Help Best

Quickcast: Coaching vs Mentorship

In this quickcast, I’ll explain the difference between coaching and mentorship, and why it matters for our approach as mentors.

**Coaching** is about helping people execute a model or strategy with precision and skill. Coaches focus on **tactics**, removing roadblocks and obstacles, and ensuring the client is doing the right thing at the right time. A good coach can execute a proven strategy or model with **virtuosity**, ensuring clients make faster progress without wasting time.

On the other hand, **mentorship** is about **strategic guidance** and **long-term planning**. Mentors help clients navigate the journey ahead, providing insights into broader concepts, building a path forward, and helping clients avoid common mistakes. While a mentor might help clients with high-level decisions, they don't get involved in every detail of execution. They focus on the **big picture**, helping clients avoid blind spots, and offering connections and resources to fill in the gaps.

In our current model, we’re not in the mentorship business, we’re in the **coaching** business. Our job is to help gym owners **apply** the model we’ve developed to grow their gyms effectively. The toolkit we provide has been tested and refined through years of work, and it’s our job to **help clients follow it precisely**.

That means, as mentors, we **don’t create new models** or **explore untested strategies**. Instead, we deliver the **proven, step-by-step actions** within our toolkit, and we help clients execute with **speed** and **precision**.

**So, when a mentor comes across a new idea or strategy (like from Tinker, other podcasts, or books), they should be very cautious about introducing it to a client without evidence that it’s been tested and refined in the field.** For example, the “Bring a Friend Day” is a proven strategy that works. We don’t need to reinvent it—introducing a “Bring a Friend Week” may sound interesting, but there’s no evidence that it’s more effective. Instead, it just adds complexity.

This is where we need to shift the focus: it’s not about introducing new ideas, it’s about helping clients execute **what already works** in a way that delivers consistent and predictable outcomes.

Ultimately, the most important thing we can do as mentors is to **stop reinventing the wheel** and focus on refining and applying the model we’ve already established.

Remember, **we are coaches, not mentors.** Our job is to help clients apply a proven model, **not invent new ones**. Stick to the toolkit, deliver it with precision, and get clients the results they’ve invested in.

In this episode of Help Best, I talk about learned helplessness—how it develops in mentorship relationships and how we can prevent it. When clients become overly dependent on their mentors for every step, they stop progressing independently. Our job as mentors isn't to do the work for them; it's to guide them in adopting the Simple Six model, helping them overcome internal barriers, and empowering them to sustain their own success.

We speed up their adoption of the model by providing tools, instructions, and mentorship—not by solving every problem for them. Long-term success comes when clients can run and grow their gyms independently. Our role is to hold them accountable and coach them through essential habits, like focus, without creating a dependency on us.

Ultimately, mentorship should help clients become self-sufficient entrepreneurs capable of scaling and thriving on their own terms. Learned helplessness occurs when we let them off the hook for responsibilities that build resilience and success.

Hope this episode helps you reflect on your role as a mentor and inspires new ways to foster independence in your clients.

Podcast Summary: Turning Questions Around - Being the Mirror

Welcome to Help Best, the weekly quickcast where I share skills and tactics to help our mentor team guide gym owner clients to success. In today’s episode, I’m talking about an incredibly powerful coaching tactic: turning the question around or being the mirror.

I start with a personal story about a pivotal moment in my life. Ten years ago, I was considering a big move but felt unsure. A friend asked me a simple but profound question: "What could they say that would make you stay?" That question made me realize there was nothing that would keep me where I was. It gave me the clarity I needed to make a difficult decision. Fast forward to today, when I faced a similar question about staying on as CEO of my company. The same question rocked me again, prompting deep reflection.

At a recent Strategic Coach meeting, I noticed that the coach never answered questions directly but instead turned questions around on the person asking. This technique—acting as a mirror—helps clients discover their own answers and make stronger, more confident decisions.

In this episode, I explain how you can use this strategy in your mentorship calls. Often, the best mentors aren’t there to provide answers; they’re there to help clients uncover the truth they already know deep down. I share seven powerful questions you can use, each tied to specific challenges gym owners frequently face:

"What would happen if you didn't make this change?"

Example: Hesitating to increase prices despite low profitability.

"What would success look like if you solved this problem?"

Example: Retaining clients after a short-term challenge ends.

"What is stopping you from taking action right now?"

Example: Avoiding hiring because of fear of finding the right person.

"If you could wave a magic wand, what would be different in your business?"

Example: Wanting more time to focus on strategy instead of operations.

"How would your future self thank you for making this decision today?"

Example: Debating whether to introduce semi-private training.

"What do you know deep down that you're afraid to admit?"

Example: Knowing a tough conversation with an underperforming staff member is needed.

"What is the smallest first step you can take right now?"

Example: Overwhelmed by marketing but starting with scheduling one post.

I close with a challenge for you: on your next mentorship call, test this mirroring strategy. Come prepared with a few of these questions and see how your client’s mindset shifts as they find their own answers.

Being the mirror can change lives, and it can change businesses. Let's keep helping gym owners succeed, one powerful question at a time.

Summary:

In this episode, I explain how the Two-Brain Avatar chart helps mentors identify and overcome behaviors that slow or accelerate a client's progress toward their Net Owner Benefit (NOB) goal. While the curriculum itself works for everyone given enough time, the timeline depends on how quickly a client does the work.

I break down the key avatars—like the Eager, Buddy, and Cynic—and explain how each type requires different mentoring strategies. Great mentors don't change the curriculum; they adapt their approach to fit the client. This chart is our tool for speeding up client outcomes.

If you want your clients to reach their goals faster, this episode is for you.

The Simple Six is the Two-Brain Business mentorship operating system.

After a client has built the basics in Stage 1 and created their metrics dashboard in Stage 2, we use those metrics to determine their Next Best Step.

https://vimeo.com/899043103/8f17186a69?share=copy

Here are the steps:

Look at their metrics and their targets in the Dashboard.

Find their biggest gap (current metrics vs target)

Scroll down the Toolkit to find a list of Projects to improve that metric

Choose a Project to solve their problem

Break the Project down into Tasks (usually 3-4)

Assign the Tasks in the Dashboard.

These steps fit into the Growth Call template, right after you get them out of “story state” and focused on the present opportunities.

Podcast Summary: Lessons on Coaching from Dan Sullivan & Strategic Coach

In this episode, I share key lessons from Strategic Coach founder Dan Sullivan that will help mentors guide entrepreneurs toward greater success:

• Focus on Unique Ability: Help clients identify and amplify their greatest strengths while delegating or eliminating the rest.
• Measure Progress Backward, Not Forward: Shift focus from the future to celebrating past wins and growth (The Gap vs. The Gain).
• Prioritize Four Freedoms: Coach clients to make decisions that maximize freedom in time, money, relationships, and purpose.
• Simplify First, Then Multiply: Encourage clients to simplify their businesses by focusing on the 20% of actions driving 80% of results.
• Ask Transformational Questions: Use powerful questions to help clients clarify their vision and solve challenges, like:
• "What has to happen for you to feel happy about your progress?"
• "What’s the biggest obstacle holding you back?"
• "Who, not how, can solve this problem?"
• Create Repeatable Frameworks for Growth: Guide clients to develop predictable systems and routines for consistent progress and sustainability.

👉 These principles align with our mission to help gym owners grow their businesses while achieving balance and freedom. Listen now for actionable tips you can apply with your clients today!

The first coaching business I ever owned was called FOCUS. The tshirts said, “The continued evolution of the species”.

Evolution never ends. The human body - and the species - is constantly adapting to changes in our environment, our lifestyle and the demands we make of it.. 

Unfortunately, in many areas of the world, the species is actually devolving. We’re living longer, but we’re less healthy. Our lifespan is being increased by drugs and long-term bed care, but our healthspan is decreasing thanks to an overabundance of carbs and a shortage of movement. We’re living longer, but not better.

For the first time in history, many of my generation will have shorter, sicker lives than their parents did. I want to fix this problem. The people who are best suited to turn the tide are fitness coaches.

But just as our clients are always evolving, the field of fitness must evolve. 

When I started coaching fitness back in 1998, no one had a cell phone. Few people had personal trainers. There was no CrossFit. No gyms had bumper plates. No one did any biometrics tracking and nobody really thought about healthspan.

My parents’ generation was told to eat low-fat meals and go jogging. But most of them grew up without excess, and didn’t really need a gym, let alone a trainer. Look at television from the 70s and 80s: the “fat people” were barely even chubby.

My grandparents wouldn’t understand what I did or how anyone could make a living at it.

But my kids’ generation sees fitness as a necessity. In only 50 years, we’ve gone from “only weirdos join a gym” to “everyone needs to work out at least 4x/week…and it’s probably not enough.”

The need for change is larger than ever. And we do have new tools: new science to point us toward what’s best. New technology to measure our food and our sleep and our fitness, and tell us whether we’re improving - or even help us to improve. New societal acceptance and awareness of the pursuit of fitness. If you aren’t working out, you know someone who is. New working conditions, especially post-Covid, create more time for exercise, meditation, and proper grocery shopping. New supplements are everywhere (and many of them are even helpful). HRT and available and, for some people, the new GLP drugs will actually encourage them to change. 

We even understand the science of change better. We know that people who don’t exercise aren’t necessarily lazy; that nobody actually has a “sweet tooth”, and that we can change our bodies by changing our habits.

WHo’s evolving the field of fitness? Who’s taking all of these tools and making them useful on the front lines of fitness: in the gyms, studios and clubs?

There’s a gap between the lab and the university and the researchers, and the coaches actually applying the knowledge to change lives. Who’s bridging that gap?

Is it the certifying bodies? No.

Is it the universities? No.

Is it the licensing boards for dietitians and therapists? No.

We’re going to do it.

The purpose of this podcast is to introduce you to new research, technology, and methods that will get your clients results. But it’s not enough for me to say “here’s why training in Zone 2 matters” - we’re going to tell you how to use it in your coaching practice to get clients results. 

It’s cool to talk about HRV and watch your clients wear a Whoop…but how do you use that to change their program, or even talk about it with them? We’re going to give you that.

I’m really into this stuff and have been for over 30 years. But the evolution of the industry can’t pass through me - I’m too slow. So I’ve invited some mentors from Two-Brian, successful gym owners and coaches, to help me out.

Kenny Markwardt

Brian Bott

Chris Guerrero

…and more.

We’ve also started a free public facebook group called STrengthCoachCollective.com . There are already over 3000 coaches in that group.

And we’re putting together a book - maybe a series - to teach the fundamentals of changing clients’ lives. There are lots of methods out there; but how do you use those methods together? How do you apply new knowledge to old methods that aren’t evolving?

We’ll be talking to coaches live at the Two-Brain summit this year, and hosting more coach get-togethers in the future.

What do we make from this? Not money - I have nothing to sell you, no certifications, and our books don’t make money (they cost money to write, produce and publish). What we make from this is a difference. We make evolution. We make science applicable. 

We make better coaches who create bigger change.

You, in turn, are the one that matters most. You’re the one out there at 5am, smiling your way through the hard work of changing lives. You’re the one answering their texts when you should be relaxing after dinner. You’re the one carrying programming ideas in your head when you’re trying to go to sleep. 

I know it’s stressful; I know it’s hard work to carry another’s burden. In closing, here’s some advice for managing the daily battle of coaching:

Here’s the secret cure for stress: do something nice for someone else.

You’ll feel better right away. If you don’t, double the dose.

Coaching is one of the ways I “give.” I’m a very active coach, and after two clients or classes, I’m spent. Yes, I charge for my time (and you do, too) but consider what we’re giving people:

The only time they’ll hear “You are doing a great job!” all day.

The only measurable accomplishment they’ll probably make all week.

The only genuine greeting (“It’s great to see you!”) they’ll get from most people.

The only “fast hour” of all 24.

The only screen-free conversation they’ll have before bedtime.

Hugs, PRs, and all that stuff.

Joy.

After almost 20 years as a coach, I’ve learned the best way to deal with stress is to just. go. coach.

Stressed about a nasty email? Go coach.

Worried about the rent? Go coach.

Tired? Achy? Sad about the weather? Go coach.

The secret to life is to make other people happy. You’re doing that. Go coach.

When it comes to motivating gym owners, we often focus on what they stand to gain by doing the work. We paint the picture of a thriving gym, loyal staff, and financial freedom—but sometimes, that vision isn’t enough to get them moving. Here’s the truth: humans are wired to fear loss more than they hope for gain.

In this episode, we’re flipping the script. Instead of asking, “What will the client gain by doing this work?” we’ll explore the powerful question, “What does the client have to lose if they don’t?”

We’ll break it down into three key areas where clients stand to lose the most:

Staff Retention and Pay

Business Sustainability

Client Experience

In this episode, we introduce the concept of negative motivation—using the fear of loss as a tool to drive action. You’ll learn how to ask the right questions to help clients visualize the real cost of inaction. Sometimes, helping a client see the consequences of staying stuck is the nudge they need to move forward.

Humans fear loss more than they hope for gain. Use this to your advantage.

• Ask clients hard questions about what’s at stake if they don’t act.

• Help them visualize the real cost of inaction—on their staff, business, and clients.

This is about empowering clients to take action—not scaring them, but giving them a clear, honest perspective. The right question could make all the difference.

0:00: Hey team, so this week on the Health Best podcast,, I'm going to talk about how fixing the owner can fix the business and how we move avatars from red to yellow to green.

0:14: And understanding that someone's nature in, let's say, one of the yellow avatars can still hang around even if they're doing all the things and all the actions that a green avatar can do.

0:28: So, if you ever feel like your mentees or clients are making progress, but they still slip back into old habits, it's not so much failure, it's part of the process.

0:37: So, We just want to talk about,, you know, just because someone is green, it doesn't doesn't mean that, you know, it's set and forget, and that the work is done.

0:47: And so, we need to figure out how to consistently move mentees from those red and yellow to green avatars.

0:56: And then, why even that green avatars can sometimes swerve and how we can manage those things.

1:02: And then looking at mentorship as one big habits-based challenge.

1:09: So, we all know green avatars are those, you know, dialed, eager and classic avatars, where the client is focused, they're consistent, and they're making progress.

1:17: And we know that the yellow flat and stalled avatars, the client is moving a little bit, but they lack direction or confidence, and they're stuck in cycles of inconsistency.

1:29: And then that red avatar where, you know, the person's overwhelmed, they're resistant to change, and they're sabotaging their own progress.

1:36: So, it's just important to remember that even when a mentee gets to the green level, they can still maintain some of those old habits, some of those right side habits,, they can linger around.

1:49: So, we cannot change who someone is quickly.

1:53: And it's important to realize that.

1:54: So real change happens through the mintes consistent action and guidance.

1:59: So, mentorship is a lot like fitness, so results are step by step, brick by brick.

2:04: It's not about one-time fixes or, you know, repeating poor habits.

2:10: It's about making sure that we can stack good habits on top of more good habits.

2:15: So, if we take the example of the recent Golden hour challenge, you know, it's just with higher accountability, more frequent course correction for the mentee, and some deeper reflection on their habits.

2:27: So, we often say, fix the owner, fix the business.

2:30: And it really is true that if the owner changes, the business will follow suit, and it's more to do with the mindset shift that happens over months and years in that mentee that actually gets the business moving forward.

2:42: So what we're really looking to do is rewire the Minte thought process and strip away those self-sabotaging tendencies they've carried around, probably their whole lives.

2:50: So, going from red to yellow,, starting with those things like small wins, simple, clear priorities, and building trust, and then going from yellow to green is, you know, making sure that we're tying things back to their goals, and it's something personal, and that we're holding them accountable, and then celebrating their wins.

3:11: So, that's absolutely huge that we can do that, but we need to realize that it's not linear, it's not a linear process.

3:16: Someone could go from red to green.

3:19: And the thing to realize is that those red tendencies can hang around.

3:23: So, what does it look like if a client is green?

3:26: So they're taking action, but they still have some of those swerving tendencies.

3:30: So they might look dialed in, but they overcommit, they procrastinate, and they bounce between ideas.

3:36: It's not really aggression, it's more residue from their previous avatar, and I think that hangs around in everybody.

3:44: Why it happens is because that mindset isn't fully rewarded yet.

3:48: It's like muscle memory, old habits remain until the new patterns become second nature.

3:54: So, it's important to realize that mintes may revert under stress, or during stretch periods when they're they're growing.

4:01: And even with progress, small doubts can nudge them back into their right-sided tendencies.

4:06: So that's why accountability and frequent check-ins are critical, even for green clients.

4:12: So, the real goal here is to movementies permanently to green by eroding those, you know, yellow and red tendencies and those thought patterns.

4:23: So, how we do that is catch it early.

4:25: So, be vigilant for, even if they're green mentee, signs of swerving.

4:30: You know, someone's saying things like, you know, haven't we done this already?

4:33: I've already done that.

4:34: , then we need to reframe things like failures as feedback.

4:39: So, when they stumble, we need to normalize it, turn it into data, and not defeat.

4:44: We need to help them prioritize momentum over perfection, so those small actions always are better than big plans.

4:53: And then tie their progress to their identity.

4:56: So, you know, make sure that we're reinforcing that they are evolving themselves.

5:01: You know, you're you're not just successful, you're showing up consistently.

5:06: So, we know that on average it takes 2 years, 1 month, 9 days to hit, you know, net owner benefit goals.

5:12: But what happens in the year leading up to that?

5:15: Most often than not, my thought is that it's avatar shifts from yellow to green.

5:20: It's not just revenue growth, it's that mental shift that creates the foundation.

5:25: So as mentors, our main job is to accelerate that shift.

5:29: So the faster that we can shift those avatars to the left hand side to those green tendencies, the faster the mintes grow, the faster the business grows.

5:37: So here's some practical steps that I've taken from a swerving green minte, if that even makes sense.

5:44: , this guy in particular, was doing the work, but consistently swerving, you know, thinking that he'd already tried it and going to try different things all the time.

5:55: You know, a lot of shiny object syndrome.

5:57: So some practical steps to defeat things like that.

6:00: Frequent check-ins, make sure they're shorter, more frequent check-ins to build momentum.

6:04: Don't wait for the the monthly call with this person.

6:07: , address small swerves as you see them.

6:10: If they don't show up for a bright spot, you know, tag them.

6:14: , the next thing is to catch those yellow habits early.

6:17: So, if they look green,,, but, you know, they're doing things that possibly cast some doubt, like procrastinate or overthink, you know, make sure that we get them back on track as quickly as possible.

6:31: And then lastly, it's focusing on habits, not just strategy, which is why the golden hour is so powerful for everybody, whether they are green, yellow or red.

6:41: And more so for people who have moved to green.

6:44: , it's important that they stay consistent and stick to the process and not revert back to their old mentality.

6:51: So, it's the real growth that happens in those daily habits.

6:54: So make sure you're encouraging time audits, Eisenhower matrix, like someone said a few weeks ago.

7:00: , that you're holding them accountable, and that they're regularly reflecting on what they're doing and how they're doing it.

7:08: So To round it up, shifting avatars is a lot like just coaching someone through their fitness journey.

7:15: It requires constant guidance, not quick wins, and if we're trying to move people from red to yellow, keeping them dialed at green, consistency is the secret weapon.

7:26: So, if we think about any avatars that we've got,, any clients that we've got that we've moved from possibly swerving or lost some red or some yellow minties, and they're now green, possibly just check in on them and make sure that they're not going back to their old tendencies.

In this episode, we tackle a common challenge for mentors: navigating conversations when clients bring up personal struggles that take the focus off their business. You'll learn how to acknowledge their feelings empathetically, pivot the conversation back to actionable business strategies, and use simple phrases to refocus on what you can control. By staying in your role as a business mentor, you’ll help clients achieve the results they need while still showing care and support.

How to Pivot the Conversation (2-3 minutes)

• Use Future-Focused Questions:
• "What’s one thing we can work on today to help you feel more in control?"
• "How can we make sure your business feels like a source of stability while you’re dealing with this?"
• Redirect to Actionable Steps:
• "Let’s focus on something we can change right now—what’s the top priority in your business today?"
• "I know this is a tough time, but let’s make sure your business is supporting you. Where do you feel stuck right now?"

Short Phrases for Refocusing (1-2 minutes)

• Share these go-to lines:
• "I can see how much this is affecting you. Let’s focus on making your business as strong as possible so it can support you through this."
• "That’s really tough. Let’s make sure we’re taking steps today to give you peace of mind on the business side."
• "I can’t imagine how hard that is, but let’s focus on what we can control right now in your business."