Coaches Corner~Focus

When you are committed to being an extraordinary coach, your commitment does not stop there.  You must be committed to the results your clients say they want and also be committed to inspiring them to set even greater goals.  You must allow nothing to get in the way of those expectations no matter what it looks like.  The only way for breakthrough is an apparent breakdown from time to time.  Despite this, you must “Close your mind to anything that tends to dim your vision, shake your purpose or quench your faith” according to Walter D. Wattles, the author of The Science of Getting Rich.

This is no more evident than in a movie I watched entitled Apocalypto.  While the movie was graphic and very violent by anyone’s definition, I chose to focus on its deeper meaning and you should develop the skill of focusing on the things that serve you and not allow anything to deter you from where you are taking your client.  This movie tells a story of the Mayan culture and shows a lot of man’s inhumanity to man and also shows that men were more serious during those times.  While I am not all that serious, as you know if you have read these blogs, I took a serious lesson from the movie.  We know that divorce is at a rampant rate in the world and as a result or maybe even despite that, the character of men have been suspect.  If a man is not able to keep his commitment to his family, then what is left for him to do?  Pursue his fleshly passions?  Perhaps but here is the story of “Almost,” a name he was given in the movie by his captors.

His village was attacked by some people not from there.  Almost sought immediately to find shelter for his pregnant wife and toddler son.  He found a hole in which to hide them and tied a rope to each of them, lowered them into the hole and affirmed, “I will come back” as he went to join the other men in the fight to defend the village.  (I am getting misty-eyed just writing this)  he was unsuccessful and many of them were killed but Almost was not one of them.  He was captured and the point of this piece shows that he could not have been killed because he said to his family that he would be back.  As the movie progressed, he made several attempts to escape and all of them were fruitless and while it was not shown, I am sure that Almost was wondering in his head, “How am I going to keep my promise?”  They made sure he would not escape again and all seemed lost as he was bound with other captives and prepared to be sacrificed to the God’s of the era.  He never seemed afraid though.  It was almost as if he knew on some deep level he would find a way to find a way.  The set-up was to have the captives climb the gangplank and one by one they would be beheaded and that would be the end of them.  From time to time one would fight when it was his turn and he would simply get conked on the head and laid on the chopping block and get beheaded that way.  Now it became Almost’s turn and what happened next was amazing if one were not aware of the metaphysical nature of life.  He had to get back to his wife because he said so!  If that meant that he would return carrying his own head, then he had to do that.  His faith even at the point where he was “Next” kept his spirits up.  This is the same kind of faith they talk about in the bible when Abraham raised the knife to kill his own son because God told him to and just about that time, a ram was caught in the bush and the ram was sacrificed instead.

When it was Almost’s turn to get beheaded, something happened that no one had seen before.  Suddenly it became dark, pitch black and no one could see anything for a few minutes and Almost was spared.  It was the first recorded solar eclipse and it had to occur at that moment in history because it was the only way that Almost even had a chance to return to his wife and family.  To be sure, it still was not easy after that but had the eclipse not occurred, Almost would have been a dead duck.

Taking control of your mind is very, very critical to becoming an extraordinary coach.  Watching the movie would not give as much revelation to someone else but I am always looking for ways to improve if not for my clients, for myself.  The lesson of the movie is indeed a good one but it is not the lesson of this blog.  The lesson of this blog is that we can think whatever we want and what we think then takes over and controls us.  Vigilant guarding of our thought is our greatest ally because we can teach our clients the same thing.  Teaching you client will not cost you money either if you have secured your client for the proper reason.  Because the reason a coach is necessary is threefold.  That is 1) An outside objective opinion 2) An accountability partner and 3) New results that have never occurred before.  Teach you clients how to focus on the worthwhile things and they will thank you and give you even more things to help them with.  Helping your clients in this way will get you more clients and separate you from others as being uniquely you.  It will catapult you to the heights where you continue to be seen as an extraordinary coach.