I realize I may lose some readers with the title of this essay but I couldn't help it. I've been bombarded lately with diet, money, love and career advice via the internet and email and it all seems to hold such promise ...
So I buy and try them. Or maybe I should say I buy and try 'it' because it all seems to be the same thing in a different package. The materials seem to have maybe five to ten good ideas that are stretched out over as many CDs, e-books, pamphlets, etc. as possible to make the $100 or so price tag seem worth it.
Instead of talking to me like a reasonable, intelligent person who is looking for a little support with a particular and specific challenge, they all either preach, scold or just sort of 'float' out there in an ethereal voice of 'just believe and it will be so.'
I get frustrated and wonder if their approach is actually profitable even though I don't seem to find true value for myself -- but many others might.
It seems we're overlooking several truths and solutions already available to us all:
Any questions?
Now I know these are simple but not easy and that's where I come in. I've made it my mission to cut the 'crap' out of the traditional personal growth trainings and to only share what I've personally done to reinvent myself from my previous vagabond lifestyle of relationship hopping, physical excess and non-responsible financial escapism.
In the 15 years since I've set myself on this path I've totally reinvented myself, no kidding, and now am a coach myself. I went from being the 13th born of 14, Irish-Catholic poor boy, actor and roue, to a happily married father of three, a (twice) converted modern Orthodox Jew with two businesses, stakes in several other companies, two books on personal growth, a home on Chicago's north shore and a real-life victory in helping build and then sell (at a marvelous profit) a small regional company that we grew into the national industry leader.
Recently I took myself on again, this time physically, and published an e-How article on how to lose weight and add fitness. Only I wrote it as I did it, incrementally adding some physical activity (and only what was fun), then beginning to watch what I ate, not limit mind you but watch, and then move up to more serious commitments like joining a gym and shifting my eating patterns. These are changes that have lasted more than a year now, I must add -- that's usually not the case with fads and quick fix models.
But I didn't just take on my physical self solely to LOSE; who wants to lose? I did it to GAIN. I did it to gain power and authenticity in my life, to strip away what wasn't me, to let go of the weight of all that wasn't me in my core 'essence.'
It wasn't easy and I went back and forth a bit but it was well worth the effort. I'm wearing pants I was ready to throw away because I thought I'd never get into them again and my wife is frustrated that the pants I'd bought just a few months ago are too loose on me.
But again, it's not about fitting into the pants. It's about being the me on the outside that I see on the inside and the weight I've lost is the 'wait' for things to line up exactly as they should before.
So for all of you out there sending me diet, money, love and career tips, thank you for caring about me but let me instead help you. If these are real concerns for you I've written several courses that are WAY cheaper than yours and are delivered 'as if' from a personal meeting with a dedicated coach -- a friendly, conversational coach who understands what it means to be a real person, living a real life with real concerns and obstacles.
The thousand or so readers on e-How, the 5-star rating, comments of praise and thanks all helped me decide that even though there are so many other fitness and diet routines out there, and even though I'm not an exercise guru or fanatic, that I can still make a difference by being plain spoken and honest and meeting people where they are.
Here are some of my trainings on the same topics, if you're interested, and a brief description of what they are and offer. A warning first: it's a simple model, no glitz or pretty packaging. They arrive by email with some added inspiration and motivation over a few weeks, for a few dollars, but they work.
Health and Fitness -- A 10-week, real world approach that's a 'low impact' addition to the life you're already living. This is exactly the approach I used to lose 25 pounds, get into a fitness regimen and bring back my energy and sustain it all day.
Money Course -- Hint: It's not about 'money being the root of all evil'! Nine-week course that's way easier, simpler and more grounded than Suze O.
Love and Relationship -- Again, it's not about being right (even when you are). Six-week long with simple exercises and journal writing.
I challenge anyone to try these courses and then comment on any of my articles on whether or not they finally, truly, got coaching that speaks to them, even virtually, from a real person to a real person and that they're better than any single fad or 'guru' model out there now.
It's about being honest and real, offering value and changing the world for the better, one person to one person at a time.
But wait, there's more! Since I'm poking fun at the other models and their non-stop in your face marketing, let's have some real fun. Any reader who accesses the course from Huffington Post who orders any one of these classes can send me an email to redeem a free copy of my new e-book that takes on the 'broadly defined' industry of life coaching and tries to make sense of it: 'Don't Hire a Life Coach'. Buy the course and send me a copy of your 'welcome' e-mail and I'll forward you the book immediately.
Of course you can buy the book without taking a course, but then you'd miss all of the fun! Why 'weight'?
Follow James M. Lynch on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JamesLynchCoach
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