Business Coach : Know The Facts
-Tim, how important is it for the Thrivers watching this right now to understand and accept that just because they’ve watched every single Thrive episode, as good as it may be, it does not mean they’re going to avoid adversity. Walk me through why it’s important to learn this.
-Well, first of all, not only are they not going to avoid adversity, but adversity will come. It’ one of the most predictable things in life. And so we understand. It’s kind of like the first three lines in the road less traveled, written many, many years ago in the ’70s. It says, life is difficult. That’s the premise of this.
Well, but I want it to be easy. Well, it might be easy, but you’re going to have challenges. And so your success is going to be determined on the relationship that you have with adversity. You actually can nurture a relationship with adversity in a certain way. You can play kowtowing to that, you can bow to it. Or you can say, adversity, you’re my friend. You’re not my foe. I’m going to put my arms around you. I’m going to count it all joy.
One guy said, Jim said many years ago, I’m going to count it all joy when you come. And because what you’re going to do in me is going to make me so strong and so much better that I embrace brace you. I’m going to overcome you. I’m going to go through it. And don’t try to avoid it or your life is going to be ruined.
-You’re saying to embrace. And I think of, those of you watching this who don’t agree with his theology or his world view, that’s OK. But Joel Osteen’s always talking about how a setback is a setup. That’s just– I may be a simple guy and I need to remember stuff like that. Spoken like a real business coach.
TIM: He got that phrase from me, by the way.
-During those times of adverity, whenever I have something bad that happens, I have to tell myself. This is a setup. Setback is a setup. And I just have to tell myself that. Now, a few other notable quotables we want to share with the Thrivers here.
Bill Gates says, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
-Yeah.
-Steve Jobs, his arch rival, says “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful ones is pure perseverance.” Oprah? Oprah, my main lady. Oprah, I love Oprah. I love her that she’s a great encourager, Oprah Winfrey.
She says, “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” And yet one more example for you, Walt Disney. This guy won 22 Academy Awards, seven Emmy awards, but he lost it all twice. He lost it all twice before he had the success. He would have made a great business coach.
He says, “All adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me. You may not have realized it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” Tim, from your career, with the death of your siblings and some of the personal issues you’ve dealt with growing up and some of the handicaps and things you dealt with, how has that made you stronger?
-Well, I have to– adversity will introduce me to myself. And so, it’ll be like a mirror that I look at myself and just say, am I going to live with this mindset that I am enough? I’ve got what it takes. Or I’m not enough and I don’t have what it takes.
And so what I’ve done is I’ve allowed adversity has knocked on my door or busted down my wall, I have to make this decision. Am I going to rise up and embrace this thing and allow it to make me better, not just by, OK. Beat me, beat me, beat me. You know, that’s like a masochistic. It’s like, bring it more.
No, it’s not that. It’s, I’m going to learn to negotiate around this. I’m going to navigate I’m going to adapt myself. I’m going to grow myself to realize that that adversity is not going to destroy me. It’s actually going to strengthen me. JC Penney, knocked down how many times? Walt Disney, knocked down how many times? All these people got knocked down. And what they learned is one of the most important lessons from a business coach is that they can get up and actually play a better game.
-I’ve noticed that, for you, it gives you a certain perspective too. When people are saying, the sky is falling. As a general rule, people who know business coach Tim Redmond will say, that guy’s pretty unshakable, kind of a rock. Good or bad.
TIM: Good or bad.
-You’re a foundation. You’re kind of a rock. And everyone else is like, oh no, bad things are happening. You’re like, this is par for the course. This is part of the plan. This is how we lay the foundation. This is where the character, the story, the history is built. And having you on the Thrive team, it’s awesome. And it’s fun to see your mind process that, and it’s fun to have so many mentors on the Thrive team who process things that way because it gives you that unshakable faith in what you’re doing.