WTF is a "coach"?
The industry we all know and love from social media
"But what official certifications do you have?"
The client sheepishly asked after watching 3 different documentaries about cults led by abusive/charismatic "coaches".
For many folks when they hear the word "coach", they might imagine a personal trainer at their local gym of the coach of their kid's softball team.
The term has almost lost all meaning.
We have the OGs like Tony Robbins, whose gigantic energized shoulders many in the industry stand on.
But, the coaching space has changed.
In my humble 9 years doing this work, I have watched what has felt like decades of evolution occur.
Coaches from all stripes and modalities.
From the most innovative and inspiring, to the most cringe and woke.
The business space is perhaps the most stark in this aspect.
With the rise of "bro marketing" and the "boss babe" phenomena, we have seen an insane proliferation of "business experts" emerge on social media.
I will try not to throw the baby out with the bathwater...
However some of the horror stories I have heard from clients and friends would shock you.
Financial, emotional, and psychological malpractice essentially.
Broken promises. Sketchy offers. Overselling and under-delivering.
Of course the marketplace will always vote and sift through this.
You can also see this quite colorfully in the intimacy coaching space as well.
I feel like if I throw a stone 30ft in any direction in Austin, Texas I will undoubtedly hit a "feminine embodiment facilitator".
And in many ways that's a good thing.
However this new breed of teachers also seem to have a tendency to create thirst traps online and essentially use their body to motivate both enrollment and OF subscribers...
I am being cheeky of course....
But there is truth to some of it.
I know that you know what I am talking about.
Imagine back in the 80s and 90s when a "personal development coach" showed up to an in-person event in a suit.
Their minds would explode now on Instagram and Facebook.
And they probably do daily.
I say all this to reflect on the nature of coaching.
Mentor, Teacher, Guide, Facilitator.
The terms are somewhat interchangeable, but the essence is the same.
A Wild West frontier of human evolution and thinking.
Some of the best to ever do it as entrepreneurs are cut from this cloth.
It's harder to find in corporate...not seen in institutions.
Coaches are built different.
They can play at the edges, go beyond traditional talk therapy and mainstream methods to REALLY get quantum results.
I would not be here today with excellent mentors and coaches of my own.
I am FOR the industry.
I do want it to continue to push the boundaries and push humanity forward.
We use the word "coach" but what we often mean is a maverick, a wayshower, and gifted teacher blazing a path in their own niche.
There is really nothing like it.
This is how I ended up here, I simply could not fit into another box.
If you have read this far, I am curious what you would have to say about all of the above?
Do you see the lowest lows and the highest highs available?
The industry is steadily growing, and is worth multiple billions.
I would expect that to continue.
We can do better though.
The principles of the human are what matter most in business and healing.
Integrity. Honor. Accountability. Responsibility. Wisdom.
Those are who we should be looking to...
Humanity needs folks like this now more than ever, here in the "end times".
It's only going to get a whole lot weirder, so I raise my glass to all of you out there.
I see you.
Keep going.
Don't stop now.
KO
