The older I get, the longer I teach and coach the more I value being around and learning from people who have had a multitude of experiences. One of my mentors, Joe Vigil summed it up quite nicely for me 25 years ago. He said that there are many people who have thirty years experience on their resume, but what they really have is one experience thirty times. I don’t know about you, but I want to be around someone who has had a multitude of experiences, success and failures, wins and losses. Those kinds of people are genuine; they are usually willing to share. Those are the people I want to learn from, not some cocksure know it all that has had one experience ten times with no failures or at least none they will admit to. If you are just starting out in your career as a coach look for someone who has fought the battles, who has had experiences, who has battle scars, find a Yoda, not a poser or an impostor that has all the secrets. Call them up, go visit them, watch them coach and you will see the way and the light so to speak. It is not about glitz and glamour, it is about being basic, honest, true to your beliefs, willing to risk and make mistakes and learn from them. I am so thankful for people like Bill Crow, Red Estes, Sam Adams, Marshall Clark, Joe Vigil and countless others who helped me and shared what they knew and did not know. I hope all of you who are in the formative stages of your career can find people like this to guide you and help you. Even if you are well into your career you always need people like this. I know, I depend on the advice and counsel of many to help me in my coaching and teaching. I look for people who have substance, who are open and willing to share, who have nor secrets, who are not seeking fame and fortune, to share and learn with. May the force be with you.
