Summary:

Ten years ago, almost to the day, I did two very important things. Two things that impacted my career, but more importantly, two things that started the transformation of my life.

The first thing I did was, I resigned from an executive position with a company, where I had worked for over 20 years. I had a great job, a great career, and was with a great company. I had a pretty big paycheck. Everything was great on the outside. But on the inside, something was wrong. I really couldn’t put words to it, but I was sad. I felt like my time at work, as important as that role was, it had no real meaning, and no connection for me to anything significant. I felt like I was just trading my time, my limited time, for money. I felt like a hamster in the wheel.

Thankfully, I woke up and I made some big changes.

The first thing I did 10 years ago, was leave that job, and I started my own business. My new business was an executive recruiting company called Sanford Rose Associates. I still own that business, which is based in Brighton, Michigan, and the past 10 years have been great. One thing I love about the recruiting field is that it’s all about helping people, whether helping an individual get a new job, or helping managers and business leaders in hiring great new talent for their teams.

I learned my passion is really helping people.

The second thing I did 10 years ago was far more important, more impactful, and more transformative to my life, than was quitting my job and becoming an entrepreneur.

So what was this thing that was so important?

I hired a life coach, Dr. Tom Hill. At 46 years old, I started working with Dr. Hill as my new coach.

Now I had never worked with a coach before, so I really had no idea what to expect. We’d have a phone call, or a face-to-face meeting every month, and through this process I began to learn and to adopt a whole new way to design and live my life. It may sound weird, but at 46 years old I started for the first time, to take full responsibility for my life and for my future.

I began to envision my future in great detail, and began the process of moving in that new direction. I thought about, and got crystal clear on my priorities. I took a look at how balanced, or honestly, how out of balance, my life was. I learned that the best kind of life is one that is both balanced and growing over a lifetime in each of your priority areas. I learned about the power of the 18 month G-Curve, and how to set written goals, smart goals, goals to achieve balance and ongoing growth.

Do you know what happened as I started to do these things, all along the way being coached by Dr. Hill?

    • 1. My physical health improved pretty dramatically.

2. My relationships improved. I grew spiritually, and more at peace.

3. I found myself worrying less about the future, and regretting things less about the past, and spending more of my time and my mental energy in the present moment.

4. I developed a bunch of new healthy habits, and got rid of a bunch of old bad habits. I cut down on watching television, and replaced that time with reading good books.

5. I became aware of the importance of who I spend my time with. I started hanging around with people who would help me to grow, and nurture my happiness.

6. I became more focused and more productive.

7. My new business thrived as did my personal finances.

8. I moved away from living my life on what I call autopilot, to living my one and only life, on purpose and toward a destination that I had set, not a destination set by other people.

Well, it’s 10 years later. Today, I continue to be blessed by the coaching of Dr. Hill. At 81 years young, Dr. Hill continues to be my guide, my mentor, my accountability partner, my coach. He pushes me to dream bigger, to do big things that scare me, to learn and to grow, to be more generous, to be healthier. To make a bigger, more positive difference in the world.

I can imagine where my life would be, and it scares me, had I not started working with a life coach, and made a lot of changes in the way I was living my life. I think I’d be that same hamster in the wheel. Just a 10 years older hamster spinning endlessly, while I traded my limited time for money. Less healthy, less connected to my friends and family, less connected to my passions and the things that bring me joy and energy.

I thank God that I’m no longer living that old life. And by the way, if you’re living that kind of life, please trust me, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can change. You can live a life that brings you excitement, that feeds your unique interests and your unique passions. You can live a life that doesn’t feel like you’re trading your time for money, where you can make a difference in the world with your unique strengths and talents.

My strong advice is to go for it! Don’t wait.

Life is just way too short, and none of us know how much time we have left. My friends, don’t let fear hold you back. Make the changes in your life that you already know you should make. And if you want to get the quickest results, and continue to have your horizons expanded, you may want to go out and get a coach.

So here’s to living the most authentic, meaningful, exceptional life of your dreams!

Related quotes to consider

[For more great quotes like these, follow Brett on Instagram]


FULL TRANSCRIPT

Hey there, Coach Brett Blair here. I’m the author of From Autopilot to Authentic, and a high performance coach. And guess what? Ten years ago, almost to the day, I did two very important things. Two things that impacted my career, but more importantly, two things that started the transformation of my life. Two things.

The first thing I did was I resigned from an executive position with a company, where I had worked for over 20 years. I had a great job, a great career, and was with a great company. I had a pretty big paycheck. Everything was great on the outside. But on the inside, on the inside something was wrong. I really couldn’t put words to it, but I was sad. I felt like my time at work, as important as that role was, it had no real meaning, and like no connection for me to anything significant. I felt like I was just trading my time, my limited time, for money. I felt like a hamster in the wheel.

Thankfully, I woke up and I made some big changes. The first thing I did, 10 years ago, was leave that job, and I started my own business. My new business was an executive recruiting company called Sanford Rose Associates. I still own that business, which is based in Brighton, Michigan, and the past 10 years have been great. One thing I love about the recruiting field is that it’s all about helping people, whether helping an individual get a new job, or helping managers and business leaders in hiring great new talent for their teams. And I learned my passion is really helping people.

But the second thing I did 10 years ago was far more important, more impactful, and more transformative to my life, than was quitting my job and becoming an entrepreneur. So what was this thing, this thing that was so important? I hired a life coach, Dr. Tom Hill. At 46 years old, I started working with Dr. Hill as my new coach.

Now I had never worked with a coach before, so I really had no idea what to expect. We’d have a phone call, or a face-to-face meeting, every month, and through this process I began to learn and to adopt a whole new way to design and live my life. It may sound weird, but at 46 years old I started, for the first time, to take full responsibility for my life and for my future.

I began to envision my future in great detail, and began the process of moving in that new direction. I thought about, and got crystal clear on, my priorities. I took a look at how balanced, or honestly, how out of balance, my life was. I learned that the best kind of life is one that is both balanced and growing over a lifetime in each of your priority areas. I learned about the power of the 18 month G-Curve, and how to set written goals, smart goals, goals to achieve balance and ongoing growth.

And do you know what happened as I started to do these things, all along the way being coached by Dr. Hill? First of all, my physical health improved pretty dramatically. My relationships improved. I grew spiritually, and more at peace. I found myself worrying less about the future, and regretting things less about the past, and spending more of my time and my mental energy in the present moment.

I developed a bunch of new healthy habits, and got rid of a bunch of old bad habits. I cut down on watching television, and I replaced that time with reading, with reading good books. I became aware of the importance of who I spend my time with, and made some pretty big changes. I started hanging around with people who would help me to grow, and nurture my happiness.

Through learning that personal disciple leads to personal freedom, I became more focused and more productive. And my new business? It thrived, as did my personal finances. And most importantly, most importantly I moved away from living my life on what I call autopilot, to living my life, my one and only life, on purpose. On purpose and toward a destination that I had set, not a destination set by other people.

Well, it’s 10 years later. Now, today, 10 years later, I continue to be blessed by the coaching of Dr. Hill. And, at 81 years young, Dr. Hill continues to be my guide, my mentor, my accountability partner, my coach. He pushes me to dream bigger, to do big things that scare me, to learn and to grow, to be more generous, to be healthier. To make a bigger, more positive difference in the world.

I can’t imagine where my life would be today without the influence that I’ve had from my coach. Wait. You know, that’s not true. Actually, I can imagine where my life would be, and it scares me. Had I not started working with a life coach, and made a lot of changes in the way I was living my life, I think I’d be that same hamster in the wheel. Just a 10 years older hamster spinning endlessly, while I traded my limited time for money. Less healthy, less connected to my friends and family, less connected to my passions and the things that bring me joy and energy.

I thank God that I’m no longer living that old life. And by the way, if you’re living that kind of life, please trust me, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can change. You can. You can live a life that brings you excitement. You can live a life that feeds your unique interests and your unique passions. You can live a life that doesn’t feel like you’re trading your time for money. You can live a life where you can make a difference in the world with your unique strengths and talents.

And my advice, my strong advice, is to go for it. Go for it, don’t wait. Life is just way too short, and none of us know how much time we have left. My friends, don’t let fear hold you back. Don’t do that. Make the changes in your life that you already know you should make. And if you want to get the quickest results, and continue to have your horizons expanded, you may want to go out and get a coach.

So here’s to living the most authentic, meaningful, exceptional life of your dreams.

 

Recommended Posts