Take Your Shot

CHAPTER 1

Overview

Russ works every hour he can at a job he loves, but he is late, broke, tired, and missing time with the family he is trying to support. The harder he pushes, the further behind he falls, and he has no idea what to change.

A Dark Morning

Russ wakes at 5:15 a.m. to frost and darkness. He bangs his thigh on the corner of the bed, gets dressed in the dark so he won't wake his 11-month-old son Jacob, and leaves with his shirt inside out.

The Business

He had worked 13 of the last 14 days and hadn't taken a real holiday in six months. A payment on the joint account was declined. His golf coaching business, Driving Force, was barely supporting the family. His client Jeremy texts at the last minute to cancel a fourth 7 a.m. lesson. Russ loses £25 and still owes the course a fixed fee for every booked lesson.

Key Takeaways

• Look at your client agreements for terms that cost you money when a client pulls out. Every booking you lose money on eats into what you keep.
• A declined payment tells you there's no room for error in your finances. Build a buffer before the next one hits.
• Take real time away from work before your body and your relationships make you. Day after day without a break turns small tasks into accidents.
• When you're exhausted and make small mistakes, don't brush them off. They're telling you to change your routine.

CHAPTER 2

Overview

A golf pro needs more money and more time with family. His schedule is already full, lessons keep cancelling, and every hour he sells pulls both goals further away. So what do you do when working harder and longer stops helping?

A golf pro named Russ had a cancellation one day. A walk-in customer asked about lessons, and Russ blurted out, "How long have you got?" The man, David, turned out to be a business coach. Russ asked him what that involves.

David's approach

• He coaches the person, not the business, so the client relationship matters most. Anyone who answers "yes, but" is not coachable.
• He focuses on how products are built, how they're priced, and what value they promise.
• Packaging, his word for building value into a product, lets clients charge more and makes sales and marketing simpler.
• Mindset and productivity keep clients moving with clear goals.

Terms and a reading recommendation

Lessons are £25 an hour, same weekly slot, payment at the end. David's parting advice was to read Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. The secret: you can always have more, as long as you know exactly what more looks like and you want it badly enough to never back down.

Key Takeaways

• Screen for coachability before taking anyone on. A prospect who objects to every suggestion won't be helped by any tool.
• Build the value into the offer itself. Packaging is what allows a higher price and removes friction from the sale.
• Keep terms plain and fixed: same weekly slot, payment at the end, so money never becomes the subject of the work.
• Keep clients active with clear goals. Attitude and follow-through, not new tools, are what carry progress between sessions.
• Growth is always available, but only act on it once you can say plainly what more looks like and want it without doubt.

CHAPTER 3

Overview

A coach can book every hour of the week and still lose money. Effort and care alone don't fix that. Something outside the coach's control keeps getting in the way. Steady teaching is what makes it possible to build a life on this work.

Cancellations

Four lessons cancelled. Jeremy was dropped after three misses. Once, six of eight clients cancelled on a rainy Saturday, leaving Russ cleaning all day. He worried about money, Susan wanting him to find a job, and his children's future.

The Lesson

Russ earns £25 per lesson and pays the course £5 even when clients cancel. David, whose "Always be the Coach" rule means helping when he can, asks his biggest challenge. Russ wants clients to show up so he can help them improve. David offers guaranteed attendance and more money if Russ follows weekly instructions. The first task:

• Write one-year goals.
• Write three-year goals.
• Write five-year goals.
• Write ten-year goals.
• Share them with Susan.
• Discuss next week.

Key Takeaways

• Repeated cancellations are a problem with how the business works. Empty sessions still cost you preparation, travel, and emotional energy.
• When someone brings you a difficulty, help them as a coach would: ask what is hardest for them before offering your own solution.
• Put your ambitions on paper for different time frames, from the coming year to a decade out, so short-term setbacks can be compared to your long-term goals.
• Share those written aims with the person who shares your daily life, then bring the conversation back to your coach and use your coach's help to get clients to show up and earn more.

CHAPTER 4

Overview

David paid Russ £595 on 6 November 2016 for eight golf lessons. He asked Russ to write one-, three-, five- and ten-year goals with Susan. Susan called the exercise unrealistic. Russ wrote a list of things he wanted to buy. David saw that Russ cared most about family, loved golf, and made money when clients came in, got results, and paid.

David's Lesson on Setting Goals

Think of golf balls as activities. The flag is the target. Two clubs form a path toward the customer journey. Activities outside that path are noise. Ask yourself: does this bring me closer? Your gut is right 90% of the time. Chasing whatever new thing pops up is the biggest mistake. Putting things off is the fastest way to fail.

Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich

Have a specific goal. Have a strong desire. Take positive action.

A goal is clear and has a deadline. To earn £100,000 in twelve months, charging £500 per client means you need 200 clients. Charging £2,000 per client means you need 50. A study David cites found 60% of people based their future wealth on lottery winnings, but only 48% bought tickets. So 52% wanted to win without ever buying a ticket.

Key Takeaways

Write your one-, three-, five- and ten-year goals with the people they're meant to serve in the room. A list made alone, with no why behind it, becomes a wish list nobody else recognises.

Before you commit to any activity, check it against your target. If it doesn't move you toward the customer journey, it's noise. Cutting it helps more than adding the next good idea.

Put your why, your purpose and your how on paper before the next opportunity shows up. Chasing the new and delaying what matters kills your momentum.

Turn an income target into a client count before you set a price. The same figure can mean 200 sales or 50. Simple math, not luck, decides the work in front of you.

Wanting a result without acting on it is worthless. Give a goal a deadline and a desire, so positive action is the only thing left to do.