Clarity and Coaching

byZoeTang

106 followers

Updated 9 years ago

I was struggling in December, trying to figure out what I can do to make money. When one goes looking, I realise there are so many "opportunities" around. For the whole month, I played around with the idea of copywriting, internet marketing, binary options, real estate and sales. All of them seemed viable. In fact, all of them were viable. The problem was, which should I focus on? In doing all this research, I was really 'busy', but in my heart of hearts, I knew I wasn't getting any real work done.

I did not want to go around in circles and so was looking around for a coach to make sure I get clarity and have someone to hold me accountable to be in-action. It takes a lot of rigour to be in-action and to constantly step out of my comfort zone in order to grow. The problem was, the comfort zone was damn comfortable. I loved playing in my comfort zone. 3 different industries and same results. After 12 years in the workforce, I was not getting the results I want. The common denominator was me.

Two days ago, I had a 4 hour talk with my coach about work and relationships. She begun the conversation by asking what lights me up. I hemmed and hawed. I wasn't excited about anything. Which is quite a demoralizing reflection! I'm too young to be passive about life. Then she asked what my purpose in life was. It was such a big, idealistic question and difficult to answer because it seemed egoistic to say that I would like to lead a meaningful life by inspiring, impacting and creating the next generation of leaders. It sounds so big and idealistic. Who am I to dream big?

I had gone into the conversation full of optimism. I had shed the shackles of a job and was poised to leap into an ocean of possibilities. However, after sharing the dismal state of my finances, she advised me to go get another job! I was dismayed. If the 'answer' meant that I had to have a job to solve my money problems, I would have stayed in my previous well-paying unhappy one.

She shared that I should consider being a tuition teacher instead. I was quite reluctant and was looking forward to something NEW, exciting, different! I did not want to work with difficult and weak students again. I don't want to be bored again. However, she had a point. Given that I had no idea what I wanted to do or what my passion was, she said that entrepreneurship means starting from where I am, with what I have. The key is to settle my immediate financial concerns and remove debt-consciousness so my focus will be on the more positive and productive aspects of my 'job' and business.

I would have never thought about going back to teaching if it were not for my coach. But you see, I had always done something - financial advisory (some passive income), legal (status), teaching (stability) - and all my previous decisions had to do with money.

My coach likes to say, "It is about the money but it's not about the money." It boils down to my relationship with money. Is money my servant or my master? If I'm making decisions because of money or the lack thereof, I'm making money my master. Yes, it is about money.. it is about making money my servant.

Knowing that money-making is a skill is quite exciting. I can choose to see money other than a by-product of putting in the hours. It is a process that can be learnt, enjoyed and scaled. It is not about the mechanics. It is about mindset. That's where coaching comes in. I need someone to hold a mirror to me.

I'm glad I decided to embark on this coaching journey. I take it as a necessary investment in myself. What I really appreciated was the clarity I had after talking to her. It's not about the new shiny toy or the best opportunity to make money. Its about purpose and passion and about starting from where I am now. Little by little, one step at a time..