When the going gets tough...
When the going gets tough…
Passion, Commitment, Persistence, Resilience, Hard Work & Grit
Win the day
Over the years, I’ve had many folks reach out to me and ask for what they perceive I have. They want—
To build an independent coaching and training practice;
To charge high-end fees for boutique consulting and coaching services;
To become a speaker and author in the agile space;
To have a full portfolio of clients and be as busy as they want to be.
And that’s all well and good. I don’t know if I have all those things 😉, but I’m okay with folks having those goals and aspirations.
I recall one fledgling agile coach who approached me and wanted a 12–18-month plan to achieve what I’ve achieved in over 20 years of hard work. Not that I tried to impede her vision, but I couldn’t share a way to short-cut everything I’d done. Or turn my journey into a cliff notes version.
But here’s the kicker that I don’t understand…
They typically want—
It fast, now, and want to me to share a shortcut;
It to be easy, straightforward, and to be handed to them;
It to require minimal effort or be effortless.
Sure, I wish that would have been the journey for me, too. To have clicked my easy button and achieved overnight success. But, at least for me, it didn’t happen that way. My journey has been fraught with—
Persistent and often grueling hard work
Continuous learning and self-improvement
Mistakes and subsequent learning
Personal and client successes
Failure, rejection, and recovery
Experimenting and trying new things
Often pushing myself beyond my comfort zone
Mentoring and coaching others
Ego & humility checking
Looking back to reflect on my progress
Self-care and refreshment
Continuous reflection and adjustments
Slow, steady learning, growth, and rewards
It has forged me into the person I am today—one step at a time. I don’t think the path and outcomes would be the same if I shortened my path by 90%.
Wrapping Up
There’s a quote that I’m struggling to remember. Some of the most valuable lessons in one’s life are those that weren’t handed to you but that you had to earn.
The article’s entry quote is by Katrina Witt, which exemplifies the point I’m trying to make.
If you want to become an agile coach, you won’t get there by attending a few certification classes and specializing in one coaching stance.
It requires hard work, practice, resilience, patience, walking your talk, being coachable, and deep and broad experience. Did I mention hard work?
And it certainly isn’t easy.
In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell famously said that it takes 10,000 hours to master something—a craft, an instrument, a profession. If I do the math, that’s somewhere between 5-10 years, depending on your learning focus.
Tim Ferris debunked Gladwell’s 10,000-hour claim and said that the quality of your practice was far more critical than the quantity. He was famously claiming to be able to master anything in 6 months.
Mastery takes focus, effort, and time, regardless of your perspective. It’s also, IMHO, a pursuit that is never “done”. But my oh my, is it worthwhile? It’s a privilege and a responsibility to do what I do, and I’m humbled by it daily.
So, when the going gets tough…
The tough (or future Badass Agile Coaches) get gritty and relentlessly practice their craft!
Stay agile, my friends,
Bob.