Listen to this article here:   

Your success in achieving your goals will be greatly enhanced by your coaches intentionally setting up a three branched support system.  Your coach has you on a solid plane and being successful and achieving your goals when they include social support and structural support.  Then you need to say YES to two questions.

Success is the achievement of something planned or attempted.  Therefore to be successful, by definition, we have to be intentional.  Otherwise when something good happens, we call it a fluke or just plain luck.

I tell my clients that they can plan their lives or they can just let it roll out haphazardly, allowing others to determine what happens.  Either way, I tell them, YOU GET TO LIVE THERE!

Wouldn’t you rather plan on success and good stuff coming into your life rather than relying on flukes or luck?  Most of us would!   Coaching programs really increase the likelihood of that happening if your coach has the skills and practice to bring a very specific balance to each and every coaching session.

I’m talking at a high concept level about all types of coaching relationships: executive, leadership, life and even mentoring.

Your success in achieving your goals will be greatly enhanced by your coaches intentionally setting up a three branched support system.  Very simply, people change their behavior and are set up for success if they can answer two questions with a “yes!” in each of three categories, personal, social and structural.   

If I could give you a way of thinking that actually shows you how a great coach guides a successful man or woman to optimize the reality of really accomplishing their goals in the shortest number of sessions, would that would be of value to you? 

Very simply, people change their behavior if they can answer two questions with a “yes!”  The first question is “Is this worth it?”, and the second question is simply “Do I have the ability to it?”

I tell my clients that success comes from a goal system like a three legged stool.  You all know that metaphor - 3 points to make a plane, 3 legs on a stool to be stable.  If one leg gets weak, you still have the other two to help balance you.

The first leg of the stool is personal, or inside you.  And I think this is the foundational leg.  Without this leg, no goal you want to achieve is going to be accomplished.  Or if it is accomplished, it won’t be sustained.  And sustaining the successful behavior is what it’s all about.  So the mindset question here is, “do I think the work and effort to achieve this new successful behavior is worth it?”, and then, “do I really think I can do this?” 

The second leg that supports the foundational leg is social, or in relationship with others.  So the question here is “will my family and friends support me in this success” and “do I think my current social support is sufficient?”   If the answer is no, don’t stop there.  It’s your responsibility to succeed, not theirs!  So, who could you enlist to support you and hold you accountable?  Of course, your life coach is one of these people, but you also do even better with support from friends and family. This is going to be different people for different areas, depending on what their strengths are.  One friend might be the social support to achieve your ideal weight, and it may be your spouse that is the support for your financial goal or to help you get that promotion you so badly want.  With the help of your coach, make sure that you have identified the right social support.   

The third leg your coach should ensure is the structural leg, or the organization, or the actual physical properties in your environment.   The questions here are “Do I have all the exercise equipment at home that I need, or will I join a gym?  If so, which gym, how far am I willing to drive or bus to that, and at what membership cost?”  Or, do I need to hire a bookkeeper, CPA, get software for my computer?  What do I need in my structure to support me being successful in attaining my goal?  And then, Can I really do this?  Can I learn QuickBooks; learn to use the Bowflex, etc?  Can I put aside the budget to get this in my structure? In business you will need to evaluate the corporate culture and past precedence.

That’s it.  Picture a 3 legged stool.  Your coach has you on a solid plane - being successful and achieving your goal.  The main leg is labeled personal with the questions do I want to (motivation), and can I (ability)?

The second leg is labeled social support.  Do they want to (motivation), and can they (ability)?

The third leg is labeled structural.  Are there systems in place to help me sustain my motivation, and which of these systems will do it for me?

I’d love to help you with the Coach Companion System.  Please call or email with any questions.

To your success.  Light the Fire!