by David
Blanchard, President, 6 Advisors Inc.
The
challenge is to simply BE – real and genuine without the need to impress, the
need to feel ashamed, the need to pretend, or the need to fear. It is to be
transparent to these needs so that we can bring who we "really are" to any given
coaching situation. Why is this so important?
Imagine
a hot air balloon tethered to the ground by four large ropes each tied off to
a large wooden stake. Can you feel the balloon struggling to lift off, wanting
to soar, but unable to do so because the tethers are holding it down? Feel the
tension between the potential in the balloon and the restraint of the tethers.
Finally the ropes are cut and the balloon lifts with ease higher and higher
until its occupants can view what appears to be the entire earth. So it is with
our coaching practices. The need to impress, feel ashamed, pretend, and fear
can keep us tethered, unable to succeed. These tethers rob us and our potential
coaching clients of our greatest gifts. Our true potential lies dormant, untapped
and unused.
Dr.
Robert S. Hartman said, "to simply BE is the hardest and most important task
in our mortal existence." He went on to say that this is the "highest level
of maturity." Until we as coaches master this art we are, as Og Mandino says,
"no more than a peddler in the market place." Until now, you may have believed
that success is contingent on your ability to tenaciously cling to these tethers.
You may fear that nothing would be left should you surrender. Some may have
even built the very foundation of their existence, their image, roles, and status
using these restrictive thought processes. But real power is in being real and
genuine. In doing so our intrinsic power is released. Real power cannot be
faked or manipulated. The surrender is real and the benefits beyond price.
It
is our goal to introduce you to the unknown for when you become aware of the
possibilities, the gains made while being tethered will seem puny and insignificant
regardless of how others may have perceived their value. You will more clearly
recognize why there has been a flame burning inside you, as discussed by Og
Mandino, "which has been passed from generations uncounted." A flame that has
been "a constant irritation to your spirit to be better than you are and you
will be" and in so doing find the intrinsic motivation to shed your tethers
and soar.
Coaching
is not about becoming a monk or a self-denying ascetic. However, it is about
being real, genuine and authentic and unleashing your infinite intrinsic power
in the service of other human beings – and being compensated for this valuable
service. It is about coming to a task as a clean vessel free of judgment and
prejudice. It is about bringing all of your potential, all of your genius, all
of your genuineness, all of your creativity, free from the need to impress,
feel ashamed, pretend and fear. It is about experiencing the profound joy that
can come only through maximizing your true potential in the service of others.
What
tethers are holding you back? We can now measure them. Make the discovery and
then learn how to cut the tethers so you can soar. "Up there" is
where your clients want to be and they need someone who has cut their tethers
and breathed "that air."
Dave
Blanchard is the Chairman and CEO of The Og Group, Inc. and family of companies,
The Greatest Salesman, Inc. and 6 Advisors, Inc. He is the co-developer of the
6 Advisors Assessment Report™ and coaching curriculum. http://www.6Advisors.com
