Hey :) 

As a coach, I think one of the most important qualities I need is the ability to meet someone where they’re at.

Every client is different. Different strengths. Different blind spots. Different pace. Some move quickly for six months and then stall. Some move slowly and steadily. Some surprise you. Some frustrate you. My job is to see that clearly and work with what’s actually in front of me.

And I do take that role seriously.

In many cases, I might be the only person in their business life who is willing to sit with them for an hour, really listen, and help them think. That’s not a small thing. There has to be patience. There has to be compassion. They need to know I’m not judging them for being where they are.

But.

My job is also to challenge them.

And sometimes that challenge is not giving them what they ask for.

The other day a client said, “I’m going on a 10-hour flight. What book should I read?”

Now, objectively, I’m a great person to ask. I’ve read a lot. I could have given a thoughtful recommendation in about 10 seconds.

Instead, I asked: What’s the biggest problem you’re trying to solve in your business right now?

Because I knew something.

This particular client does not need another book. They don’t need a webinar. They don’t need a workshop. They don’t need another course.

There is zero learning required right now.

What’s required is action.

So by the end of the session, the answer wasn’t a book recommendation. It was a plan. If you’ve got 10 uninterrupted hours, let’s use it to build. Let’s outline the offer. Let’s refine the positioning. Let’s map the sales process. Let’s draft the thing you’ve been avoiding.

No more consuming. Start creating.

I’ve written before about the balance between spending time in other people’s ideas versus crafting your own. There’s a season for input. Absolutely. But there’s also a point where the balance needs to swing hard in the other direction.

This was one of those moments.

And if I’m honest, I see myself in it.

Ten years ago, my default response to uncertainty was: read another book. Buy another course. Find another expert. Surely the answer is in someone else’s framework.

It felt productive. It felt responsible. It felt like growth.

But a lot of the time, it was avoidance. A distraction. 

The learning you do should come from the problem you’re trying to solve.

If your biggest issue is that you’re not converting leads, then yes — go deep on sales. If you’re not getting inbound interest, then yes — study positioning or marketing. Let the problem dictate the learning.

But if you already know what to do…

If you already have the plan…
If the real issue is execution…

Then another book is just procrastination with better branding.

And to be fair, it’s not entirely your fault. There’s an endless stream of new ideas, courses, masterminds, certifications. It’s very easy to feel like you’re one more insight away from clarity.

I’ve noticed in my own life that I can go long stretches without reading much at all. Not because I’m against learning. But because I’m in a building phase. I’m applying. Shipping. Testing. Iterating.

Even in some of the coaching programs I’m part of, there are months where I barely attend. Not because they’re not valuable. But because I’m doing the work. I’ll dip back in when I’ve earned the next level of input.

There’s a rhythm to this.

Learn.

Apply.

Learn.

Apply.

But most people get stuck in learn.

So maybe the real question isn’t “What book should I read next?”

Maybe it’s:

Have I learned enough for now?
Is it time to tip the balance the other way?
Is it time to stop preparing… and start building?

🗣️ 👀

Chris.