I remember years ago a conversation Dick Dillingham and myself had about Tiger Woods. While Dick is not only a highly successful businessman, he is also an incredible golfer. Knowing this about Dick, I trust his advice on both subjects! We were discussing how, at the time, Tiger was considered the best golfer in the world. Dick asked me the question, “If Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world, why does he have a coach?” My answer seemed so simple at the time, “Because the coach helps him be the best golfer in the world.” “Exactly” said Dick, then the zinger follow up question came. “Why isn’t Tiger’s coach the best golfer in the world?” While I had an understanding of the answer at the time, I believe to understand the answer at an entirely deeper level now. A coach’s skillset is to empower, enable and hold accountable a top performer to be the best version they can be. Top performers know this, and this sets them apart from the rest.

The more I have internalized what a coach is over the years, the more I have been able to observe the power of a coach. Dirk Nowitski, arguably a top 5 Power Forward of all times in the NBA, has his NBA coach of course. What most people don’t see is the intense relationship he maintains with his shooting coach, Holger Geschwindner of Germany. Dirk has worked with this coach since the age of 16; he’s currently 37. That’s 21 years of coaching! Holger’s skillset is to help a top performer obtain success and stay at the peak performance level when it comes to shooting. Job well done! The book, Talent is Overrated, discusses the concept of how spending 10,000 hours on any activity creates mastery level performance of that activity. Simply stated: Time on Task over Time is the formula. Dirk has spent well over 10,000 hours working with Holger on shooting techniques.

While I would love to tell you my business is golf or basketball, my talents and skills led me to Real Estate in spite of my 6’7” frame. The Real Estate business in an interesting phenomenon simply because of the independent contractor nature we live in. Real Estate agents while sponsored and encouraged by the broker, take their success or failure into their own hands. They choose what they do on a daily basis. They decide what they will spend their efforts and money on and what they will avoid. This is considered by most as a positive side to getting into real estate. What most people don’t consider is the fear associated with some aspects of building a great real estate business. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of _________. Fill in the blank. There are many. The unfortunate side of these fears is they tend to create a ‘frozen’ effect on the real estate agent. Basically, the formula for success in Real Estate is not impossible to achieve by oneself, yet it is difficult. This is where a coach comes in.

Everyone starts with a dream, a desire and/or a motivation for something great to happen. A coach is an insurance policy you take out on yourself enabling and empowering you to be the best version of you to make the dream a reality! Ask yourself, how powerful am I? Hire a coach and write your statement in the record books, “I am __________!”

I am a Coach! I committed a long time ago to spend 10,000 hours working with Real Estate Agents and Business Owners to create great success. This year, I committed to spending one day a week as a MAPS Coach coaching Leadership Clients from across the world. Dianna Kokoszka, CEO of MAPS Coaching, provided this wonderful opportunity for me, and I am forever grateful.

I have always viewed myself metaphorically as a stone thrown into a pond; the stone creates a ripple effect; the ripple effect causing people around me to live Abundant Lives. My pond just got much larger.

Brett Caldwell 1/18/2016