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.