Be Coachable

Those of you who think you know everything annoy those of us who actually do!

If you know me or have followed this blog, you know that I love a good quote. I enjoy sharing the wisdom and wit of others, especially those that have long since passed from this world. It is a way to learn a little about the personality, as well as the genius, of thinkers I will never have an opportunity to meet in this world.

The opening quote to today's post was a popular bumper sticker/sign/poster/office joke from about 20 to 25 years ago. Someday, I will do a post of many of my favorite over-the-top "I am the Greatest" sayings and phrases that I have picked up and used over the years. They are all meant in fun and have been used to get a laugh poke fun, especially within my family. This one makes a good point for a Life Lesson that I had to learn and others have shared with me about how they had to learn it as part of their growing process also.

I am a fairly intelligent person and learning has come easily to me throughout most of my life. I was once on the arrogant side when it came to learning in that I thought if I could receive, process, and regurgitate information easily, everyone else should be able to do so also.

Mathematics have always been something of a second nature to me. I can still often do computations in my head without realizing that I have done them. One of the struggles I had in school when I was learning math was that I was expected to "show my work." My thinking was, "why do I have to do this if I can just look at a problem and write down the answer?" As I advanced into high school algebra and geometry, I learned to reverse engineer problems to show my work. I knew what the answer was but I had to work backwards from the answer to get back to the initial problem. I irritated friends because they would ask how I got an answer and my reply was, "because that is what you do to get the right answer."

It wasn't that I was trying to be rude or unhelpful, but usually I did NOT know how or why, just that is what was needed to get the answer. To me simple, but to others, not so much.

So what does all of this have to do with being coachable?

Quite a bit, actually.

I bombed out at my first attempt at college, very much because I was not coachable. Learning had always come so easily that I had terrible study habits and NO ONE was going to tell me what I needed to do or how I needed to study once I got to college. This was not something that I wanted to hear. I thought I could continue to do the same things that I always done when it came to studying and still get by. And for a couple of classes, it worked. For others, it (and I) failed miserably.

Not being coachable worked against me in my professional career also. I have always considered myself a salesman to some degree or another. I also have an entrepreneurial itch. It hit me that Network Marketing would be a perfect situation for me. The only problem was that I thought I was so smart, I didn't needed to be trained or taught anyone else's system because I am so smart I can come up with a better idea than the person that had already created a wonderful business for them self.* Unfortunately for me, many lost sales and failed business attempts later, I finally learned that I am often not as smart as I believed I was.

On my last post ("Zest"), I talked about following our dreams. However, no one should open a business without some sort of business training. I don't need to open an auto repair shop without knowing anything about auto mechanics, or finances, or how to hire quality help. I would need to learn many things to be able to open an auto shop if that was my dream. That is not to say I can't pursue that dream but I would need to learn much. If I decided that I know how to repair a car better than a master mechanic, my business would almost certainly fail.

My encouragement to you is this: have an open mind. Listen to others, especially those that are "experts" or successful in the area you have an interest. Find a mentor. Take their knowledge to heart. Learn. And grow. Then finally, see where it takes you.

Final note: I also learned how to be a college student. When I went back to school, my GPA was 3.96. The only reason I didn't get 4.0 was because an A- was given a slightly lower numeric value than a plain ol' A. (Sad face on Eddy.) I had 3 classes where I earned an A-. I didn't get extra value for an A+ and I had 4 of those. (Sadder face.) I did make all A's while working a 40+ hour a week job and 16 hours of class time a week. Sometimes it pays to be coachable.

Smile!!

© 2009 Eddy Seegers

*One of the reasons that I was un-coachable as a Network Marketer was that I just felt that there was a better way to do it than what I was being taught. My mistake was that I should have allowed myself to be coached, learned to do it the way that many others had done it to be successful and then searched for the better way I felt must be out there somewhere.

Fortunately, when I realized that I needed to let someone coach me, I found the the new system to go with the company that makes products that have meant a lot to me. I am developing my new web page to tell everyone about that system. (The nice thing is that you will never have to cold call, bug friends, or family if you don't want to.) I will let you know when my web page is up. In the mean time, if you want to learn about the products that have had such a profound affect on my life, Click_Here_Now!

Silver Linings

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they are expecting gold." ~Maurice Setter

Today was one of those days where I just had to stop for a moment and consciously look for the silver linings. There were no great disasters, no majors issues, no meltdowns, but there was little annoying problems that came and went and came again, ALL DAY LONG! For those of you reading this, you are likely to know that these types of little problems annoy me much more than the big issues.

Finally, I got to the point where I had to make a decision. Either I was going to let all the little things get to me and allow my attitude to head south, or I could decide that I was going to have a positive attitude and a sunny outlook to the rest of the day.

I decided to look for the silver linings in everything that was occurring. I decdied to begin with the basics. I have a fairly stable career at a time when many people are worried about their jobs. While I have money worries, like almost everyone else, I am able to put food on the table, have a roof over my head, and I live in the greatest country in the world where oppotunites abound for me to grow and to make more money.

I have health issues but I have some great doctors that work in the greatest health care system in the world.

It is cold and rainy outside. I am a summer person. Weather like today makes me appreciate the summer weather even more. I know that people think that makes me certifiably crazy since I live in Houston, Texas. I like being crazy. See, another silver lining.

While they can be annoying at times, I have a great crew of people that work for me. I am sure they think the same think about me when it comes to the annoying part. Another silver lining is I think most of my crew like me also.

It is a great time of the year to be a sports fan, which I am. There is one more college bowl game. The NFL playoffs are going on. The NHL and NBA are in mid-season, and sorry Mom, spring training for baseball is just over a month away.

Even though work can be pain in the brain, I have a great family. While we have our personality conflicts, as do all families, we are there for each other in times of emergency. I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse, but I feel fortunate that I am on good terms with everyone in my family.

I have come up with many more silver lings to many of the irritating events of the day but I think the family is a good place to cut it off.

I encourage anyone reading this, take time, especially when you may be having a bad day or feeling down, to look for the silver lining. It might take a little work but I truly believe you can find one.

Smile!!

© 2009 Eddy Seegers



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Happy New Year

Happy New Year 2009!

I have never been one to concern myself with New Year’s resolutions. Why? I don't really know but I just never have. Some of it I think can be attributed to my mom who always said, “Why do you have to wait for a certain date on a calendar to make changes in your life or to turn over a new leaf. If you need to make changes in your life, make them right away.” Sage advice.

However, I have come to be a believer that we all need to take time at regular intervals to review where we are. We need to look at our personal life, our business and professional life, our finances, our health, and our relationships, as well as any other areas of our life that may need review.

Sure, if you discover a need or a change that needs to be made in May or June, you don’t want to wait until January. At the same time, we all need to take a time to review the conditions of areas of our lives. The New Year is as good a time as any to take time to reflect and critique our situations. Will June 30th work? Yes. So will February 4th, May 7th, August 1st, October 29th, or any other time of the year. The New Year is just a convenient and easy to remember time to re-examine our being.

I am still working on the professional aspects of my life but I thought I would share some of my more personal resolutions.

*I need to lose weight. I have some serious health conditions that my doctor say could be helped by losing weight. I have been on the weight roller coaster since high school. Since I am 48, that is not good. I started before Christmas and actually lost 4 pounds from December 23rd to December 30th. Even through the Christmas celebration, I was able to lose weight. A good start. My long term goal is much larger, but my initial goal is to lose 20 pounds.

*I need to be a better “boyfriend” to my “girlfriend.” I often refer to her as my “maybe, sometimes, sorta, kinda, once in a while girlfriend.” We have dated. We have known each other for just over a year and our dating relationship has been up and down. Upon reflection, and it didn’t take much effort, I realized I have not been a good partner. Even as I type this, I am having a hard time to describe our relationship. Partner sounds strange but boyfriend and girlfriends is not really accurate either. We introduce each other as “my friend.” I need to make a better effort to be a good friend and, then hopefully, be a good boyfriend and then maybe more.

*Finally, I need to do a better job writing my blog. I got off purpose for a while and I have deleted many of my posts since they did not meet the purpose. I will make a better effort to write on a regular and more consistent basis. And I want to keep an eye and ear on society so that my posts can be more relevant at the moment I write them.

Smile!!

© 2009 Eddy Seegers


Is your business, service or community group looking for a speaker for an upcoming meeting or event. My programs are uplifting and motivational. The titles of a couple of the program are “Caught in a Monkey Trap” and “Life Lessons Learned Playing Little League.” I can tailor either of these to your organization or design a presentation for your unique situation. Email me at lifelessonsbyeddy@yahoo.com for more information.

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