Today, I am a Coach

Today, I am a coach. I even saved this month old tweet from @EricSteege just for today’s post:

I participated in my first lean startup boot camp about ten months ago, and before completing the first empathy interview, I knew I wanted to be a lean startup coach. With all my experience as a corporate training instructor and my desire to develop as a leader, it seemed like a natural fit.

Shortly after the boot camp, I started working on an accelerator team, honing my skills as a lean startup practitioner. Then, about four months ago, I took the first big step on my coaching journey and coached the first of four lean startup boot camps, followed by four months of training and observation to prepare me for this day.

Today, I am a coach

Today, I’m taking my next big step and coaching a lean startup accelerator team for the next 90-days! And yes, just like Eric said in his tweet above, I also have a coach, and in about 60 minutes I get to meet him in person for the first time.

I can’t wait to start the next chapter in this page-turner. Now I just need to overcome my strong desire to skip ahead to the end so I can see how the story turns out.

Accidental Inspiration

 

inspiration

I just got the nicest note from a colleague regarding my post about Loyalty. He said: “You always tend to inspire me to take more action and to improve my self-discipline.” What a great way to start my day, knowing I was an inspiration for someone else.

I’ve heard this a few times during the last 18 months of making positive changes in my life.

When I spent a year losing 40 pounds, a few people told me I inspired them.

Then I spent eight weeks turning myself into a morning person who gets up at 4:30 a.m. and a few more people said I inspired them.

Then I decided to quit drinking alcohol 24 days ago and, you guessed it, more inspired people.

Inspiration for Others

Here’s the thing. I haven’t done any of these things to inspire anyone else. I’ve done all of them for me, and the inspiration is just a byproduct.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being an inspiration to others. Making positive changes is rewarding, and knowing you might inspire others to do the same adds even more motivation to succeed.

Most of the time, when I start working on a big change, I tell others about it so they can help hold me accountable.

Sometimes people just notice, like my colleague Stuart.

Work every day on being the best version of yourself. You might inspire someone else to follow your example.

Photo by Thought Catalog

Learning

learning

After writing posts this week about loyalty and legacy, it seems appropriate to write one about learning.

This tweet from Eunique Jones Gibson inspired the post:

Learn.
No matter what.

That’s powerful stuff.

Always Be Learning

If there’s one thing I’ve always been good at, it is learning. Rather than bingeing on Netflix, I expand my mind by reading a book or a dozen blog posts. Rather than feeling content and grinding away at the same job I’ve done for years, I absorb new knowledge, build new skills, and think about my next job.

I’ll never know enough about or be good enough at my current job. I’ll never be ready enough for my next job. So learning is my job. It’s my mission to learn something new every day.

This mission isn’t limited to my work life, either. I get up at 4:30 am every day and spend two hours learning about myself and how I can improve my health and happiness. At 6:45 am, when I used to start battling the snooze button, I’m reflecting on what I’ve already accomplished to start my day: three handwritten morning pages, my morning journal of gratitude, intentions and affirmations, another published blog post, ten minutes of meditation, and 20-30 minutes on the treadmill.

What’s your mission?

Commit to learning something more or something new every day. The next thing you know, you’ll be writing that book you always wanted to write. Starting that blog you always wanted to start. Getting that job you always dreamed about.

Never. Stop. Learning.

Photo by Green Chameleon