Coaching Conundrum

Jack Canfield's company sent me an e-mail with a special offer which linked to a website which, to make a long story short, was a front for his coaching program.

Now Jack Canfield offers perhaps the finest success coaching program around.   It's very organized, structured and I'm sure very, very good.

I had applied for it once before, about a year or two ago but was amazed when they turned me down.   Apparently being totally confident of my abilities wasn't a good thing in there eyes.  

Unexpectedly given the opportunity again, I had to admit, despite my confidence last time, I still was not living the life I desired. 

While I was (and am) taking the 100 Day Challenge I wasn't exactly working that program hard, despite having a challenge buddy (She needs to kick my ass more).   I am still working on the website, to be sure, barely touching my book editting at the moment,  making progress on a relationship with a truly outstanding woman (Thank you God!!), keeping steady with my exercises and nicely toning my body.  Heck, except for working on my book (currently need to do a query letter for an agent that's coming to my writing class), I'm actually doing pretty good...   But I really need to be applying myself a lot harder if I expect to generate the kind of results I want.   A lot harder.  A lot smarter and a lot more efficiently. 

Perhaps a Canfield Coach could help with that.

So I went throught the process, was approved and committed my $3,899.00 US.

What?!  Yeah, that's  a good chuck of change all right.  What does it get you?

A program to follow.   8 thirty minutes calls from your coach.   Unlimited access to their coach line for six months.   If you havn't had results after six months despite doing everything they asked, they continue to work with you free of charge.

The vast bulk of the work, is, of course, with you.   I had to commit to working thier program 30 minutes a day (about 5 hours a week), being called by or calling their coach weekly for six month.  Doing various exercises and reviews.  After all if you don't work the program, the program can't work.

Here's the thing.   I told my best friend and she reminded me that I am already an expert in the field. 

Honestly, she's right.    I've been studying personal development for over 20 years now.   I've studied the greats from Waddles, Hill, Carnagie, Covey, Robbins, Proctor, Nightingale, Zigler, Hicks, Canfield himself amoungst others, watched 'The Secret' multiple times, and attacked it from the religious angle through church, Osteen, Peale, and others.

I had no expectations that this coach would tell me any new insightful information.   I only expected him to remind me about what I already knew.  To put me on a program.  To hold me accountable.

Wait.  What?  That's when it hit me.   Why am I paying someone $4,000.00 Cdn to tell me what I already know?   To put me on a program I can just as well create myself or simply purchase Jack Canfield's book 'The Success Principals'  and derive from that?  To hold me accountable?  Why don't I just man-up and grow-up and commit 30 minutes a day to myself?  Review and coach myself?  And damn well pay myself $4,000.00.

So that's exactly what I'm going to do.  I've cancelled with Canfield and I'm going to take that money (from my credit card) and put it into my own (high interest) Savings Account.   There it will sit for six months, untouched, while I devote thirty minutes a day to personal development, review weekly and coach myself using twenty years of knowledge.   If I obtain significant results - minimum result would be to have earned an additional $4,000.00 and paid off the credit card. Then I'll move the $4,000.00 payment into my active chequeing account.   If I don't.  Then I'll give myself a money back guarantee and fully reimburse myself.

What do I have to lose?  A bit of interest and six months?   What do I stand to lose with Canfield's Coaching?  Six months and four grand.  Bottom line is if I don't work the program for myself, then almost certainly I wouldn't have been working it properly for them either.   I mean how accountable can a guy thousands of miles away hold you anyway?  It's not like he's holding my money for ransom.   It would be gone already, I would have nothing more to lose.

If I fail to work the program, maybe I'll make that one big charitable donation.  That would be a better incentive.  Earn $4,000.00 (and then get paid another $4,000.00 to do so) or lose $4,000.00.   Like most people, I'll probably work harder to keep what I have than to gain what I don't.  Except in this case, I'd be doing both.