- How to Coach
- Posts
- What do you mean, credibility?
Felt Stupid.
Right there in front of 21 people in my Vision Board class I had a person ask me what my credibility was…..
And I had no idea what they were talking about.
Seriously….I had never been asked that question before…so I didn’t know what to say.
I had only been teaching the public for 4 months, and uh… no one told me I would get questioned!
I plainly just said, “What do you mean, credibility?”
They were sitting on the second row from the back, so everyone could hear them. They asked again, “What training did you take or who were you trained by to give you the right to stand up front and teach us about Vision Boards?”
I stood there….frozen….kinda shocked….and wondering if there was a Vision Board police or something and I was going to get arrested for breaking some kind of presenter law or something….
SO I conjured up all my wisdom and said…."I have a vision board…and I know what works….and I know what doesn’t work….and I can tell you why you are not successful with your vision board. Is there anything else you need to know to prove to you that I can help you?”
She stood up and said, “I can’t listen to someone who isn’t licensed to teach Vision Boards…” and walked out.
Another person in the room raised their hand and said…. "I think that's stupid. You don’t need a license to share your experience, wisdom, and smarts with us. Keep teaching, I want to know what you figured out.”
I stood there, kinda in awe…..wondering what just happened…
Fast forward 18 years….I’m still teaching Vision Boards. My Vision Board has produced 22,000,000 in sales and many, many miraculous events in my life….
but I still don’t have a license to teach this…..so does this mean that I still don’t have credibility?
Funny thing is….I still have a few who will leave my seminars or webinars because I don’t have a “license” or “certification” ….hahahahhahaaaaaa….
I don’t care. Thousands of others have stayed in the class.
Pro tips for credibility as a coach:
You get what you give: Honor the value in others’ experiences. If you discount other people because they don’t have a “certification” or other physical representation of credibility, you’ll likely attract people who do the same to you.
Don’t die on the vine. I had to start teaching about success before I was successful. If I waited, I most likely would never have made it… because even now, there’s so much I don’t know. You can’t wait till you know everything before you start helping people with the things you have figured out so far.
“Fake it till you make it.” NO, that is stupid advice. You OWN IT every day in every moment. Don’t make stuff up about yourself or your education or experience that isn’t true. People will find out you’re faking and it will be super embarrassing. Be honest and real, totally up front, all the time. If a client or student asks you something you don’t know the answer to, tell them you don’t know but that you’ll find out, or direct them to someone who does know.
Yep, coaching can be a struggle, but we do it anyway!
Stop making this harder than it has to be and just do your best today!
People need what you have to offer, get it to them!
Quote of the week:
It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.
Song of the week:
- Kirk
Need help getting started with your coaching business?
Stop the guesswork and follow a proven plan for up-and-coming coaches to make their first $1,000 in paid clients.