Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.

“man lifting woman on top of the mountain” by Franciele Cunha on Unsplash

“Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.” - EpictetusI read this quote the other day and it particularly resonated with me from a coaching perspective. Being a big fan of Stoicism, I’m always curious/happy to find something that “clicks” in day-to-day life, and this one really did.When I am introduced to someone for the first time, someone who may or may not need coaching, my goal is not to sell. I don’t pitch. I want us to have a conversation, pure and simple. I want to find out more about them. I want to hear about their struggles, their hopes, their goals. I want to see them smile and wonder. Part of my role there is to make that space the best it can be, so that we have a real interaction instead of a sales meeting.To be brutally honest, I dread hearing someone say “Tell me about your coaching”. Its like saying to me “Turn on that coaching machine there and lets see how it runs”. I prefer to live my philosophy all the time.Stoicism is all about action, as opposed to sitting and mulling. Coaching is all about moving forward together, moving the needle on the things that matter to us.