Jill Proud
705-444-5647
info@theproudgroup.com
A Regional Vice President in the Banking industry said:
"..Jill has helped our team reach new levels in many ways through goal setting and focusing on the right priorities, challenging assumptions while assisting individuals to open their minds to new possibilities, driving results through performance improvement and dealing with difficult relationships.."
Articles
Lessons of a Million Dollar Baby - Coaching Your Way to Success
Maggie: "I can't get inside. I can't get close enough to hit her."
Frankie: "Do you know why that is?"
Maggie: "Why?"
Frankie: "She is a better fighter than you, that's why. She's younger, stronger and she's more experienced. Now what are you going to do about it?"
As a four-time Oscar winner for Best Director, Actress, Supporting Actor and Picture the movie Million Dollar Baby stands out as an amazing achievement in film excellence. The story of the lead character, a budding female boxer named Maggie played by Hilary Swank, is an inspiring example of total commitment to success and living a dream in the face of tremendous odds.
One of the key strategies Maggie uses to achieve her success is to work with a coach, Frankie, played by Clint Eastwood. The above quote is from a scene in one of Maggie's early fights where she just is not able to make any progress against her opponent.
As her coach, do you notice what Frankie does? He asks Maggie questions. At no point does he give her pointers, advice or talk about who is winning. He simply asks her if she knows why she is challenged in achieving her goal. Then, despite all of the odds against her, he asks another very powerful question "Now, what are you going to do about it?".
That's exactly what great coaches do; they ask powerful questions that focus your mind on solutions. So, Maggie steps back into the ring, her mind focused on making contact and ends the fight with a knock out.
As her coach, Frankie helps Maggie kick-start her brain out of the "I can't" mode and into what she "can do" about the situation. In that moment he has created possibility and that opens up a whole new world of choices about how she can be more effective.
It's not that a good coach doesn't provide advice or practical skills to improve technical abilities. All good coaches do that. The difference is that a great coach will focus their client on possibilities and pinpoint their underlying motivation to achieve results - often despite abilities or knowledge.
That is why a growing number of entrepreneurs are hiring a coach - like a Frankie - who acts as a personal trainer for them as a leader in their business.
As business leaders in an entrepreneurial setting we are often in charge of the entire company: finance, marketing, sales, human resources, production and the list goes on. By playing so many leadership roles we are consistently at risk of losing focus. By diluting our energy and efforts in too many directions we water down our impact and the biggest risk is that we diminish our belief in ourselves. We start to question our abilities, we ask why we even started this venture and before you know it we are swimming down a river of negativity that leads us no where very quickly.
In my experience, whether I am coaching small business owners or corporate executive leaders there is a common theme - how we think about ourselves and our ability to achieve is a much greater determinant of success than any other factor. The more positively we view ourselves and the world around us the more motivated we are to achieve and the more resilient we are in the face of challenges. In the life of the entrepreneur motivation and overcoming obstacles are two critical skills. These skills begin with how we think.
A great coach will help you build awareness of your thinking and motivations.
So how do we create positive or negative reactions? The term "it's all in your head" says it all. We create images, pictures, feelings, sounds, scents at a rate of 60,000 thoughts a day. Imagine harnessing the power of consciously engaging in the kinds of thoughts that will get you more of what you want.
There are a growing number of studies documenting the significant effect of how we think about our 'self' and our abilities on our actual performance. In one case researchers took three separate groups of college students and had them throw a basketball into the basket from a specific place on the court - also known as a free throw. The success rate of each group was recorded and they were asked to return in 30 days. During the 30 day period, the first group was instructed not to practice at all, the second group was asked to practice for 30 minutes a day and the third group was told only to visualize sinking the basketball into the net.
After 30 days the students returned and results were as follows: 0% improvement in group one, a 24% improvement for group two and a 23% improvement for group three. That means that those who used visualization to focus their minds on sinking the basketball into the net without physical practice were as successful as those who put in a significant amount of practice time. What does that say about the affect of our thoughts on our behaviours?
Most importantly it tells us that how and what we think can make a profound difference in our experience. Now imagine the improvement if the students used visualization, regular practice and a coach!
There are many ways to keep yourself positive and focused. Books, CD's, presentations and workshops are all helpful tools. A coach adds the element of accountability. Knowing you are meeting with someone is a significant motivator for people. Investing the time and money is an additional motivator once you make the commitment.
In an interview about her training for the role of Maggie, Hilary Swank said "The biggest thing that I learned is that when you're in the ring, if you're not in the moment - it's over." So it is with our thinking - it we don't catch the negative train of thought in the moment we are at risk of sabotaging ourselves. We unconsciously beat ourselves up with our own unproductive thoughts and actions. In the world of the entrepreneur we need all of the help we can get, especially in our belief in our ability to succeed.
So as you consider investing in yourself and your organization in the coming year consider how you can better leverage your own thinking to achieve your goals. On a scale of 1 to 10, ask yourself how positively you think about your current performance and if you could improve that by even 10-15% what difference would that make in your motivation, business results and life.
The words and thoughts of people who have faced adversity fuel our own inspiration. Here are two individuals who live the ideas shared in this article:
"I think what I represent is achieving what you want in life. It's a matter of your attitude. Some people have a negative attitude, and that's their disability."
Marla Runyan
Legally Blind US 1500M Olympic Hopeful
"The last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor Frankls
1905-1997, Neurologist, Psychiatrist and Author
Jill Proud is President of The Proud Group, a company dedicated to helping people achieve excellence by leveraging the power of an internal limitless human resource - individual thinking.