Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.
Proverbs 15:22
The fast track to destruction is isolation.
I’ve seen it time and time again, even in my own life.
And men, by my observation, are the leaders when it comes to living spiritually isolated.
I can tell you a simple truth: the men I know who have the greatest impact in their world have coaches. Call them what you want, but the end result is the same. Great men seek out great counsel.
In fact, in my experience, they even pay for it!
A sports reporter once asked Tom Moore, who was the Offensive Coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, about what it was like to try and coach Peyton Manning.
Peyton Manning was and is known to have one of the greatest football minds in the history of the game. His strategic IQ was unseen by almost any coach that had ever worked with him. He “saw” the game better than most who’d ever played it.
The reporter asked the question in jest, assuming Tom Moore would have the expected response of “who can coach Manning?”
Instead, Tom Moore said, “You know the real truth is that Peyton wants to be coached. He is constantly seeking coaching.”
I believe in the power of having coaches. In fact, I have a few coaches in my life by design.
Often I hire a trainer that coaches me physically to get me ready for beach volleyball tournament season.
Yes, I’m almost 50 and yes it’s just a hobby … but I want to get better and I want to stay in shape so that I can actually compete and not destroy my body through injury. So I seek out help.
I hire a personal performance coach to help me grow as a leader. I know I need the help.
And when I need it, I hire counselors to help me when I’m mentally stuck.
Let me tell you, the accountability these coaches and counselors place on me is brutal.
The feedback they give me is relentlessly candid but packaged in love.
It’s the furtherest thing from “soft” words.
They speak clear and honestly to me because I’ve told them to do so.
My family is better for it.
My life is stronger because of it.
Please know this: I am not sharing my lifestyle habits with you to somehow showcase my iconic levels of discipline.
It’s actually just the opposite.
I know that if I do not have these circles of coaching, I will ultimately fail.
I know me. And I know I’ll regress. I’ll go backward in Kingdom work.
I’ve seen myself regress too many times to count, and it wasn’t until I was in my mid-40s until I actually adopted this mindset of actively pursuing coaches.
If you want clarity and health and dreams to becoming a reality in your life … you can have it … but you’ll never have it if you refuse to surround yourself with people who have been given permission to sharpen your soul.
Proverbs 27:17 does tell us that “iron sharpens iron.”
It seems that I see this verse quoted every time I go speak at a men’s event.
Have you ever actually seen iron sharpen iron?
It is not pretty.
Sparks go everywhere.
The process reeks of putrid hot metal.
There are scars on the objects being sharpened.
More often than not the craftsman gets burned or his clothes get scorched from flying embers.
The iron morphs orange as the temperature climbs.
Iron sharpening iron is the furtherest thing from pretty … but the end result is beautiful.
