Would you be more productive and happier if you had a coach? Here are some ways a coach could assist you.

1. A coach can help you see a bigger picture. Everyone is taking actions that are perfectly correlated to what they see. A coach can expand your frame of reference, allowing you to conceive of new and innovative ways to approach your business

2. A coach will help you design short and long term goals that fit you. A coach will help you design the game plan and then stick to it. It all begins with helping you create a life plan so that your yearly plan is an incremental part of something bigger. Most people will only create goals for the coming year.

3. A coach can help you stay on track. A coach will provide a regular framework so that you are "time-framing" your actions. Having a regularly scheduled check in with another human keeps most people more focused on action from week to week than managing it alone. We will sleaze out on an unspoken promise to ourselves to get things done, but usually not want to "look bad" by not doing what we told someone else we would do.

4. A coach will ask you the hard questions. The best coaches are compassionate but straight in their communications. They will point out inconsistencies in what you say you want and what your actions reveal. They'll encourage you to know more about the WHY of what you are doing than the WHAT.

5. A coach will be your cheerleader and will believe in you. .Usually a coach will see you bigger than you see yourself and in doing so, give you the self-confidence to go for it! A coach will expect you to succeed. After all, what you can conceive, you can achieve!

6. A coach will give you someone to bounce ideas off of. A coach is a brainstorming partner who also has seen what works and what doesn't. A coach will also help you design an implementation plan for your good ideas. Many people have lots of good ideas but haven't been able stayed focused enough to them put into action and follow through. Agents often get bored quickly and move on before reaping the benefits of a new campaign.

7. A coach will make you work according to your style-not the most fashionable hot system or idea. A lot of real estate training and coaching is designed to implement the trainer or coaches system. While a good coach will provide resources and feedback on methods, she also will help you determine what suits your natural style best. Some agents have an aggressive, competitive style. Some are more relationship oriented. Knowing what fits you and then designing your actions from there will make it easier for you to succeed

8. A coach will require you do some extreme self-care. You don't expect your car to take you anywhere unless you've put gas in the gas tank, yet, we humans think we can work ourselves 24/7 without respecting the basic needs of our bodies and souls. A good coach will recommend you take at least 1 day a week off and that you do things that will nurture your body and spirit. You will be more productive when you are working because you will be able to focus and make decisions more effectively. The other likely result of overwork is the stress that causes illness.

9. A coach will help you work less and make more. Effectiveness is the key. It isn't about hard work. It is about finding out how you can access that wonderful place called "flow" and use attraction principles instead of struggling to change what is. A coach will provide resources for you to use to increase your effectiveness.

10. A coach will expand your thinking with assignments. A coach wants you to expand your being…you aren't a human doing-you are a human being and, as such, your job is to keep evolving. A coach will help you by suggesting books, inquiries and other ways of expanding your consciousness to see a bigger picture.

11. A coach will help you quiet the chatter in your head so you can listen to the whisperings of your heart. You have a body, but you are not your body. You have a mind, but you are not your mind. That one is a little harder to "get." But that's because we try to understand it with our mind. Your mind is ego-driven and chatters away incessantly inside your head with all sorts of opinions. A coach will help you separate your true desires and dreams of your heart and soul from the sometimes, inaccurate (since they are only based on the past) messages of your mind.

Alternatively, you could identify specific people in your life to provide these things for you. Accountability partners or groups are valuable, as are asterminding groups. Bottom line is don't go it alone if you want to be as successful as you are capable of.

Remember, even Tiger Woods has a coach!

Published: March 23, 2004

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Joeann Fossland GRI, LTG, MCC is a dynamic speaker and business coach. Creator of THE REAL ESTATE GAMETM, she provides coaching solutions enhance your effectiveness and life balance. You can subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, attend free monthly telephone seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting JoeAnn.com or e-mail her at .