The world’s top performers today push themselves harder to achieve results that are unimaginable to the average individual.
How do they do it?
They have a coach to support them.
Think about Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton, Marc Benioff. These are the leaders in their respective fields of sports, politics, and business, with advisors or coaches to support their every move.
But it’s not just the top-performers who need coaches in their lives, it’s all of us who want to become a top-performer in anything we want to succeed in.
What is coaching
Coaching is simply a relationship between two people, where one (coachee) is learning and guided by the other (coach) who has a specific expertise in an industry or topic.
The difference between the mentoring and coaching, is that the latter is a relationship built on equal status and a highly targeted focus on achieving a specific goal for the coachee. This is in contrast to most mentoring relationships, where the mentee is often referred to as lower status, and the relationship is around receiving general advice without an attached goal nor much accountability to support it.
Think back to your days of working with a soccer, basketball, or football coach. Not only was there an accountable relationship between the two of you, but there was a goal that you were both incentivized on — to win.
Why you need one
Coaching is often focused on psychology and developing the mindset to achieve your goals, as well as practical frameworks to increase your success.
It varies from sports, business, health, relationships, career, languages and so on, but the benefits are clear. Coaching helps you achieve what you want faster, whether it’s to win a championship, become fluent in a language, or grow your business.
According to a research done on the ROI of coaching, 84% of recipients reported that it generated improvements in their performance, targets, and goals. While 79% claimed that it allowed a fuller use of their individual talents and potential.
There are coaches that charge over $1 million a year to work with them, but unless you’re the President, a professional athlete, or a high executive, you won’t pay even close to that.
In fact, here are 5 areas of your life where you should have a coach without breaking the bank (and where to find them)
5 areas you need a coach
1. Business
Business coaching is definitely one of the fastest growing industries in coaching, as there is a clear positive financial ROI attached to it.
In a world where 1/10 businesses are failing, any advantage you can have to become the top 10% is well worth the investment.
Cost Range: $500/month to $50,000/month
Where to find them: The best place to look for business coaches is to find leaders or experts in your industry that you respect (offline or online).
Most will be titled under “Consultants” not coaches under their “Work With Me” pages and you can reach out to them for one-on-one coaching.
The other is personal references from friends or colleagues that have achieved a level of success you want to achieve, and asking them for introductions. A few other places to look online are: E-myth coaching or WABC (Worldwide Association of Business Coaching).
2. Career & Life
Whether we’re going through a career transition or just beginning our journey, we all need guidance from someone who has been there.
Career coaching is about digging deep into not only your goals, but what would create a fulfilling life for you, and creating a sustainable strategy to help you achieve it.
Cost Range: $500/month $10,000/month
Where to find them: Finding a career coach can be the same process as finding a business coach: someone you admire or through a personal reference. If non of those applies to you, then I would personally recommend checking out one of Tony Robbins’ coaches. It starts as little as $500/month, with qualified coaches around the world.
3. Health & Fitness
This is an industry that is already popularized for its coaching benefits. We often refer to them as trainers, but the relationship is one between a coach and a coachee. Whether it’s losing weight or simply eating healthier to increase your energy levels throughout the day, having a health coach will create a plan for you to workout smarter and eat healthier.
Cost Range: $200/month to $1,000/month
Where to find them: Most gyms have personal fitness coaches that you can work with, where they’ll create personalized workout plans for you. If you’re looking for a health coach to design your nutrition plan, and don’t mind working virtually, check out Precision Nutrition or Rise.
4. Language learning
Most of us have learned a second language in one time or another, whether it was in school, for traveling, or for personal reasons. However, most of us never reach fluency, and the biggest reason for that is: lack of accountability. Language learning is no different from succeeding in sports or business — have a specific goal you want to reach, and work with a coach to guide you through each step and keep you accountable.
Cost Range: $35/month to $200/month
Where to find them: Language learning through a coach is the cheapest option out of the ones we’ve mentioned. Most people that need coaches are those that lack time in their schedules, so working with a coach virtually is the recommended option. This way, you don’t have to worry about commuting back and forth, without limiting yourself to coaches in your local city.
5. Money & Finance
Unless you studied Finance or Accounting in college, you’ve probably never learned how to manage or invest your money. This is a huge gap in the education industry, and a topic that even the educated need more coaching on. Instead of a coach, these experts are called financial advisors, planner, or fiduciarys.
Cost Range: ~1% of managed assets, hourly fee (varies), or retainer (varies)
Where to find them: A great place to start is to ask your colleague or friend for referrals or head over to NAPFA to find fee-only advisors.
Over to you
Which of these coaches will you be using to improve your life and reach your full potential?
