Skip to main content

THE FIRST OBSTACLE

It doesn’t matter that I have been evaluating businesses and the people running them for close to two decades, there’s one thing that always seems to be the first obstacle.  

When I agreed to take on a Coaching role with 75+ real estate agents across 3 states, it's best practice for me to touch base with each person and discuss their current state of affairs.  Establishing the gap is a primary skill in this work and this week hasn’t been any different.  Maybe this is why we naturally hide from a coaching relationship?  Nobody wants to know there’s a gap between where they are and where they want to be.  If you’re like me, you want the direct path.  I’m not really interested in knowing about the chasm between here and there.  So what is that first obstacle you ask?  
​
Let’s first talk about what it’s not.  It’s rarely ever an issue of ambition, motivation, or flexibility.

Take less than 3 minutes on social media and you’ll see plenty of society flaunting their ambition.   We all want better things for ourselves so the desire is there and yet we see similar results over and over.  

Motivation?  You would think that the pain of crushing debt, unbearable employment, physical pain, etc… would be motivating enough.  Apparently not.  We all know there’s danger in being perpetually disturbed and yet we would rather numb the pain than actually get rid of it.  

Flexibility isn’t an issue either.  Today, more than ever, society has less and less shame around changing our approach on how we live our lives.  Being rigid isn’t an issue like it was just 30 years ago, let alone 100 years ago.  We change our minds about as often as we change our underwear or oil filters, depending on how painful the subject.  Let’s be honest, most of us have the attention span of a gnat (reference the previous post) and we would rather change our approach than actually stick through something slightly difficult.  

Really though, the most common stumbling point in the beginning is Direction.  Take a look at this diagram below.  Notice that the path to purpose begins at the base.

​
Picture
The fundamental phase is Direction which is established with focus and outcome… and usually the challenge lies more in the outcome than the focus.  By that, I mean, it’s super hard to focus when there is no clearly defined outcome.  

Here’s some examples of answers I get to my general question “what would you like to see happen this year (or quarter, month, etc…)?”  

  • I want to make more than last year
  • More money
  • Better relationships
  • More consistency
  • I’m not really sure
  • Do my best
  • Do better with my schedule
  • Make more calls


I suppose you get the point.  Here’s what I have to ask each situation: 

  • “Do you know how much you made last year?”  Yes, I have to ask that question.  You’d be surprised how many don’t track their income except for when they file taxes.  
  • “How much is ‘more money’ to you?” 
  • “How would you know if you had ‘better relationships’?”
  • “What specifically should be more consistent?”
  • This answer is probably the most honest answer I get. 
  • “How would you know if you did your best?”
  • “If you did better with your schedule, what would that do for you?” 
  • “How many calls is considered more?”  - side note, many times we feel like we should do more of something specific without actually knowing how much we’re already doing.  In the case of phone calls, it could be that this person is making plenty and just struggling with getting results from them.  

Beyond just quantifying the outcome, I find that I get much better results when its juicy.  By “juicy”, I mean the outcome emotionally moves me.  So if my client clarifies an outcome and it doesn’t emotionally move them, it’s dead before it even gets started.  In coaching circles, we call that a compelling future.  Like I heard Jim Rohn say once, “when the why is big enough, the how is easy”.  

Amazingly, when the Champion’s focus is placed on a Qualified outcome, the direction is set and so is the foundation for growth. 


Keep well and keep moving forward, 
​Spencer

About Spencer Combs:

Spencer Combs is a business leader and author of Momentum and Mastery: The Business Leader's Guide to Fastrack Unshakeable Profit, Productivity, and Purpose. With a passion for helping others transform their challenges into opportunities, Spencer offers unique insights through his events, coaching programs, and daily text messages.


Take the Next Step:


Connect with Spencer: www.spencercombs.com/social 


Contact Us: info@spencercombs.com 

Comments

Post a Comment

Here's what others like you are reading:

The Bridge to Next Year - Your Q4 Focus

The calendar flips. The page turns. Another year ends, and a new one begins. Most people treat this transition like a hard reset. A magical switch. As if a new number on the date automatically wipes the slate clean and hands them a fresh start. It doesn't. Next year isn't magically better. It's built. It's constructed, brick by brick, by the choices you make now . Especially now. In this final quarter. The bridge from this year's potential to next year's guaranteed success isn't paved with resolutions made on January 1st. It's built with specific, non-negotiable actions taken in the eleventh hour. For me, that bridge is clear: onboarding 60 agents into the Productivity Coaching Program at Keller Williams Jacksonville and First Coast. It’s not just a number; it’s 60 new engines ready to fire, 60 seeds planted for exponential growth. It’s the foundational momentum that makes everything else possible. What is your bridge? What is the one, undeniable, criti...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conversation

The one happening right now. The one in your head. The one you’ve been having since you were a child. The relentless, ever-present monologue. This is the most important conversation you will ever have. It's the one that determines your choices, shapes your worldview, and sets your limits. But what if someone else was listening in? What if a friend, a mentor, or a loved one heard you talk to yourself the way you sometimes do? The criticism, the doubt, the dismissal of your own ideas, the harsh judgments. Would you let them? We set a standard for how others should treat us, for the kindness and respect we expect from them. We have a line. But when it comes to ourselves, the line often disappears. We allow a level of discourse—a kind of verbal abuse—that we would never, ever tolerate from another person. Your inner voice is not just a passenger; it's the pilot. And if you wouldn't trust someone else to talk to you that way, why would you let yourself? The conversation you'...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Two Demands of Your Future

 Your goals are not passive wishes. They are active demands. They demand a change. And every demand can be broken down into two essential, non-negotiable actions: What must begin? This isn't about grand gestures. It's about the single, focused, uncomfortable step. The one email. The five minutes of planning. The single conversation. The research. The quiet practice. What is the smallest possible ignition that your future self is begging you to light, starting this week? And then, the harder part: What must cease? Because capacity isn't infinite. Every "yes" to an old habit is a "no" to a new future. Every comfortable distraction is a veto of your dreams. What is the single, comfortable, familiar thing you are doing—or not doing—that your future self needs you to ruthlessly eliminate , starting this week? Your goals aren't waiting for perfection. They're waiting for the intentional, deliberate shift. The start. The stop. What are the two demand...
Post a Comment
Read more