We are pleased to share an article entitled “ Taking a Broader View ” written by Paul Boehnke.
The question of whether a livelihood from coaching is feasible or fanciful stirs up lots of thoughts and emotions in me. I remember when my own coaching business was just getting started and I worried whether I’d be able to support myself and my family. I remember the relief I felt when I had a good year financially, and the shock and panic when the next year looked very different. I remember my excitement when discovery calls turned into clients and the discouragement when they didn’t.
Everything seemed to divide itself into two categories: good or bad, success or failure. This division fills me with tension. Which side am I on? Is my business successful, and what’s the measure of that? What does success or failure in my business look like, and more frighteningly, what does it mean about me? It’s exhausting to even think about these questions.
And what if these are the wrong questions? What if this black-and-white view of the world — where everything is either good or bad, right or wrong — is a false distinction; a mirage that arises out of my own sense of fear? What if there is no success or failure? What if things just are? How would I view my business then?
Clearly it’s possible to make a livelihood in coaching; many do. It’s also possible not to make a livelihood in coaching, and many do this too. But choosing to build a business puts you on a path filled with twists, turns and questions.
My own business journey has been filled with ups and downs; surprising growth and frustrating stagnation; numbers in my bank account that feel high and numbers that feel frighteningly low. In any given moment, I often feel beset by uncertainty. What’s coming next? Will the good times continue, or are they about to collapse?
It’s so easy to focus on what’s happening in the moment and view things in isolation, but I’m always surprised by how individual events take on a different meaning when I see them in relation to each other rather than as isolated incidents. And regardless of whether circumstances have me feeling like a success or a failure, they always hold clues to what I’m being invited to discover.
If a talk I give doesn’t seem to resonate with the audience, is it because I’m not good at public speaking, or is it encouraging me to ask how I can make my message more compelling? Or perhaps embodying a different energy would connect with the audience more deeply?
This broader view and deeper questioning open me to new possibilities. They move me along the path of business building rather than getting me stuck and feeling bad. The real gifts of business-building have come through figuring out what this journey is asking of me. What do I need to learn about myself, the world around me, and my relationship to that world? Questions that have helped me include:
- What is my vision for my life and my business?
- What qualities in myself do I need to cultivate for that vision to manifest?
- What do I need to let go of?
I find that taking a broader view always brings fewer ups and downs and a greater sense of peace. Regardless of where your business is now, what are you being invited to learn? What’s the broader view of your business?
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