“The Real Reason Athletes Win” By Don Yaeger

LeBron James has one. Rory McIlroy does too. Even Serena Williams believes hers is the reason for her success is. So what is it? A coach.

From Little Leaguers to the highest of pros, raw talent isn’t enough to reach total success. The great ones know that it takes continuous help from effective coaches to advance to the next step in their professional lives.

In the sports and business worlds, coaches play a significant role in the success of anyone who hopes to succeed. They have the instructive capability to craft talents, shape spirits and help transform weaknesses into strengths.

Coaches can be synonymous with mentors. John Wooden, the legendary head coach of the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team, coached some of the best college basketball players of all time and led his team to 10 national championships.

In an interview for our book, A Game Plan for Life, Wooden shared how he taught his players to constantly seek out opportunities for improving themselves using the value of association.

“Their associations told me everything I needed to know about them,” he said. “I could tell what their future held by how important it was to surround themselves with the right people.”

Wooden was a firm believer that the best players were always people who could recognize the strengths in others, as well as their own weaknesses. By surrounding themselves with excellence, winners accept the challenge to improve their own skills, which allows them to move forward to bigger, greater things.

It is your responsibility to find coaches who can challenge you to do better. We should accept their constructive criticism and advice as golden opportunities to improve our weaknesses or to teach us something new.  It’s not only about how talented you are, but what you can learn from others to help you grow.

Are there any areas in your life you can improve? Take some time to identify a person in your circle whom you admire—someone who can train you in a new skill or help you grow. Take a courageous step by reaching out to someone who already embodies the characteristics you would like to emulate. Then witness your weaknesses transforming into strengths, simply from asking another person to be your coach.

Don’t be content with being good—always be driven to be better. Remember, we are who we associate with.

So who’s coaching you? Have you ever had a memorable coach who helped take you to the next level? Maybe you have been that memorable coach to someone who looked up to you. Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear about your coaching success story.