Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series by Dave Schedin, CompuTrek Automotive Coaching & Training, who has more than 40 years in the automotive field and has coached shops to higher profitability since 2006.
I began professionally coaching 14 years ago after letting go of my repair shop by “systems coaching” my clients. My discovery of what our industry really needed, as a whole, was leadership and personal development. It’s no longer a luxury to have a personal or business coach … it’s a necessity to survive this interstate of life.
Einstein. Gates. Jordon. Washington. Mother Teresa. All housed “Bankable Me” lives that began with discovering their truth, their purpose, and their “why” by partnering with personal, responsible choices that shaped their path along the way.
Being a more “bankable you” will involve doing something different than what you’re doing right now. Changing “thinking” choices will change your life and everything that you’re connected to in your sphere of influence; both in relationships and business.
The term, “renew the mind,” is not a new one. At one point we all began a journey to fill our minds with knowledge that has taken us to our current levels of thinking and maybe a level of thinking that resulted in an increase of cognitive knowledge only. In the coaching world we call this a “ceiling” by organically creating defaults that have kept us stuck in the mud with nothing available outside of that bog to grab hold of to pull us out.
When we are stuck, not producing greater results in one or more area, we tend to beat ourselves up. In one of my “self-flogging” moments, a mentor threw me a lifeline and challenged me to look at my “stuckedness.” He said, “Dave, raise your right arm above your head, now turn your palm backwards, bend at the elbow and now pat yourself on the back because I want you to acknowledge yourself for maximizing the results you will ever get from your current thinking. Good job!”
That was a significant breakthrough right there — Get out of my own way. I can tell you, that “sounded” a lot easier than it was as I discovered the major part of renewing my mind was on an emotional level. That ancient proverb, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” So true, but wait, don’t we think with our brain? Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki studied and found that the subconscious thinking is, at minimum, 25 times more powerful than the conscious mind is.
Being a better, more bankable you, is about elevating emotional intelligence (EQ) above your cognitive “thinking” (IQ). Cognitive elevation has its purpose and it’s typically a “better mouse trap” or a “better how-to” approach to life movement. The problem with how-to’s is they can be an emotionless void of your “why.” Is it really a secret how to make a million dollars? You can Google “how-to’s” for anything and find an answer — but is it your answer?
Being a better version of YOU involves eliminating blind spots:
1. Pride: The need to be right, not wrong; gain personal attention; choosing to be a lone ranger; perfectionism; etc.
2. Comparison: Building your case for greater self-worth and value. Let go of what others think about you, your own current self belief of who you think you are and discovering the greatness that only you carry. (This could require taking off some pretty big sunglasses.)
3. Settling: Doing just enough to get by; to not be disciplined; doing just enough to not get fired; or just enough to pay bills; etc.
4. Unproductive Activity: Busyness — you may be active but are the actions producing more of what you want or just making you tired? Let go of doing the urgent to make room for “important.”
5. Scarcity/Lack Thinking: “I can’t,” is crippling; “There’s not enough”; “Taxes are too high”; “No car count”; “Hours in the day”; “Time with family”; belaboring old victim mindsets.
Successful and fulfilled people cultivate a set of core values so a better version of themselves can exist. Here’s a good list to start with:
1. BE Humble: Carry humility. That does not mean, weak. If you are coachable, teachable, allow feedback from outside sources. If you are truly willing to change, you will.
2. BE Self-Aware: Connect to all of you — heart, mind, body, soul. Know that identity is who you are and not what you do, think, or feel.
3. BE Intentional: Proactive. Connect with self, others and your higher power.
4. BE Professional: GO PRO in your relationships (physical, emotional, spiritual skill sets). If not growing in all, you’re operating under your full capacity.
5. BE Grateful: Steward gratitude. Purposefully choose to filter all things as blessings or positives in your life. All things are used for good. Remove toxicity and go on a negativity-fast for 40 days.
Remember, we are human BEings, not human DOings.
Discover integrative coaching. Where life meets business head on to empower and illuminate blind spots that will lead you to a more fulfilled life. You can always bank on a better you.
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Dave Schedin can be reached at 800-385-0724, dave@computreksystems.com, and www.computreksystems.com.
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