Jillian Michaels is an excellent life coach. Former star trainer on “Biggest Loser” she recently launched her most recent book,”Unlimited“.

 The author takes the – theme of all of us being able to do what we want to, providing we put our mind to it in the right way. Michaels then does something horrendously practical and actually sets out a methodology for people to move ahead. (I am not a fan of the style but the book is an easy read.)

In one of the earlier chapters, a well-known parable is quoted. A ship or plane never leaves port without having a fixed destination in mind, a plan of the weather and other trouble spots on the way, and a team of resources to help with the journey.

So, if you accept that your body is just a means to transport you where you want to go, why are so few of us non-specific in our intentions? Why are we so afraid to identify direct commercial visions? Why do we let ourselves drift, assuming  – even praying – that something will just turn up?

This week alone in separate mentoring sessions in Jerusalem, I meet two fairly youngish individuals, well-educated and well-intentioned family people. They have dabbled commercially here and there with varying degrees of success. I asked them where they wanted to be in 5 years time. What did they want to do with their lives?

Aside from some greyish responses about being healthy, looking after the kids, etc, nothing was too forthcoming. As I put it to them, I could have received the same response from all the other people in the same building. And they agreed. Their respective ships are drifting aimlessly, but at least the captains have now been alerted to the problem.

From a different perspective, I met up with an established client, who has a well-defined aim as to what she wants to achieve and why. Great. Ask her how, and then the ship starts listing.

• “Oh, I don’t do marketing”, she ways.
• “Why not?”
• “I am no good at it.”
• “Who says?”
• “Me.”
• “When did you last do it properly?”
• “Well, never.”
• “And yet you are very personable, have many friends, have talked your way into your current job by selling yourself. Prove to me that you are no good at selling.”
• SILENCE! 

And that continues to be my role with her, showing what she is capable of with a couple of small changes.

Michaels is correct. It is not just that “we can do it”. That phrase was around way before any American Presidential campaign. People need a methodology. And we should be embarassed to ask others to show them how.