It was 1995 and I was struggling to get my business off the  ground. I was excited, spinning my wheels, yet getting nowhere  fast. Money was coming in, but more of it was going out than was  coming in.

Before very long, I found myself questioning whether or not to  close my business and give up on my lifelong dreams.

When you arrive at a point like this, there are two choices you  can make. First, you can choose to throw in the towel and walk  away. Many people take this route and in later years begin to  regret their  decision.

The other option is to keep going and find new ways to get  through the rough times. While you may wonder if there’s a third  choice of doing nothing, that’s really not making a choice at all  and it’s almost the same as giving up because if you do nothing,  you’ll soon have nothing.

So there really is only one choice and that’s to keep going.

At some point in every lifetime, there are going to be rough and  uncertain times. Later in life, you’ll look back and realize that  whatever it was that you decided to do during those times has  literally defined who you are in some profound way.

For those people that decide to give up, they often end up  feeling deep regret and tend to fade into the fabric of society  rarely ever making anything much of their lives.

If you are to become a true leader, you are probably the type to  keep pushing through, no matter how tough things get. In our  society today, there is a real lack of true leaders. We have a lot of people who talk a big game, but few who do what’s needed to step up and lead.

When things were really tough going for me, I made the decision  to stick with it. Although everybody around me at the time was  encouraging me to do the “safe” thing and go find a job, I stayed  the course, never lost sight of my dream, and soon began to see  things changing for the better.

Today, people think I’m lucky or that I had a few good breaks  that made all the difference, when the reality could not be  farther from the truth.

What I had then, you have now.

What I did then, you can do now.

The only thing that will ever stop you is you.

When you truly understand this very important point, things will  change in your life for the better. The biggest obstacle to your  success is you. The biggest challenge you’ll ever face in life is  getting past your own limiting beliefs.

Every successful person, every leader, gets and uses advice from  other people in order to get where they want to go. People who  rise to the level of becoming a leader know that limiting beliefs  can keep them back and so they get help in order to break through  to the next level.

As human beings, we get far too close to our own beliefs and they  become so much a part of who we are that we can’t even see them,  let alone change them. What’s needed is a person who can see us  from a fresh perspective, a person who is not involved in what I  like to call our “internal politics.”

Whether it’s the President of a nation, of a company, or even a  solo entrepreneur, those who rise to great levels of success all  surround themselves with people they rely on to help them see the  way forward.

Some call them advisers, others call them mentors, and still  others refer to them as coaches. Whatever title you use to refer  to these people, it’s important to realize that they are the  people behind the leaders.

These people are often trained to see beyond what is, and instead  put their attention on what could be. They also have a keen  awareness for helping you bring your limiting beliefs to the  surface so that you can address them in ways that are productive.

For many people, having a coach is the difference between  mediocrity and domination of their careers.

Early on in my career, I was lucky enough to realize how  important having outside help was and I sought out people who  could help me get past the barriers that I was simply unable to  break trough myself.

I’ve had at least one, and at times as many as 6 coaches working  with me at any given time.

The results I’ve seen in my own life have been amazing thanks to  the people I’ve chosen to work with along the way. With their  help, I’ve shaved decades of trial and error away, improved my  relationships, and have earned much, much more money in a shorter  period of time that I would have had I not had a coach.

Oh, did I mention that I also became a well-known thought-leader  in the marketing world and continue to called upon for my  guidance and opinions by other industry leaders. None of this  would have been possible had I not discovered the power of having  a coach every step of the way.

I have been coaching business leaders from around to see beyond  the obvious, to see what they are truly capable of, and to get  past the beliefs that would have otherwise held them back.

I’m part of a growing legion of professional coaches who work to  hasten the rise to success of businesses, enterprises, and  individuals. Since 1995, when coaching really started to gain  traction, coaching has become recognized as the “must-have”  resource for people and organizations looking for rapid growth.

While coaching is not designed to replace traditional  psychotherapy, it is a powerful tool that can take you to new  levels of success in very short periods of time.

The issues best suited for coaching involve business strategy,   personal development, and empowerment.

Leading coaches make little distinction between ‘personal’ and  business issues because they realize how tightly related the two  can be and instead choose to work on both, often simultaneously.

In my work as a coach, I’ve yet to run into a single person who  could not benefit from coaching. The rewards of working with a  great coach are immeasurable because once an issue is resolved,  it’s resolved for life. That means that the benefits of the work  you do with a coach are in place for the rest of your life.

Think of it as an investment with an unlimited ROI because once  you learn a lesson from your coach, that lesson is yours for the  rest of your life to use as often as you choose. 

It is important to pick your coach wisely. Be sure the person, or  people, you choose can not just see the vision you hold for your  future, but can get on board with it as well. Your coach should  have one single agenda: yours.

They should speak your language and see the best in you in every  situation. And they should have a proven track record of success  working with people who are similar to you or have a track record  working with businesses that are similar to yours.

Finally, your coach should have current and past clients who have  become raving fans of their work.

While these kinds of coaches are not always easy to find, it’s  worth the extra effort to locate them because the results they  will bring to your life will have a definite and powerful impact  not just on you as a person, but on everybody you interact with as well.

When you find a coach that can meet these criteria, hang onto  them! Do all you can to make sure they remain part of your inner  circle for as long as they continue to bring measurable value to  the table.

When you’re faced with a major decision, don’t make that decision  on your own, get advice, get a coach who can help you see things  from a new perspective because the decisions you make today will  have a profound and lasting impact on your tomorrow.

About the Author
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Robert Imbriale is known as a “Master Coach” for his extensive  work with business owners, and entrepreneurs. He is the author of  the book, Motivational Marketing (Wiley, 2007), and is the  founder of Ultimate Wealth, Inc. Learn more about Robert’s  coaching services, seminars, and see free training videos on his  web site at www.RobertImbriale.com

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