You’re really good at lots of things. And there’s probably something that you can do better than most people. But without the help of others, it's possible that you’ll never be as good as you could be. It’s very difficult (even impossible) for us to reach our highest potential without a good and trusted advisor.

World-class tennis player André Agassi valued his trainer even when he’d reached the top levels of his game: ‘Tennis requires subtle adjustments crucial to winning and my coach, Gill, is the best at making them. The older I get, the more valuable he becomes.’ Age and experience don’t necessarily make us better or more skilful; sometimes they just deepen the rut we’ve found ourselves in. In life, just as in the sports world, we’ll never reach a point where we don’t need good input. Even if we’ve reached the top of our skill, or job, or sport, good advice is always valuable. We might make the mistake of measuring ourselves against others instead of our own God-given potential, and in the end we never become what we could have been.

Self-evaluation is important, but the evaluation of others is crucial. A good coach measures our performance against our strengths, not somebody else’s. That’s because they understand what we’re capable of and they’ll push us to reach for it. Good coaches are constantly on the scene, observing, and getting involved. They walk with us and take a personal interest in every success we have, big or small, celebrate with us when things go well, and encourage us when things don’t go to plan. Ruth needed Naomi and Timothy needed Paul. We all need an advisor – who’s yours?

What Now?

Say thank you to anyone who mentors or advises you.