A friend of mine coaches leaders of billion dollar companies. Twice a year he gathers together a small group of some of the most successful leaders on the planet. These are people who are used to being surrounded by teams who say yes to almost everything they ask. These are people who are used to having almost every request handled instantly and perfectly.

So my friend deliberately books a small, uncomfortable basement room. He deliberately gets their breakfast order completely wrong. And he deliberately shows up 30 minutes late…

Without exception, they are furious at him. At which point, he goes quiet. He looks slowly around the room, into each of their eyes in turn…

And he says, “If you get so mad over a poor quality room and an incorrect breakfast order, what does this say about the state of your decision making in your multi-million dollar company?”

Because each of them has witnessed how furious each of their colleagues has been, this is a true insight-moment. There’s complete silence. And my friend uses the rest of their time together to teach them ways to be resilient in the face of extreme stress and how to make complex decisions in high-stakes situations, with a sense of deep inner calm.

Who challenges your thinking?

You are so much closer to everything you want than you could ever imagine.

In fact, I can say with certainty that there are less than 6 inches between you and everything you want.

You see, your thinking creates your reality. Which means that the distance between you and almost everything you want, is the space between your ears.

Job #1 of an extraordinary leader

is to surround yourself with people

who challenge your thinking.

I spent the past week in London, coaching 12 fascinating people at my Deep Dive. They traveled from as far as Australia, the Middle East, Sweden, Belgium and Scotland.

One was a former leader at one of Europe’s top telecommunication companies, responsible for 10,000 people. Another sold their first business for multiple millions. And another is an acknowledged European leadership expert.

I spent hours and hours challenging their thinking. We coached each other, stretched each other, supported each other – and laughed with each other.

A lot!

I began by digging into their goals. Their 3 year goals and their lifetime goals. Their relationships goals, (who and how that want to love), and their significance goals, (what they want to be known for). We discussed the experience goals, (what they want to feel before they leave this planet), and their contribution goals, (how they want to contribute to the planet).

I helped them to discover their Anti Goals, (what they would need to never do again, in order to turn their dreams into a reality).

I asked them one of my favorite questions: “What’s the what’s the one question you have right now, that if it got answered, would change everything?”

Instead of asking them, “What do you need to do?” I asked them, “What do you need to simplify?”

The two jobs of an extraordinary coach:

1. Look for what your clients cannot see.

2. Say what most people would not dare to say.

I helped them do an energy audit – to see what is draining them – because managing your energy, not your time, is actually the key to high performance.

I taught them how to build a word of mouth business. And I taught them how to be lucky.  Yes, luck is a skill that can be nurtured.

Finally, I drew out of them, their one big thing. And I made sure they left with their tiniest next step.

Talent hotbeds

Throughout history, elite athletes, elite artists and elite performers have always surrounded themselves with other top performers. That’s not elitist. It’s called a talent hotbed.

Can you imagine being coached by me in an intimate group setting – a talent hotbed – for three days straight?

Well, I’m going to be coaching and teaching and messing with people’s thinking at each of our upcoming Deep Dives. We’ll be in Los Angeles in June, Croatia in July, and Toronto in September. There are only a few spots left for each, so why not invest deeply in your future?

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,

it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.

– Seneca

The Deep Dive will be the best professional development you’ve ever had and you’ll leave with connections to some of the most incredible people you’ve ever met.

Love. Rich