It hit me this morning as I was listening to the recent Fresh Air podcast interview with Christopher Nolan talking about his new movie, Oppenheimer.
I am obsessive.
Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I’m a big Christopher Nolan fan.
And one thing I have noticed is how often people use the word “obsessed” when they talk about him.
Obsessed about his audience’s experience of his films. Obsessed about using the best tools to create that experience (even inventing new tools in the process). Obsessed about writing. Obsessed about time.
Admitting I Have A Problem…
I’ve noticed (and resisted as my wife continually pointed it out to me) that I have those same qualities. And that I gravitate toward the greats in many fields. Movies. Sports. Standup comedy. Even sales and storytelling.
Those who have, to paraphrase Tim Ferriss, deconstructed excellence. Who have obsessed about it to the level of replicating every detail. Even while recognizing the things that simply cannot be replicated.
I’ve been a coach for many years, and a full time professional coach for the last seven. I am coming to understand that my own obsessions about the nature and malleability of our human experience, and the process of sharing my learnings, have led me deeper and deeper into the possibilities of coaching as a catalyst for human change.
My obsessions have not only made me a better coach, they have made me better at building a coaching business.
Others have asked me how I have been able to build a one-on-one coaching business that replaced my corporate income, with only a few clients.
How I was able to enroll clients for a year of conversation at fees that exceed the cost of most automobiles.
I have taken the last year deconstructing how I do that, so that I can do it more effectively. And my obsession has had an unexpected side effect.
Obsessing About Teaching My Obsessions
I now understand my thinking and my methods well enough to teach them to other coaches.
What was implicit has become explicit.
The Art of Coaching
There is an art to coaching.
When I am fully present, I not only know what to say next, but it simply pops into my head. And that presence someone creates a space for my client to have new insights as well.
Together, we literally create things that have not seemed possible before.
My capacity to be present has been the strongest driver of my coaching success. That capacity was built over thirty years of personal development work. Meditation. Retreats. Studying with teachers. Every successful coach I know has done a lot of this kind of work.
But there is another part to this that is more predictable. More explainable. More teachable.
The Science of Coaching
There is also a science to coaching. A “how to.” A process that can be replicated.
What is the best way to build a coaching business?
What is the best way to reach out to someone?
What is the best way to get a conversation?
What is the best way to, within the context of that conversation, introduce them to the idea of and experience of coaching?
What is the best way to enroll them in a coaching journey, one that could take a year or longer, and could change their lives and everyone around them?
These are the questions I obsess about. The questions that increase my capacity to connect with the people I most want to connect with.
And the answers to these questions are what I can now teach.
Do you have a particular question? A particular type of coaching business you would like to build?
Chances are, I have spent a great deal of time obsessing over that very thing.
It’s just what I do.
Discovering WHAT people need to do, and then helping them practice HOW to do it.
Like learning a martial art or a musical instrument, for example, you have to be willing to do the same things, over and over, to learn and practice the skills that you need.
Having a group of people around you who are committed to the same thing is incredibly helpful. Had I had a similar group I think it could have saved me years.
I am creating a Group Apprentice Program to teach everything I have learned.
If you want to learn more, here’s how to start.
How to Start
If a building a sustainable coaching business that will replace your corporate income is calling you, here’s a video where I share the the top three mistakes I see coaches make when trying to build a sustainable business—
http://bit.ly/creatingextraordinarycoaches
You will also get a link to my calendar to ask the question YOU have been obsessing about.
You can subscribe to my YouTube channel here—
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4FuzFAukDC_3nEGQB6AYbQ?sub_confirmation=1
You can follow me on LinkedIn and never miss a post: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=jeffmunn
If you’re not already subscribed to my newsletters, you can do so here:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/creating-monthly-6930267414546821120
And when you’re ready to go even deeper, send me a private message or an email. I’m happy to help you any way I can.
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