I want to formally apologize to everyone I taught to ride a snowboard before 2014.

11 years ago, when I "learned" to ride a snowboard, I got lots of raised hands and friends saying, "Hey, can you teach me?"

I'm a teacher and snowboarding's a blast so I always said, "Sure."

I had a problem though, and it was kind of a big one - I got along okay riding, but I didn't know the first thing about teaching.

But I really love to teach and coach and so I gave it a good old-fashioned try. It was a lot of, "Watch me's" and "Try this's".

Some people learned in spite of me and my cluelessness. Though I'm sure they have horrible habits, because I had horrible habits.

Frustrated by my inability to teach, I went and got a job as a snowboard instructor at a fancy-pants resort, and do you know what? They insist on you doing it the right way. Jerks. So they teach you, first to ride properly and then to teach properly.

It was the hardest training I've ever gone through for anything - and I once learned to speak Swedish in two months by studying it in a classroom for 12 hours a day.

In the end, I became a great snowboard coach. I mean, really great. I got asked to stay for classes on days when more tenured instructors were told there were no more classes for the day. I got asked to work the busiest weekends. Yeah, I'm pretty good.

Everybody needs a coach.

Maybe you're not buying it. Maybe you think coaching's for the weak of mind and will.

"I'll just read the book" you say.

One thing you'll never be able to get from a book or from your own strong mind and will, is feedback.

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet, Inc. (AKA Google) once said, "The one thing we're never good at is seeing ourselves as others see us." This was in response to the question, "What's the best advice you ever got?" His response before this was, "Get a coach."

I've taught dozens of people to ride a snowboard who struggled and swore they were doing exactly what I told them to do.

I'd say, no right at this moment in your turn you're doing X when you should be doing Y. If they still didn't believe me, I'd take out my phone and make a video and show them.

Try to get that from a book or your strong will.

If you really want snowboard coaching, I can do that, but my expertise is in coaching people who HATE Monday.

Yes HATE Monday. They hate Monday because they are trying to do something they're no good at doing, or maybe they have a manager who is making their life difficult.

I also coach managers who are making the lives of their employees difficult. Managers who make Mondays hateful. And there are a lot of them. Eight-two percent of all current managers, based on one very well researched and statistically significant study*.

So, I coach employees and managers. and sometimes the employees of the managers I coach. Did you follow that?

Are you a Monday hater? I can fix that.

What to Expect from My Coaching

We'll start by just talking. No charge, just a chance to get a feel for whether or not what I do resonates with you. If it doesn't resonate, I'm not your guy. And I need to know if you're committed to seeing it through. I won't work with you if you're not, and I can tell in the first meeting whether or not you're really into it.

After our little talk, we'll agree on a schedule and a price. Nope, I don't do this for free, but people who follow through and finish, find their new salary more than offsets any amount I ever charge.

Our sessions will be in person, via video or on the phone.

There will be homework that will stretch you, but stretching is good and this is fun stretching - not like that crazy touching your toes sh... stuff you did in 7th grade gym class. That stuff hurts...well, this will hurt a little, but you'll be better off for doing it... a lot like touching your toes in the 7th grade. Okay, anyway, there'll be homework.

I will help you discover the things you ROCKED. You know, those things you've done in the past when time seemed to pass without notice, you had more energy at the end than the beginning, and you just couldn't wait to get back and do them again. Everybody has at least one thing they rocked. It was a job, or a project or a task, but you've had one, trust me.

Then we'll talk about how you can get back to things like that, do them every day, and get paid to do that type of work.

We'll either find the specific tasks in your current job that you do best and help you have the conversation with your boss to get you doing those things all day every day, or will get you a new boss.

That's work/life balance. It's doing what feeds your talents so work doesn't feel like work anymore.

In the end, you'll find out that you LOVE Monday just like Friday, but for a different reason,

It's possible. About 38 million Americans already do. The only thing holding you back is you.

#coachingDliftonStrengths #Careerdevelopment #CliftonStrengths #StrengthsFinder #ManagerDevelopment