I once read an article about “The Naked Hermit”, a man who left civilization to go live by himself on a secluded island for almost 30
years.
He wasn’t happy with his life in Japan, so he said “screw it”. He sailed off to go walk around naked and enjoy nature by himself on his own patch of land in the ocean.
(Apparently he loved his life there, but got booted off by authorities recently).
Running an online coaching business often feels like you’re living on a secluded island too, and like our hermit friend, clothing is optional since most coaches work from a home office.
Not like a secluded island you say?
Sure, you get to talk with clients and contacts on Zoom every day, and you carry on conversations by email and on social media.
But it can still be very isolating. If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to fall into the trap of working a ton of hours and not getting outside to see other living people.
And if your business is struggling, you can’t talk with your clients about your challenges or ask them for help.
I compare it to Tom Hanks’ character in "Castaway" – and we don’t even have a volleyball named “Wilson” to keep us company.
It may not seem like this feeling of isolation is widespread in the coaching community, judging by the smiling faces and picture perfect posts on social media, but off-the-record plenty of coaches have admitted to me that they feel lonely at times.
If you’re feeling that way, don’t despair. One of the perks of my Secret Coach Club print newsletter is subscribers get to “pick my brain” if they need my help, or need a shot in the arm.
Secret Coach Club isn’t just a print newsletter – I want my subscribers to succeed, and I’m here to support them.
If you need your own “Wilson” to keep you going during the rough times, check it out (the deadline for the March issue is tonight at midnight EST):
Marc Mawhinney