Lessons Learned from Steve Chandler

Use time deliberately, question limiting stories, and turn big intentions into small completed actions.

A big dream can inspire you or overwhelm you. The difference often appears in what you do with it today.

You can spend the day describing how much there is to accomplish. Or you can choose a small piece, give it a place on your schedule, and complete it.

In this episode, I explore lessons from Steve Chandler's work, including Time Warrior and The Prosperous Coach. The ideas bring us back to action, service, and the stories we use to explain ourselves.

Give the work a schedule

Wanting to write and scheduling time to write are different things.

A schedule gives you a place to begin. You don't have to reopen the decision every time you feel uncertain about the task.

Choose a defined period and a task for it. During that period, stay with the work rather than looking for something easier to do.

You may begin without knowing exactly what you'll produce. Starting gives you information that waiting for the perfect mood doesn't provide.

Take small steps toward a large direction

A large goal can become a reason to freeze if you try to hold every part of it in your attention at once.

Keep the direction, then identify today's step. What could you complete that would move the work forward?

If you want to build a coaching practice, a step might be clarifying an offer or having a useful conversation. If you want to write, it might be drafting one section.

The action doesn't need to represent the whole dream. It needs to be a real contribution to it.

Distinguish serving from pleasing

One lesson I emphasize from Chandler's work is the difference between serving someone and trying to please them.

As a coach, being helpful can require pointing out a thought pattern a client hasn't noticed. That may be uncomfortable in the moment.

Trying to win approval can pull you away from the work that would actually help. You may agree with a limiting story or avoid a useful question because you don't want someone to dislike the conversation.

Ask what would serve the person or the work. Then notice whether your desire to be liked is changing your response.

Question the stories that hold you back

Some familiar explanations can become limits you stop questioning: There's something wrong with me. I can't because I'm afraid. That's just the way I am.

Write the sentence down. What feeling does it create? What action does it lead to?

In the Self-Coaching Model, thoughts create feelings, which drive actions and results. A belief that something is wrong with you may create shame and hiding. Hiding gives you fewer opportunities to learn and participate.

Consider a more useful thought you can believe. You may be able to learn a skill, act while nervous, or choose a different response than the one you've practiced before.

Use imagination for possibility

You can imagine what might go wrong in great detail. You can also practice imagining what you might create.

When you consider a future beyond your current experience, doubt may appear. Notice it without automatically treating it as the final answer.

Ask what you would try if you were willing to experience some discomfort. What would you create? What would you learn?

Use your imagination to identify possibilities, then choose an action that lets you explore one. A possibility becomes more useful when you engage with it.

Create rather than only describe

Pay attention to the language you use about your life. Are you describing yourself as fixed, or making decisions about what you want to practice next?

“I'm the kind of person who never finishes” keeps your attention on a familiar identity. Deciding to complete one planned task gives you a different experience to build on.

You don't need to wait until you see yourself differently before doing anything. Action can help you discover what you are capable of.

Choose one lesson from this article and apply it today. Schedule a work period, take a small step, or question a limiting sentence. What you learn through doing will give you more than another afternoon spent only thinking about the goal.