The wheel of learning
My teaching belief as metaphor
Let me tell you what fires me up as a coach.
It’s not what you’d expect. I have conversations about leadership all the time with my own coach Zach Homol (go subscribe to his substack after finishing this please)
One thing we discuss often is how we aren’t responsible for the gains and wins our guys achieve. Instead we marvel at how their commitment to themselves, pushing through adversity that used to stop them dead, and transcending lower versions of themselves inspires us to keep growing ourselves.
It’s the exact thing I used to tell my university students when they would wander into my office to ask questions about their essays, course content, studying for exams, or just for general advice on making it through school and life. Learning between student and teacher, mentor and mentor, coach and client, is all the same: A wheel of learning
How it works
True teaching is like the infinity sign ♾️
Where does the inspiration start and end, with the student or the teacher? The answer is yes.
I used to tell my students this every time: ‘When you come and ask me questions that I sense are genuine, you want to learn and do better for the right reasons, it fires me up to work even harder for you.’
I’d sometimes spend an hour with a kid teaching them proper citation form, helping them find research articles, diving into deep explanations of historical events and philosophical understandings of sport, or guiding them with wisdom to help them make sense of their life’s path. And a funny thing happened, they would leave inspired and produce incredible work, that when I received would in turn inspire me to become an even better teacher to the next crop of students taking my courses. The wheel turns.
Works in coaching too
I love coaching people in fitness and life, I blend the two seamlessly. Helping people find consistency with fitness, exercise, and sport by tuning their bodies to the signal of their heart. We then take the truth of the body to attack the limits the rational (or analytical) mind to do deep work on breaking negative thought patterns and self perceived limiting beliefs.
I ask my guys to do hard things psychologically but only after empowering them to play from their hearts and enjoy sports and fitness as fun and creative expressions of self. They do the hard work themselves, showing up and being accountable, and it inspires me to become an even better coach
Let me brag for a minute
Not about myself, arrogance has no place in the open heart. But about some monster creative wins I’ve seen my guys take on their own this week that makes me proud of them for their own lives and growth. That’s why I coach, not for my ego, but for their spirits
KW: Dude had a random day off work so decided to run a marathon for fun. We the. Reflected on how endurance and meditation has helped him find patience to let his best self shine through in trying times with a young family and hectic job. You’re a killer!
UA: My guy went ice skating for the first time in YEARS and fell in love with it all over again. We used his love of longboarding in the summer to find consistency in launching a massive creative project that’s picking up big time steam. Fun is crucial to discipline brother!
JB: Man, this guy sends me a screenshot of a run he just did at the POF course in Indiana with snow on the ground and the 4 mile distance we ran last year and will again this year. A former college athlete, we’ve used racing as a foundation to bring his best self forward in making difficult life decisions that reveal hard truths about himself. I love you so much bro
The truth is in the training team and these guys get it. They put their trust in me to help lead them beyond their limits and they are the ones who smash through each barrier, self transcendence is their accomplishment
On their own hero’s journey, I’m the mentor or ‘supernatural guide’ but they walk through the fire, face the abyss, undergo symbolic death, and emerge transformed. They integrate the lessons and face the atonement of their last limits and actions that flowed from them. They return conquering heroes ready to go back out into the unknown and do it all again.
Wouldn’t you know it, ‘the big wheel keeps on turning’ and it forces me to rise up and become and even better coach
Challenge accepted
Happy training team