OyChicago blog

I was sitting in my career coach’s office, constantly adjusting from side to side. If I stopped shifting for even just a moment, my right foot began to furiously tap on the floor. I couldn’t make up my mind as to where I wanted my hands to go: in my lap, on the arm rest, on my chin. I kept switching positions without finding comfort in any of them.

My coach, Rita, was looking directly at me, searching for my eyes in order to make contact. My eyes were drifting up and to the left, focusing on the tiny window in the far corner of the room. We were at a pivotal point in the conversation about what my next career move might be. We had laid out all the facts, hashed out the past and speculated about the future.

“I just don’t know if this is the right decision,” I said. I was contemplating a plan to leave my job and go on to work completely on my own as a life coach.

Her response was, “What would you do if you could not fail? If you had more courage and less fear, what would be your next action?”

My foot stopped tapping. My hands rested gently on the arms of the chair. I slowly turned my head toward my coach and answered that I would quit my job in order to become an independent coach.

This was a conversation that took place over seven years ago. Today, I still find those two simple questions to be the most important questions a coach has ever asked me. In that moment, I was able to imagine there was no possibility of failure, which meant there was only the possibility of success. From there I saw a clear vision for my future. I saw the life I wanted, and if I was only courageous enough to take the first step, I believed I could achieve it.

I have probably asked this question at one point or another to every client that I have ever coached. For them, as it did for me, it always seemed to eliminate all the questions and revealed the answers. When the fear that leads to false expectations is removed, all that remains is the love that leads to truth.

To learn more about living a life with more courage and less fear, visit www.100reasonstowin.com or e-mail andy@100reasonstowin.com.