A few weeks ago, I had a fit of nostalgia and started scouring the internet to watch videos of some of my favorite old bands. I thought I’d look up an unsigned band that had a big impact on me early in my music career. Sure enough, I located some old grainy footage of a few festival concerts that one of their fans must have recorded and uploaded to the internet.
As I watched the old blurred videos so many memories starting rushing into my head. You see at that time we were a young, inexperienced local band. Sure, we’d had some small level of success and played a few big shows in our home town, but the crowd was always packed with plenty of friends and family, not complete strangers that knew nothing about us. We really didn’t have a clue as to what it took to take our act out on the road and tour the country. All we knew was that we wanted to be huge rock stars.
This band of seasoned professionals were gracious enough to take us all under their wings. They invited us to tour with them for a few months throughout the Midwest and it was at that time we all got an education about what it really took to make it in the music business.
Their lead singer’s name was Mark, and he took the time to show me things I’d never thought about before. How to build a set list of songs that would keep the audience engaged for the entire night. How many original songs to play vs. covers of other band’s music. What type of songs would get the crowd out on the dance floor, what songs would slow things down a bit and encourage couples to dance and exactly where to put them in the set list.
He also taught me how to take care of my voice so I could sing 3 sets of music, night after night, which was extremely difficult. Lots of tea with lemon and honey, halls menthol cough drops, tons of water- but no ice, warming up your voice before the set, pacing yourself throughout the night, and probably the most important advice- plenty of rest and no talking during the day.
Even with all that coaching I still lost my voice many times to the point where I couldn’t even speak, let alone sing. Those were some of the nights that tested me the most, when I wasn’t at my best. Learning how to go out and perform when I was tired, sick, hungry and no voice made me so much better. The audience didn’t care, they just wanted to be entertained.
In less than 3 months, I had learned what it would have taken me years to gain on my own because someone had taken the time to share their knowledge and experience with me.
When my music career ended, I started working in sales and was fortunate enough to find the same type of coach and mentor and got the same type of results. Within a year and with no previous sales experience I became one of the top performing sales professionals in our company. Not because I just figured it out on my own, but because I was coached and mentored by two of the best sales people I’ve ever met.
They taught me how to prospect for new business, how to respond to customers and clients, what to say, and how to say it. How to overcome objections and ask for business. Most of all they taught me the importance of mastering the internal mental game for being successful not just in your business but in your life as well. Those lessons have stuck with me over the years and have helped shaped the business that I have to this day.
As I’ve been thinking about all the coaches and mentors I’ve had throughout my life, I realize that I’m a product of the many people and influences I’ve been exposed to over the years. I’m so grateful to those that took the time out to share their knowledge and wisdom with me and would not be the person I am today without them.
Today I would like to ask you, who in your life has taken the time to coach and mentor you?
What lessons have you learned from them that have helped you become who you are?
How have you applied those lessons and what has been the impact?
If you are challenged in your current role or stuck somewhere else in your life- who can you identify today that can help guide, coach or mentor you?
Remember- you can be stubborn, play the lone wolf card, and attempt to figure everything out all by yourself. Just make sure you have 10 years or so to master it.
Or you can find someone out there already doing what you want to do and doing it at a higher level and learn from them. Asking for help when you need it isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of intelligence.
The choice is yours- Make the smart one!
Until next time
Cheers to you and your continued success
One Quarter Turn at a Time
Thoughts for the week:
Coaching isn’t therapy, it’s product development, with you as the product. -Unknown
A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life. -John Wooden
A truly great mentor is hard to find, difficult to part with, and impossible to forget. -Unknown
Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction. -John Crosby
Looking forward to our next connection
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