Over the years, I’ve searched for another label for myself to replace the overused and numerous times misunderstood title of a coach.
A decade ago, I asked my clients to come up with another label for what I do. After reviewing the list the answer was obvious:
- Master of Change
- Change Enabler
- Personal Change Guide
People come to me for change.
They want to change their:
- Business
- Leadership style
- Career
In essence, they want to change the trajectory of either their personal or professional life.
Over the years, many people have called me a -motivator.- Each time I passionately disagree. If you need motivation, this means you don’t want to go after what you want in the first place.
No, I certainly don’t motivate.
So Steve, what do you do? This is the question I get asked the most.
I’m your Change Master.
I peel away the layers of you the client and partner with you to discover the change you truly want, why you’re going after this change, how to go about getting it, and ensure you stay on track.
Not only am I proud of all my clients who took a stand for themselves and made a change, I’m grateful and honored they chose me to be their enabler of completing a major change.
The biggest regret I have over the last 13 years or so is not being able to convince more people to begin and go after their endgame.
My biggest competitor is the prospect who never makes a decision.
But why? Why don’t you decide to go after your change?
The answer is so simple. It’s not about not having enough time or having enough money to pay my fees.
Fear is also a popular excuse. Sometime the fear is what if you take this step and nothing changes. Or, what if you get exactly what you want? Fear of success and the responsibilities it brings.
No, it’s about one thing. Lack of commitment of being willing to do what’s necessary to make a life altering change. That’s it.
If the change you want is important enough, believe me, you’ll find a way to find the time and resources to make it happen.
Conversely, if the change you wish isn’t important, you’ll devise creative excuses to delay, delay, delay.
The same ineffective actions, including no action, will deliver you uneventfully to your unwanted default future.
The question I have for those who are kicking the can down the road and not making a decision to take massive action and do something different to change your life:
What is the payoff for you to continue to delay a full court commitment to your desired change?
Today’s guest post is by Steve Keating (CME, CSE,) Selling Skills Manager for Toro Company.
Improvement Requires Change – by Steve Keating
I am frequently surprised by people who want something “better” in their life. I guess that’s not really the part that surprises me, after all, who wouldn’t want “better”. The part that surprises me is that they want something better but they are not willing to accept any amount of change in their life to get it.
Any improvement, even a little one, requires that something must change.
Just because you may not enjoy change (you’re most certainly not alone there) does not mean there will be no changes in your life. Change happens whether we want it to or not.
Once you accept the fact that change is one of life’s certainties then you have the choice of whether those changes will drive you or you will drive them. That means the real question is will the changes in your life happen to you or because of you.
If you want to drive the change in your life then you must decide what changes you want. You must be very specific about what you want, “better” isn’t nearly specific enough to make it happen. Knowing exactly what you want to be better is a key to having it. You’ll also find that being able to effectively communicate, to yourself and others, exactly why you want the improvement is a big help too.
When you know what you want then set your goals and make a plan on exactly how you’ll make the change come about. This is the part many people miss, they want to see a change but they have no plan to make it happen. You need a plan!
Now here’s the thing about your plan… it’s very unlikely to work, at least exactly as you had drawn it up. Expect disruptions in your plan, your path to successful change with be littered with obstacles and nay-saying people. Push on!
While you may find your plan wasn’t perfect it’s likely your planning process was sufficient enough to allow you to get right back on course when someone or something pushes you off.
Be patient but be sure you’re not just procrastinating. The very best time to begin your journey to successful change is the moment you’ve identified the change you desire. “Later,” “tomorrow,” and “someday” are just words that slow you down, or stop you all together. The word you need is “now” as in right now, immediately, today.
Be sure to surround yourself with supportive people. Change isn’t easy but like everything else, it’s easier when we get some morale support along the way. Never allow anyone to tell you that you can’t succeed and for heavens sake, never say that self-defeating horrible thing to yourself.
You are going to experience change in your life; for some people that’s pretty bad news, for others it’s pretty good news. I guess it just depends on if your sitting behind the steering wheel of the change bus or if you’re just along for the ride.
So…where are you sitting today?