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Sponsors_Mentors_and_Coaches_Oh_My
| Sponsors, Mentors and Coaches, Oh My!
You've seen the ads. Let me sponsor you. Mentor Available. Now
the latest is, coach. What's the difference?
As always, I like to start with dictionary definitions and take
it from there.
Webster's New World tells you that:
a SPONSOR is one who assumes a certain degree of responsibility
for another in any of various ways.
a MENTOR is a wise, loyal advisor.
a COACH is an instructor or trainer as of athletes, actors, or
singers.
All worthy definitions.
So often on the Internet, the ads attack us with exaggerations,
misconceptions and outright lies. It doesn't take long to see
through the hype and know that the person writing the ad is not
a sponsor, a mentor or a coach, but aims at filling his or her
own pockets at your expense.
If you got on the phone and talked to the person, you'd probably
find that they didn't even write the ad themselves, but rather
took their "sponsor's" ad and stuck it into an email and whipped
it off to an ezine or safe list. C'mon, fess, up haven't you
done this at the beginning? (You don't have to 'fess up if
you're still doing it. Just stop!)
How many sponsors have you known who "assume a certain degree of
responsibility?"
If you have not yet found the sponsor for you, then why not try
to be the sponsor that you would like your sponsor to be? Taking
responsibility means, stop sending the hypey ads. Take a really
good look at the business you've got and decide what you like
about it and why it would be good for others. Write from your
heart, not from your nervous system which may be worrying about
paying the bills.
A mentor? A wise, loyal advisor. Okay, I'll go along with this
one, but I think if I ever see another ad advertising a mentor,
I will laugh. How many of us, all novices in a novice medium,
the Internet, can claim wisdom? And have you seen anyone loyal
to any program on the Net? I'm afraid that although wisdom and
loyalty is definitely something to aspire to, it's escaped our
grasp so far. So don't look for a mentor or try to be one.
Sponsorship is quite enough to aim for right now.
But what about the newest craze, coaching? Exactly what are
coaches and what is coaching? Here are some definitions garnered
from professional coaches.
Coaching is one-one-one guidance and extended support for
personal and professional growth and change. -Laura Berman
Fortgang http://www.intercoach.com
Coaching is not to be confused with consulting, psychotherapy,
training, teaching or mentoring. It is completely unique. The
primary role of today's professionally trained coach is to help
someone clarify his (her) business and personal goals, help him
craft an action plan that helps move him into action and then
holds him accountable each step of the way without pressuring or
judging him. - Hilton Johnson http://www.coachtrainer.com
Life Coaching is about a trusting, confidential and supportive
relationship that you direct. And working together week-to-week
with your Life Coach will help you move forward far faster, and
go far further, than you might now imagine. It is also very
convenient and affordable. -Steve Mitten http://www.acoach4u.com/
Coaching is about the client, not the coach. So don't confuse
coaching with training. Training implies teaching something you
know to another, whereas couching discovers and enhances an
already existing skill and helps people find and reach their
goals.
Do you need a sponsor, mentor or coach? Do you want to be a
sponsor, mentor or coach? In either case, coaching just might be
a good place to start.
A good sponsor will ask you to list your short term and long
term goals as the first step in your training; a good coach will
help you discover them. And a mentor? With a good coach, you
won't need one. You'll be your own wise advisor.
About the author:
Gloria Reibin, owner of Advantage E-Com, also serves as a Team
Coach for Free Leads for Life. You can visit her two websites at
http://advantageecom.com and http://teamcoach.freeleads4life.com
You can subscribe to her CyberMarketing ezine by emailing
mailto:subscribe_ezine@advantageecom.com
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