Success Lessons from a Would-Be Coaching Client

A few days ago I spoke to an acquaintance of mine about coaching. She and I have known each other for almost a year, and she was thinking about hiring me as her coach. What we talked about, the questions she had, and the mindset she's got, can be a lesson about success for all of us.

I've been studying personal development and achievement for years. I know what it takes to be a high achiever. I've been there myself and can recognize “success markers,” if you can call them that, fairly easily.

People who want success and people who do what it takes to achieve success aren't always the same. (TWEET that!)

Actually, they're different in most cases.

This would-be client of mine is the type who wants success. She wants it so bad, she's willing to learn everything there is to learn about success.

She can tell you the books successful people read. She could list the membership sites successful people start or are a part of. She could even list their masterminds and coaching packages as well.

I know, because we talked about it.

My Mistake

Before I share the four problems people who want success have, let me share a story of my own.

Back in 2007, I was beginning my career as a financial adviser. My mentor told me to make connections and ask for referrals from the very beginning. She explained that it's better to start getting clients early, than to wait until I passed all my licensing tests.

In my stubbornness, I insisted on reading and studying instead of talking to people, making introductions and building a business.

I spent six months studying for my Securities tests. I got my Series 6, and 26, but failed the 63. I studied harder and passed it the second time around, but I lost a few months in the process.

After months of work, I had the knowledge but no clients. I passed the test but I had no business. Other than what was in my head and a certificate I'd never hang on my wall, I had nothing to show for my time.

My mistake was thinking I could learn my way to success.

I wanted success but I wasn't willing to do what would help me achieve success.

And that's the problem many people are struggling with these days. They read all the books and take all the courses, but they don't take any steps forward.

You can have all the knowledge in the world, but knowledge is useless until you do something with it. (TWEET that!)

As I see it, this would-be coaching client has the same trouble I had in 2007. Let me explain.

Too Much Research

Practical experience beats theoretical knowledge every time.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

– George S. Patton

Many people who want success research their topics to death. In many cases, research is simply fear of action manifesting itself as busy-ness. When I was studying to be a financial adviser, I assumed that if I had more knowledge than anybody else, I'd be more successful than everybody else.

People who want success spend too much time in research and not enough time in the field.

Too Many Questions

I love questions. I've been told several times that I ask too many questions. Oddly enough, I was told that while working at my last job about 8 months before I earned the spot as the most successful sales rep in the department.

Questions aren't the problem. Waiting to get all the answers is. (TWEET that!)

Let me clarify something for you. You can never ask your way to success. You can never have enough knowledge, know enough people, or have enough tools. The people who achieve success act anyway.

The difference between the Ellory of 2007 and the Ellory of today is that now I'm ok with moving forward while not having the answers. I've made more friends, had more fun, and made more money by figuring it out along the way than when I tried to study myself into success.

People who want success spend too much time asking questions and not enough time seeking answers for themselves. Answers that can only be found along the journey.

Too Much Planning

No plan survives contact with the enemy.

– Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower also said,

Plans are nothing; planning is everything.

People who achieve success spend a great amount of time planning. They plan their years, their quarters, their months and their days. People who achieve success have an outline for their future. They also plan the actions they'll take to get where they want to go.

People who want success believe they can plan for everything. They plan for success they haven't seen yet. They plan how they'll spend their money instead of planning what they'll do to earn it.

The problem with too much planning is that after a while, you think you can plan for every obstacle, every roadblock, and every contingency.

People who want success spend more time planning than they do executing. Sometimes the best plans are the ones you can start immediately.

Too Little Action

In the end, as Jim Rohn said, results are the name of the game. Readers can't read your blog post if it isn't published; they can't watch your video if it hasn't been recorded.

People who want success take too little action. People who achieve success are out the door and taking action long before the people who want success even wake up.

People who want success think being or staying busy will get them where they want to go. People who achieve success know that producing results is the only thing that matters.

Inaction starves the unsuccessful while action is what feeds the successful.

If you think 2015 is your year, and you want a coach to help you get there, apply for my elite coaching program by clicking the button below!

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