Hey Legend,

 

If you’re reading this, then you survived the cull.

 

On Sunday evening I removed 32% of my newsletter subscribers.  

 

Why did I do this?

 

Well, there’s a saying in gardening that goes ‘Prune in June’ (referring to rose bushes). 

 

Pruning your roses removes the dead, damaged or diseased wood and encourages the plant to put its energy into producing strong, healthy new growth.

 

I pruned my newsletter list. 

 

I removed the dead wood (unegaged audience) which will create space for new roses (engaged readers) to blossom!

 

(Thank you for being one of the blossoming roses)  

 

This principle can be applied to any aspect of your life.

 

What part of your life or business needs some pruning?  

 

Photo: End of Day 3 at The Coaching Institute — June 2019. I walked in as an engineer, walked out as a coach on a mission.

 

On Monday was my 6 year anniversary since I began my coaching journey. 

 

I flew to Melbourne and walked through the ‘Matrix-style’ doors of The Coaching Institute’s training room. I left the three-day training as a new man on a new trajectory. 

 

There are three things I learned that weekend which have always stuck with me.

 

 

Joe Pane (our trainer) was an engaging presenter. He is one of the main people who inspired me to master the craft of speaking and facilitating!  

 

During that training he shared a lightbulb moment with me.

 

 

What he meant is, some people are wired for ‘things’, others for ‘people’. Knowing which one you are changes everything.

 

When he told me this everything made sense as to why mechanical engineering wasn’t for me. Mechanical engineering is all about ‘things’, and I’m not into ‘things’. I’m into ‘people’!

 

And that’s why coaching was such a great fit for me. 

 

I’ve found this to be a useful idea to know whenever I’m meeting someone new. If you listen to someone’s language you can tell if they’re a ‘things’ person or a ‘people’ person. This can help you build rapport with them fast.

 

Which one are you? 

 

 

 

Most people dip their toes in the water and never really commit to anything. But nothing happens until you make the decision to jump into the water!  

 

When I was at that training 6 years ago I made the decision to commit to the craft of coaching for the long-game. I didn’t see this as a shiny object, I knew this was something I wanted to commit myself to for the next 10+ years.

 

You know what the great thing is?  

 

I’m only 6 years into a completely new industry. I’m still in the apprenticeship phase (which is seven years in a traditional apprenticeship). 

 

And one thing I know from investing is that it takes seven years before you really start to experience the power of compound interest. This principle also applies to your career or business. 

 

So if you’ve been in your new venture or career for less than seven years, know that you are still early. You’re still in the apprenticeship phase. Compound interest hasn’t kicked in yet. 

 

But most importantly, if your heart is telling you to do something. Don’t just dip your toes in the water… Jump in! 

 

 

Most people need to know all the details before they commit to something. They crave certainty and control. 

 

Embracing the ‘say YES and then work out how’ philosophy means you courageously act without knowing all the details. 

 

We’ve been trained to place too much importance on our logistical brain to make decisions and we don’t listen to our heart – which tells us what we truly want.  

 

Coming from an engineering background (which is very left-brained), this principle was counterintuitive. But it’s something I’ve adopted ever since that weekend and it’s served me immensely well. 

 

The quality of your life is largely influenced by your relationship with uncertainty.

 

When you adopt the ‘say YES and then work out how’ attitude – it helps you build a better relationship with uncertainty. 

 

And the more uncertainty you can handle the more success (and fun) you will have!