Want to make six figures? Then find another coach!
Why I’m not a “Business as Usual” Coach and I won’t help you make hand-over-fist profits…
One of the reasons it took me so long to feel comfortable calling myself a ‘coach’ was all the associations I saw to the word in the media - from the Evercoach ads that haunt me every time I try to watch a video on Youtube, to self-proclaimed “gurus” on personal development telling you that you can have the life you dream of, to Jeremy in Peep Show announcing “I’m a life coach” and having his roommate print him a home-made certificate - I thought cringe! Is that how people see me?
And in the middle of all of the smiles and positive thinking there’s a recurring call that lures customers in time and time again - the promise of bringing your dreams into reality and of making six figures.
It took me a long time to figure out exactly why “coaching as usual” was bothering me so much. Why I found it hard to call myself a coach, because deep down there was nothing I cared about less than helping the CEO of some company make more profit so that he could increase his own take-home and maybe buy himself an extra yacht.
So, if you’re interested in working with somebody who sees things a little differently from the majority of the coaches out there, read ahead.
The Problem with “Business as Usual”
I’m drowning right now in people saying “when things get back to normal after the Corona virus”, as if a global pandemic that has seen stockmarkets plunge and unemployment benefit claims skyrocket beyond anything we’ve seen in our lives, the jobs that have been lost, the industries irrevocably changed - is just a minor hiccup on the road of ‘Business as Usual’.
What’s wrong with “Business as Usual”? Well, to put things simply, it is completely illogical, short-sighted, and destructive to life.
Corporations are required to maximise shareholder profit. For a company to keep making profit, year after year, it usually needs to keep growing. How many small businesses do you know who have been happy with just 10-15 employees and enough turnover every year to keep everyone paying the bills? No - companies usually aim to grow and grow; more employees, more customers, more profit.
Now, depending on WHAT the company is selling, this spells terrible news for the planet. More products mean more resources extracted from the earth. More oil to transport those goods around the world. More power to keep their online servers running. Yes, sure, it also means more jobs - but a system where extracting all the resources from our earth as quickly as possible is touted as the only way to feed hard-working, struggling citizens is a system that needs to be re-examined.
While there are arguments to the contrary, I recommend reading the article The Fallacy of Endless Economic Growth or Chris Martenson’s The Crash Course to look at the problems with a system that requires infinite growth on a finite planet.
Of course, things are not as black and white as saying “capitalism is evil” - I don’t believe that anything is that simple. The exchange of goods and resources can be a force for good in the world IF done in a way that does not exploit people and the planet for the benefit of a wealthy few. But right now, we are living in a world where the 26 richest people in the world own as much as the poorest 50%. We are living in a world where slavery still exists, where our politicians are bribed and bought by wealthy CEOs, where human-caused climate change threatens our very continued existence, and yet the ability of the top 1% to keep their lives cushy seems to overshadow all of that.
Business as Usual cannot continue. In The Work That Reconnects, it is presented as one of the three stories that we can choose to look at right now - of course, depending on where you look, it seems that the status quo is getting along just nicely and nothing is changing. You can pretend that climate change isn’t really a big deal because you’re lucky enough to live in an area that hasn’t been so badly affected yet.
The other two stories presented in WTR are those of The Great Unravelling, and The Great Turning. The Great Unravelling is also a familiar story - just look at any newspaper. Rising unemployment, overwhelmed healthcare systems, natural disasters, war - it can seem that the Apocalypse is coming and the world is ending.
But there’s also the story of the Great Turning. When you notice the kindness, creativity and ingenuity of people coming out during the quarantine - sewing and distributing masks, organising online meetings to help people fight loneliness, and companies offering free access to online products to help people stuck at home - we can see the Great Turning in action. When you see people acting to defend life, to shift consciousness towards a more interconnected worldview that values all life, or to empower people to be self-sufficient in terms of food and energy, you see the Great Turning in action.
If you want to be part of creating a world that values and protects life, rather than prioritises unlimited growth, then I want to work with you and help you figure out just how you can be a part of creating that better world. I don’t mean that money is evil and that you shouldn’t do what you can to pay the bills - I just won’t work with people whose sole mission is to make money and keep the wheels of the status quo turning. If you want to make loads of money because you want to use that money to do something that benefits others, then yes!! That’s fantastic, too.
If you feel something inside that says “YES, I want to be a part of the Great Turning” (or whatever else you want to call it) but you have no idea where to start, then I’d love to talk to you.
The Problems with Aiming For Riches
As business guru Marie Forleo pointed out when I took her B-School, if you are starting a business just because you want to make money - then you’re probably going to end up hating your life. Starting a business is HARD. Most startups fail in the first three years. While you may think it’s idealistic to dream of making money doing something you love, you’re very likely to burn out if your only “WHY?” for running your business is to bring in the cash.
Psychology research shows that when we are motivated by extrinsic goals - such as money, fame, and attention - we are far less likely to be happy than when we are motivated by intrinsic goals - e.g. being healthy, moral, or trying to be kind to people. If you want to make money SO that you can help spread your kindness, or improve other people’s health, then that’s great. But doing it purely because you want to feel and look good is not going to bring you the happiness you may think it will.
Secondly, I assume that when coaches say “make six figures” they are referring to dollars or Euros or something, because six figures in, say, Vietnamese Dong isn’t going to get you far. Then again, neither is your own currency if we enter into a period of hyperinflation (as happened in Venezuela last year or Germany pre-WWII).
Nope, this doesn’t work.
I’m no economist, but I have spent a lot of time trying to understand exactly how our global financial system works. The long story short is -it’s a fragile house of cards, constantly being pumped up by debt and the creation of new money from thin air, which can seem to solve problems short-term, but in the long term lead to the devaluing of your currency - meaning everything gets crazy expensive. I recommend you watch the Crash Course video on Quantitative Easing or search “why doesn’t printing money work?” to find out more about this.
What I’m trying to say is earning a whole ton of money isn’t really much good at all if you don’t understand how financial systems work. If you don’t invest your money wisely, it could disappear in the blink of an eye. The banking system could crash, meaning you’d lose everything. Or inflation could mean that those millions you’ve diligently saved up over the years end up being worth far less than you expected, thanks to almost zero levels of interest.
Secondly, what is money, anyway? You can’t eat it, you can’t build a house out of it, and the moment society decides that your pieces of paper are worth nothing, it’s completely useless. Take Burma (or Myanmar), for example, where the military junta that was in power decided that all 50 and 100 kyat notes would cease to be legal currency - overnight (read more here) - with the effect of ruining the lives of many small business owners and ordinary people. They did the same thing two more times later on, driving people deeper into poverty every time.
Now, you are probably thinking “yes, but MY government wouldn’t do that”, and perhaps you’re right. But my point is that money, alone, is only worth what others are willing to believe it’s worth.
If you tell me, instead, what you would like to DO with all that money - well, now we can start talking.
In The Crash Course, Chris Martensen refers to the things that you acquire with your money as “primary wealth” - things like land. The things you use to GET that are only considered to be secondary or tertiary wealth, in other words, they’re not much good on their own.
I get that right now, it feels as if we’re trapped in a system where making a TON of money is the only way to feel secure. Especially if you’re in a country that doesn’t even provide basic healthcare or education. But shouldn’t we aim to change those systems, rather than just being a pawn and playing a game where the rules could change at any moment?
If you’re not willing to engage in any further conversation about it, and my questions make you feel stressed and pressured, then that’s OK - you can click away and find somebody who’ll tell you that thinking positively and imagining huge piles of money will make it appear in your bank account. But if you’re ready to have a serious conversation, then let me ask you:
What is it you want to do with all of this money? (If it’s purely hedonistic and doesn’t benefit anybody else, then - enjoy. If you want to use it to create a better world, then let’s talk!)
Are there OTHER ways of getting those things, without earning loads of money first? (In other words, can you find a way to feel freedom and security through other means?)
Do you truly understand what money IS, and how financial systems work? (If not, I want to help you figure it out - by referring you to people who really know what they’re talking about. Don’t take my word for it, please!)
Do you have a healthy relationship with money? (That is, are you aiming to have more and more money because it makes you feel powerful, attractive, high status? Or do you see it as an exchange in order to do more good in the world?)
Are you willing to be part of creating a world where people don’t HAVE to kick each other down in order to secure basic access to land, food, shelter, healthcare and education? (If not, are you willing to look at how living in a Capitalist, individualist society has infiltrated your mindset?)
A Dream of Radical Businesses
One more thing… I had a crazy dream a few weeks ago about a group of entrepreneurs and changemakers getting together to discuss their ideas for how to create business in a way that does NOT aim for profit, growth or exploitation.
In this vision, the visionaries and dreamers that met up had to agree that whatever project, NGO, company, start-up etc that they were beginning would adhere to the following rules:
To limit the number of employees to 50
To have a hard cap on salaries, including that of the CEO
Not to aim for profit but for sustainability
To reduce all unnecessary travel and use of resources
To sell a product that is clearly connected to making the world a better place, e.g. helping with environmental problems and pollution, alleviating suffering, medical breakthroughs etc
To follow radically honest advertising that makes no misleading claims
I know - we’re living in a world full of corruption and monopoly. The “big guys” would probably try to crush us or buy us up. But I’m nothing if not optimistic about the power of large numbers of people to create huge ripples.
I imagine that if you’re still reading by now then you’re not the kind of person who wants to start a business just for the purpose of making money. Even more to the point, I suspect that perhaps you’re the kind of person who recognises the harm that “Business as Usual” is doing to our world, and that you’re hoping for something a little different from your future. You might have an idea for something that will make the world just that little bit brighter, or maybe my ‘radical business’ idea got you excited.
Either way - you’re at home, I’m at home, why don’t we at least chat about how my magical blend of harsh pragmatism and hippy optimism might be able to help you along on your journey?
