels so real and so justifiable. There are so many programs you can buy here, guru’s you can listen to, so many books you can read, and so much you can do. 

The gentle lie of this land is that if you spend enough time in it you will someday be ready to leave and that when you do, the world you encounter will be one of success and accolades. 

The gentle lie of this land is that you are gaining something by being here. The promise of confidence, competence, a winning formula, a secret method, and a savior are ever present and yet ever out of reach. 

Because each time you go to the door-of-starting and open it to look out, all you see are dark woods, familiar monsters, and the same doubts and fears that have kept you trapped here for years maybe even decades. This place is a false paradise. It is a prison made to look like a school, a community, and a facebook group that encourages you at every turn. 

There is no amount of preparation that will get you ready for really being an incredible coach. The journey to mastery is one that will have you standing naked before the universe. 
It’s one that will have you doing battle with the shadows of humanity in yourself and in your clients. 
It’s one that will have you question everything you thought you knew about how life worked and who you are. 

The lie, the people, programs, and companies who live in the magical tell you is that you’re not ready to face it. 

That’s BULL F*CKING SH*T. 

You are not some delicate little lily of the field. Your ancestors fought wild animals. Traveled across oceans. Dug in hard earth with their bare hands to plant seeds they didn’t know would grow. 

They nearly starved to death and were killed countless times. 
They were f*cking bad asses and so are you. 

You are ready to face it ANNNNND facing it is really scary sometimes, it can feel really hard sometimes, and you’ll want to run away. 

That’s why you need support. But not the kind of support that will have you keep living in the land of preparation. No you need the kind of support that will have you living in the world of heroes. The world of coaches who actually make money and have clients and run a real ass business like a grown ass adult. 

It’s time to leave the fake paradise and get to work. 

Go hire a coach who will get you there. 
Join a group that will get you there. 
Find some friends that will get you there. 

I’d love to battle with you and have some fun along the way. If you want to join me and the mastermind to actually do the thing you want to be doing or do it better let’s talk. 

But get out the door and make it happen. 
The world needs you. And your life needs this before it’s too late. 

Love, 
Toku