I joined the Fast Track Your Dream program (now called the Changing Course Club) in January 2007, nearly two years ago. I had been following Valerie Young’s Changing Course newsletter for quite a while. I almost signed up for the first group she trained to be Outside-The-Box Career Consultants. But I backed out. I didn’t want to spend the money. I joined Fast Track instead to learn more about Valerie’s approach by experiencing it. Two years later, I finally made the real choice.

Valerie has just completed formatting a home-study version of her Outside-The-Box Career Consultant program. It will be ready to ship the first of the year. I was on the priority list to get information as she was developing it and deciding when to launch it. I received notification on Monday she would open sales on Tuesday for 50 people. It’s self-paced, but with support groups planned and her commitment to providing ongoing support as people need it, she limited the number for the first launch.

I got home Tuesday after unexpected errands and hurried to the computer. It was about three hours past the launch time and I wanted to make sure I got to sign up.

The internet was down.

It didn’t come back up until late Tuesday. We had freezing weather and some isolated areas with freezing rain and sleet, but nothing here that would have damaged lines. Besides, it’s cable, so most of it’s in the ground.

Fortunately, I had a message from Valerie herself. We’ve gotten to know each other a little bit over the two years I’ve been in Fast Track. She said she noticed I was on the early notification list for the home-study program and wanted to talk with me about ways to provide support to people who sign up and will be starting or expanding their own businesses. That’s my area of interest. Heck, pretty soon I’ll have the confidence to say that’s my area of expertise. I was definitely interested, and honored.

Valerie reserved a copy for me so I can study the program for myself and develop ways to help other people move their new businesses forward. That will draw on my marketing consultant skills, my coaching skills, my small business ideas, and one of my gifts, creative brainstorming.

In the two years since I decided to wait to take Valerie’s career consultant training, I have spent more money on coach training than I would have spent on her training. I have definitely learned important skills and figured out a lot about helping people find their calling and develop plans to make a career change. But coaching is about helping people find their own answers. The piece that’s missing – a really huge and important piece – is the vault of information, resources, processes, and brainstorming techniques that Valerie provides.

There will be a world of difference in saying to someone, “How do you think you can you make money doing X (that thing you love)?” compared to saying, “Let’s look at some ways you can make money doing X. You could do this, or that, or this completely unexpected but related thing, or…”

I keep saying, and writing, that I want to have the skills of coaching but not just be a coach. It’s too limiting. I think a big part of the limitation is that I love creative brainstorming and generating ideas. Coaching is a lot more about helping people come up with their own ideas and alternatives.

I want to share my ideas with people who can use them. And I want to get paid to do that. Thanks, Valerie!

May You Know the Joy of Sharing Your Gifts,

Steve Coxsey