Start With a Win

CHAPTER 9The Trifecta: Mentor/Coach/Mastermind

“Be strong enough to listen, wise enough to ask, and kind enough to help.”

—Adam Contos

Everyone needs someone to talk to whether as a sounding board for ideas, a source for advice, an experienced leader for guidance, or simply a willing ear to listen. Mentors, coaches, and masterminds provide all that and more. Find all three and you hit the trifecta of wins. Sometimes some of those people find you.

THE MENTOR

One evening while still a cop, I was working an off-duty job at a golf course under construction. There had been theft and vandalism at the work site, so my job was to ensure no one entered the premises after dark. I was sitting in my car in the middle of the night when a flashy new Chevrolet Suburban pulled up. Out climbed an energetic man, about 50 years old, smiling broadly and looking very excited. He rushed over to introduce himself as Dave, the owner of the private course.

Dave then invited me to check the property with him. I hopped into the passenger seat of the Suburban, and we took off. Keep in mind that it was dark and this was a mountain course with very steep terrain, so it was tough to see much of anything in our surroundings. That didn't slow Dave at all. He shifted the Suburban into four-wheel low and we were off across the 240 acres of wilderness amid various construction obstacles and piles of dirt. Dave was one of the most fun people I had ever met and seemed unfazed by the challenging terrain he was ...