The toxic world of self help culture
Let me pre-frame this blog by saying the purpose of this is to share with you the very real consequences of following advice from self-help/business mentors, influencers, marketers and coaches.
The world preaches (myself included) the importance of getting a coach or receiving some sort of advice from an expert in an area of your life you’re trying to grow in - this applies to finances, health, business, whatever. But today I want to focus on business. Regardless, getting a mentor/coach to help you grow is sound advice. However, it’s crucial we don’t take this advice, become a robot and lose our personal identities.
What do I mean by this?
We each have a unique skill set provided by God. However, since “they” are so successful in this particular area, we listen and do as they say - we copy their posts, systems, habits, etc. Unfortunately, there are a few consequences…
We end up doing the same thing as their hundreds of other followers and mentees do, not allowing us to stand out.
We suppress our natural gifts and talents, ultimately leading us to not be in true alignment of who we were meant to be.
The combination of these eventually lead to us not being happy and performing poorly in business and in our personal lives. Hello depression!
A true coach takes the methods that they know work based on their experience and carefully plan how to apply said methods to their audience’s lifestyle, strengths, and ultimate desires. This is exactly why I HATE large group coaching business models. You simply cannot provide this high level of value while trying to coach dozens, if not hundreds of people. So, what’s the solution for all of this? Well, before I provide those solutions, let me provide you some deeper context...
After 10 years of being an entrepreneur and having some of the greatest years of my career, I fell into a DEEP depression in the fall of 2021. Eventually, a life coach helped me realize I was performing daily tasks that I deeply hated and the reason I was doing them was because I thought these particular activities is what I needed to do to become financially successful & respected in my industry. What I had to learn was that not everyone’s career goals, financial goals, and life goals are the same.
When we use a guru’s business strategy, we are taking what personally worked for them (and a handful of others) and trying to apply it to our unique circumstances. No two lives or businesses are exactly the same. If you’re reading this in the pursuit of business growth, it’s crucial to remember these core elements that will ALWAYS lead you to professional growth…
1. Gain audience attention
2. Provide value to that audience
3. Provide an unrefusable offer for said audience
This is typically when the business expert will provide strategies on how to do each of these. However, you remember when I said no two individuals are exactly the same? Right, instead of following their repetitive copycat methods that will eventually lead to over saturation in your market - use your unique skills, ideas and passions to leverage these 3 main areas of growth.
Example: every guru is pushing the use of video media to gain attention. No doubt this is smart but if you LOVE writing, then write. Don’t try to be or do something you aren’t. If you hate social media, join networking groups to get your name out there. Point is, don’t do things just because someone told you that you HAVE to do them to be successful. There are multiple ways to skin a cat in this game. Are there strategies that will accelerate opportunities for growth? Of course, but if you hate doing them, they will eventually burn you out and cause you to really resent your career and those around you.
This was the largest lesson I had to learn and this is coming from someone that was fully immersed into the self-help world for several years. Hopefully this blog has helped open your eyes towards understand you can run things in business your way to maintain your happiness while being successful. You might not make millions of dollars, but at least you will be happier and you'll be able to be more consistent in your business because of it - eventually earning a great reputation within your community.
If you're struggling with depression, just know our team is always available to talk. Don't hesitate to book a call with us!
"Coach Taz" aka Taylor Rodriguez is the owner and head coach of Taz Fitness & Nutrition. He is a Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach located in Deltona, FL that coaches individuals online and in person. Taylor was a former partying pro wrestler turned fitness enthusiast after the economic downturn of 2008-2010. After losing almost 70 lbs, his new passion is to help struggling individuals find new confidence within themselves to achieve any goal that they see possible. To begin coaching with Taylor or to request a free consultation, contact us today.