Coaching for Greatness

"The 5th in a series of 6 Hospitality News Middle East exclusive articles by expert hospitality trainer Mark Dickinson."

The start of the day: Social media

Facebook: Check. Instagram: Check. Snapchat: Check. Email: Check. And so the list goes on. Across all of these media there is a common theme: Amazing things that the superstars, sports stars and politicians have achieved, or the terrible failures of the same.

We make instant instinctive judgements. Good, get a thumbs up. Bad, get a thumbs down, or an unhappy/shocked emoticon. ‘Really good’ gets a share.

In our rush to be a part of everything that is going on at any one moment everywhere in the world, we lose our understanding of what it takes to claim an achievement.

We are quickly seduced into believing that if we just say the same things, or wear the same things, or go to the same places, or buy the same things as these successful people, then we too will become a megastar. The element that makes these great stories great, is the element of possibility; the chance that a little of the magic that made those stars outstanding, will somehow be bestowed on me because I do what they did, or I wear the same clothes as they did, and so on.

What people forget, or perhaps choose to ignore, is the secret ingredient:

Ø  Hard work.

Ø  Hidden hard work.

Ø  Many, long years of obscurity, and hidden, hard work.

The overnight successes that appear on our screens are the outcome of a lot of extremely hard work and dedication over a long period of time.

Most often we see stars standing alone on a stage as they receive an award or are recognized for an outstanding achievement; but listen to what they say as they raise their trophy. They give credit to the team of people that helped them get there.

Success is great. Success is good. Making money is good. Having money is good. Yes. Agree! But getting there is never a solo act.

The world’s population is expanding rapidly, since you started reading this article there is a net growth in the global population of 500 people. The population has grown by 30 million since January 1st, 2017. Competition is tough. Google shows a search result of 15 million restaurants and 400,000 hotels and Bed & Breakfast places to stay at, all around the world. If there are 2 managers per place that is a global management population of over 30 million managers.

So What do you need to do stand out?

Examine the lives of some truly great achievers of our time. Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Michael Jackson. A basketball player, a swimmer and a singer. All three of them have been at the absolute peak of what it is humanly possible to achieve. They all share two things in common.

1. Their first name is Michael.
2. Second, they were coached.

‘People are rewarded in public for what they continuously practice in private’ (Tony Robbins). This is not only a quote, it is a reality. You must do the work. There are no short cuts. There are no easy ways to the top. To be the best without sacrifice is an impossibility. You are the key to your success. And no one else.

There are naturally gifted and talented people. And if you have to ask if you are one of them, then you already know the answer! These folks are the rarity, the exception, the special few. The rest? For the rest, it takes hard work. You cannot escape this reality. And even the gifted and naturally talented work hard to make their gift or talent shine. There are no free rides. You do have to work hard at it. You do NOT have to do it alone.

Here are three steps to getting success:

Step 1 - Get focused

Step 2 - Get the best help you can

Step 3 - Get rid of everything that’s negative and do it

Follow these steps and you will become a superstar amongst the 30+ Million hospitality managers.

This is how you rise to become a hero of the people; for you to become “The One”, not just someone.

It really is that simple. However, because it is a simple formula, the majority think that it must be too simple, and therefore not true. That’s the point: Simplicity brings incredible results.

1. Focus means to focus on one thing-: You cannot be focused on many things at once. That would be an oxymoron. Get focused on YOUR one thing, and then do it. And only do YOUR one thing. Leave everything else aside and do whatever it takes to make YOUR one thing happen. No matter how long it takes. No matter what you have to do to get it. You do it.

2. Getting the best help-: means you put massive importance on finding the most professional, most successful person who does what you want to do, and you get them signed up to help you. This is where coaching comes into play. There are many coaches, which one is the best? The one that focuses you on YOUR one thing, reflects YOUR dreams back at you and causes you to constantly improve as you grow and climb YOUR way to YOUR dream.
3. Get rid of everything that is negative-: and do YOUR thing. Beautiful statement. But so difficult. Many of you were doing fine until now. You said, “focus? Yes”, you thought a bit at point two and said, “Best help? Okay”. But getting rid of everything that is negative? What in the world is that? We are surrounded by negativity, it conflicts our minds every day. We are battered by advertising and messages from TV, billboards, our mobile phones, the internet, and the radio, all day long. Distractions abound and are carefully designed to insidiously draw you away from where you are going.

The key is YOUR focus. Living out YOUR dream.

As I write this, I reflect upon the people I have the privilege to work with and to “help”. They come from all walks of life. Some are business managers, some are students, some are owners, however, there is one unifying quality, it is their burning desire to achieve their ONE thing.

As we work together we reveal to them what their performance looks like. Up close and personal. It gets ugly. Showing high achievers where they can improve is never an easy task. We talk about ego. We get it out of the way. We learn to talk with real emotions and passion. We get people to be honest. We work to craft challenges that inspire them to move forward, for after all is said and done, who can change the past? We put all the garbage of the past aside and look upwards. We can only create our future by what we do right now.

Holding people accountable for their own words makes the world a better place, and definitely, boosts personal achievement.

Consistent, relentless action has massive results. Imagine that you want to grow stronger. So you decide today to do one pushup. Tomorrow you make that same decision, so you do two. Well if you continue to take that one single decision every day for three months, then you will be doing 100 pushups a day. A tiny daily change has an eternal impact.

Are you ready for greatness? Get coached.