That depends – how far do you want to go?

Let’s talk about improving your skills.

Imagine you want to get REALLY good – we’re talking world class, top notch good – at tennis.

And so you go to the courts every single day and practice.

And practice and practice and practice…

But you don’t get any better.

Why?

Because you can only get as good as your teacher…

And you are acting as your own teacher.

Thus, you can never improve beyond what you know.

Then there’s motivation – how do you stay motivated, anyway?

That’s a tough one, isn’t it?

But the fact is, while motivation is the thing that gets you started – discipline is the thing that keeps you going.

And part of making that discipline a little easier is developing strategies for tasks and problem solving that give you a road map of what to do next time you encounter a certain situation or problem.

Because when you don’t have those strategies in place, you’ll get derailed.

Discipline will fly out the door, and you’ll have to start back at motivation all over again.

What do you do when you’re stagnating?

From experience, I can tell you that you’ve lost the tension between where you are and where you could be.

It’s by developing yourself that you can then develop others, whether those others are your clients, customers or employees.

And best of all, growth always increases your capacity, and thus the capacity of your business.

It’s by first becoming the sort of person who can build and run a million-dollar business…

…that you can eventually build and run a million-dollar business.

Your personal growth must come first.

Without the growth, you will never become the person who is the founder of the company featured on the cover of Forbes.

Your personal growth is the foundation of your business’ success.

Don’t believe me?

Take two people – one who spends his time working a dead-end job and watching sports…

…and one who spends her time working a dead-end job, but also learns the skills it takes to found and run a huge company.

You can predict in 5 years where each of them will be.

How do you continue to do what needs to be done while not getting overwhelmed with all the details, decisions and day-to-day ‘stuff’ that tries to drag you down?

It’s not easy, but I can tell you what super-successful people do:

They get a coach.

“Hold it, wait a minute, I don’t need a coach.”

Really?

Name one championship team that doesn’t have not just one coach, but an entire coaching staff.

Name one star athlete that doesn’t have a coach. Just one.

Now name one million dollar earner who didn’t – at some time in their lives – have a coach or mentor.

You can’t do it.

Having a coach is one of those “secrets” that only successful people seem to know. The unsuccessful always claim they don’t need a coach. And they don’t succeed.

And somehow, they never seem to get the correlation.

The day the Superbowl or the World Cup is won by a team without a coach is the day you don’t need one, either.

Fat chance of that.

Because it cannot happen. Anyone who is striving to do anything great needs a coach, whether that coach is a boss, a mentor, that rare parent who is up to the task, or a professional business coach with a solid history of successful clients.

Having a coach is having a professional confidante with YOUR best interests in mind.

This person is experienced and non-judgmental. They’re in your corner. They’re your sounding board, and they are there for you.

A coach sees and believes in YOUR potential.

A coach will help you to ‘time shift’ your thinking so you can envision yourself in the future doing what you want to do and being who you want to be.

Your potential or ‘altitude’ is created by you and your coach will see no limitations in you achieving this altitude.

A coach will work with you to reframe your attitude and to expand your thinking.

Most of the challenges we face each day are based on the limitations and fears we place on ourselves. A coach will help you to get out of your own way.

A coach will help you to go around, go through or go over obstacles that limit your success.

And a coach will hold you accountable to your plan and goals.

Remember that your coach will be your biggest non-judgmental supporter – he or she will believe in you and will be committed to helping you get out of your own way.

A coach is a key part of your team needed for you to achieve your personal and professional success.