A Letter From Coach Ed
Allow me to take a moment from your busy day to share my heart regarding the importance of “not going it alone.” I feel prompted to share with you a short snap shot of my personal business journey and some pain points I had when starting my business in 1986. Possibly you’re facing a growth opportunity, transition, or even an uncertainty?
“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” ~Abraham Maslow
Are You Facing the Edge?
After I started in business, it would have been helpful if I knew in advance what the edge looked like or the rumble strips on the edge of the highway that are there to protect you from going off the edge! The edge for you could be a pain point, deadline, lost passion, feeling stuck, stressed out, the size of a situation, an event that barks fear or financial circumstances? Are you feeling you want to quit, run or isolate? If you have been in business for any length of time, you may have experienced any of these lows.
My heart took a blind leap of faith to leave an established career and start my own business in 1986. With the skill of carpentry, passion and a good work ethic, I began in business as an entrepreneurial carpenter working 60 to 70 plus hours out in the field each week. Then I would do a superman change switching roles to the sales person, estimator, accountant, technician with computers, meeting with suppliers and customers and so on, oh, and also helping to raise our precious children who were very young at the time along with staying connected in my marriage.
Hamster In a Wheel
Feeling like a hamster in a wheel, frustration set in, exhaustion knocked on the door, isolation and fear tried strangling my hopes and dreams. My family grew weary, my marriage was tested, and I found my heart so frustrated trying to do everything and feeling like that nocturnal hamster running but not getting anywhere. As I was pursuing that entrepreneurial dream, I had lots of passion without the perspective of wisdom. Many of you may relate to the nights and weekends crashing at the desk falling asleep!
A Great Coach Can See the Field
I have to admit starting blindly without a business plan, a coach, sales or marketing plan was not the wisest choice! Out of desperation and exhaustion, with time constraints, I found myself searching for advice and wisdom but noticing not all advice was good. I had to learn to be a fruit inspector. In the search, on a positive note, there always seemed to be one or two people along the way that actually had my best interest at heart. Think of a coach in the NFL, they have the ability to give feedback with the team’s best interest at heart as they are seeing the whole playing field. My heart deeply longed for collaboration and coaching!
Old Mindsets Needed Renovated
To fulfill that deep desire in my heart, the adversity led to massive discovery around beliefs and mindsets driving my decisions! To grow my life and business, I had to unlearn some mindsets and shift from an entrepreneurial carpenter to a business leader mindset. I had to understand the night and day difference from an abundant mindset versus a scarcity mindset. Many of you know my heart’s love in the past for building the dream for our clients with a great respect for architectural excellence. During the 25 plus years in the building industry, out of my heart, I would often say, “We build people first then buildings.” This truly led to seeing my vision come to fruition when I laid down my very successful construction company and pursued my dream of helping people build their lives and businesses by becoming a certified master business coach.
To Grow the Next Five Years
Like a rest stop on a long trip, there are certain people that are put on your path to teach and coach us. I heard it said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I had a hope renewing moment; I remember chatting with Charlie Tremendous Jones. He was not only an author and inspirational speaker but a man filled with wisdom. After reading his book; “Life is Tremendous,” it shined light on certain perspectives I had. He said: “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” John Maxwell added; “except for the trainings attended/teachings you listen to.”
What is the Promise Dormant Within You?
I realized that in one moment hearing what Charlie Tremendous Jones said to me was like a fountain of water in a desert, it quenched my thirst from days without water! It awakened and ignited hope for all the dreams I had inside of me to become a reality!
Feed Your Potential
What is possible when the untapped potential within us sitting on a shelf like seeds in a bag are discovered and planted in the right environment? Guess what happens? The nature within the seed is revealed not only to us but others. This quote spoke to my heart by Bill Bradley, “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.”
Why Truforth and Leaders Advance?
One reason Truforth exists is to foster a thriving leadership development and coaching ecosystem and to be relational not transactional. First, coaching and leadership development transformed my life so sharing that with others is a deep passion of mine! It impacted my life so much that my heart longed to give the gift back to others.
I have had the honor of coaching thousands of face to face hours watching people’s lives and businesses transform and also facilitate many trainings. My heart is in creating a national, leadership ecosystem to provide opportunities for others to interconnect with visionaries, pacesetters and marketplace leaders. Our purpose with Truforth is your growth. Through a collaborative, innovative approach, we explore unique strategies to fulfill your vision, purpose and mission.
Why Leaders Advance?
Every Leaders Advance is unique and different and very interactive and experiential. It’s a time to explore new possibilities, solutions and strategies to scale your business, to be inspired and glean from other leaders! It will be a day of not only moving your business forward but your life as well!
Be an Investor
I want to invite you and your business colleagues to join us on 3.31.23. Details and registration about Leaders Advance and our Business Panel are at this (LINK) We look forward to seeing you there for a powerful day of transformation!
“Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.” ~ Brian Tracy
You were born for greatness,
Ed Garner