I remember a hockey coach one time who was asked why a certain player was performing so well for the past several games. The coach replied that he had been putting in extra time talking with him every day and the results showed his efforts paying off. Sadly, the coach had to explain why the same player was not playing so well a few weeks later, and he could only say that he just couldn’t spend that much time with this young man. I won’t reveal the name of the coach or player, because both are alive and don’t need the extra attention that this note could give them.
I do however wish to comment on several entertainers who were brilliant in their fields but who seemed to have some other problems with their lives. If these people were coached early enough in their careers, they might still be with us and performing brilliantly.
One of them was the great Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau. Those who know his music knew that he was brilliant at his best. He had a style of picking that was a cross between country and flamenco, and he could take an old standard and turn it into something exciting. Early in his life, he started having problems with money, people and then turned to drugs to escape. Eventually, the drugs took over and he lost the battle. The right coach might have been able to help him deal with his demons. Or perhaps find some people who could help him deal with them. We are worse off for the loss.
Another celebrity was the well known entertainer Michael Jackson. We will probably never know why Jackson changed his appearance from his African American heritage to a Caucasian image, and lord knows he sure seemed to have a whole host of other challenges, but if the right coach had been there in the early stages, Jackson might still be performing his brilliant dance steps, and creating more great videos, but alas, no coach was there for him.
Elvis Presley was another performer who died young, possibly obsessed by his mothers death at an early age. He actually lived as long as she and used a combination of drugs to help keep him alive. What could a coach have done to help him deal with his changing fortunes: Life coaching, Career Coaching?
All of the above are just ordinary people who became larger than life and have the same problems and challenges we all have. Clearly however, they needed some answers to some of their questions, so they could have chosen a better path than the one they did finally choose. We know that a good coach could have made a favorable impact!
Perhaps some association should be keeping an eye on these people, and when the first sign of trouble pops up, they should be offered the opportunity to see how coaching could help. Of course, that might be easier said than done, but other crooners like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Paul McCartney, Burton Cummings, achieved massive success and were able to handle it. I don’t know if they had a little help. But these other three needed something, and didn’t get it, and we are worse off because of it.
Brett McBurnie www.salescoachingservices.ca
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Brett McBurnie Brett McBurnie comes to coaching from a diverse and unique background. Born in Toronto in 1951, he attended school in East York and eventually went on to study Classical Studies (Greek and Latin); at the University of Toronto , with the purpose in mind of pursuing a general but well rounded education. Full Profile & Contact Information...
