You’re fired.
Yeah, I fired my fantasy football coach last year.
I know what you’re thinking… “damn, how could his coach not perform on fantasy.”
But for reals, I let him go and upgraded.
People always laugh when they hear I have a fantasy football coach. And it makes me realize how many coaches I’ve had over the past few years:
- Hebrew coach
- Magic coach
- Chess coach
- Life coach
- Boxing coach
- Fantasy football coach
- Tax strategizing coach
- YouTube coach
- Sailing coach
- Podcast coach
Don’t worry, this is NOT a post where I sell you coaching… But that’s a neat idea. 😛
Instead, I want to share three things I find interesting with coaches:
1) Get a coach. I’m surprised how much time and money I save by going to experts and having them shortcut knowledge. The improvements and learnings from the coaches compound over my entire LIFETIME. That’s a great return.
Coaches have already done the things you want, and can guide you much faster than reading books, watching YouTube, or trying to pick it up from Instagram clips.
Start with thinking what things you want to improve on this year:
- Specific business tactics
- A hobby you want to improve on
- New skill you’ve been wanting to learn for awhile
Here’s how you can find coaches:
- Look at who you’re currently learning from for free. Email them offering money to have a phone call. Go prepared with questions. You’ll be surprised how willing they are to help you.
- Ask for referrals. Self-explanatory.
- Marketplaces. Check out sites italki (language), Clarity (business), Thumbtack (services).
2) Try a new coach regularly. At my sailing school they FORCE you to have new coaches weekly. I asked why, and they said you’ll learn new things from each one — and different coaches might resonate more with you. So it’s good to try multiple coaches.
This was really surprising. I think because of school we’re used to accepting whatever teachers we get. You’re my math teacher, okay. Accepted. But as we get older you can change.
I accidentally switched coaches with my Hebrew lessons and it’s made an INSANE difference. One of my teachers was out last December, so I tried another teacher so I could keep practicing. Lo and behold the new person was significantly more effective in her teaching. Now the new one is my teacher.
Picture of me in Hebrew class via FaceTime. I swear I’m her favorite student 🙂
3) Be proactive with your learning style. This took me awhile to adjust to. In school we are taught in whatever structure they decide which may NOT be the most effective for you. So over the years I’ve adjusted in 2 ways:
- Figure out how you learn and YOU tell the coach what you prefer. For so long I just accepted. If you like reading, make them read, if you want structure, have them do that. It’s completely up to you.
- Mix up your learning. For Hebrew specifically doing structured classes got very boring and unmotivating after 2 years so recently I spend more time on podcasts like Streetwise Hebrew and with my coach we do more conversation instead of structured class.
It’s up to you to figure out what you want to learn and combine that with the MOST EFFECTIVE way possible to learn that information.
P.S. Click here to enter my giveaway for Small Business Month. Everyone wins!
What are you trying to improve this year?
2 responses to “Coaches”
I’d like to be coached by Noah.
Noah, this episode was directly responsible for me hiring a coach for a side hustle I’m exploring. In the past I’ve had many coaches in sports and the performing arts but had gotten away from it. Appreciate you sharing your experiences and all the reasons why coaches are vital for growth. Thank you