Wednesday 9 December 2009

What's In This For Me?



It's a great question, right?

We're all fundamentally, genetically, "selfish". Society teaches us to crunch that into a box with a grin pasted on it, but it's still there. The same is true for a number of other human attributes, including what we call "laziness".

Many people know this viscerally, and they think that it's a reason why coaching isn't for them. They know what needs to be done, but they know with equal clarity that they don't have the stuff to make it happen. Given that, they don't see the point in throwing money away on coaching.

I start from a different place. I take it as given that - if we are to succeed together - we'll need to work with who you really are today - warts and all. With all your fears, pessimism, idleness, reluctance to comb your hair, and fondness for Garner's pickled onions (no wait, that's me) - that's who we'll be working with from day one. That's why you'd be paying me. We'll take who you are, and get the progress anyway. Hah!

How do I do that? Well, largely, through a highly developed set of professional techniques I like to call "low tricks". Like permaculture, these are designed to give you what you want by working with what you have - not by fighting it. So we leverage who you seem to be - and we don't  encourage you to pretend to be someone else. BIG difference.

Talking of low tricks, here's one I prepared much MUCH earlier, and it leverages the self-interest motif close to all our hearts.

I've written about it more fully here, but in brief, the technique is simply to cultivate the habit of asking yourself one simple question:
What's in this for me?

Whenever you're in a situation which is unfamiliar, boring, annoying, or in any other way - about to become a negative life experience, ask yourself that question, then open your mind to let the good stuff in.

Now let me take you back to some weeks ago, and join me in my bedroom (don't be alarmed, I'm going somewhere wholesome with this, I promise). I found myself at around dawn, unable to sleep. Meditation wasn't working either. Truly annoying - does my brain realise I'm a LIFE COACH, DAMMIT?

Well, meditation may not have been working for me, but two of my low tricks were.

Low Trick 1: Step outside your situation, and look back in with the smarter you

That would be the me that combs his hair and doesn't eat Garner's onions, presumably. So, I was able to take control of my emotional response to a situation which, for any mortal hair-comber would spell irritation, frustration, anger and worse. Rather than horsing around with that malarkey, I decided to deploy another low trick:


Low Trick 2: What's in This for Me?


So, I'm in bed, tired yet somehow unable to sleep. What's in this for me? Well, TIME of course.
I had access to a 27-hour day, because three of them were no longer being spent in sleep.
I decided to get up and go for a walk by the river. Much needed exercise and some time to think.

Whilst walking, cold and groggy, I re-applied Low Trick 2, What's in THIS for me, then? Well, I'm walking, so I already got some return. I'm not rolling around disgruntled and useless in bed, so that's another return. Could there be more?

Oh yes. I made this video. It talks about my Money Back Guarantee on Life Coaching. I know that fear of wasting money is the number one reason people don't hire me, and this video has been on my TO DO list for some time. Now it's done. I look a bit rough, granted - but hey - it's really early - I wouldn't want my astonishing good looks to frighten off the clients, right? :o)



So, in summary:

1. Coaching is for REAL PEOPLE LIKE YOU - warts and all
2. The techniques (low tricks) we use work on real, imperfect, busy, scared folks
3. I just showed you two of them in action, for real, in my own life
4. Check out that money-back guarantee, huh?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Chris....I have found this really useful...what a good way to think...whats in this for me??? something I rarely think...when slogging through negtive interactions with others...lots to think about :0)

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  2. I'm glad you found it useful. Thanks for stopping by to say so.

    ReplyDelete