Our main objective here at the National Coach Academy is to enable aspiring coaches to reach their full professional potential. One of the most effective ways to educate students about the world of coaching is by offering them a window into the world of real, practicing coaches and showing them all the different ways coaches make a difference in the lives of their clients.
We hope today’s interview adds another insightful glimpse into the dynamic world of coaching.
Today we are interviewing Dr. Manzoor Massey. Dr. Massey is a published author, speaker, and coach based in San Bernardino, CA.
NCA: Can you describe your coaching practice and the kinds of clients you typically work with?
Dr. Massey: My philosophy is based on my belief that we travel on the wings of our thoughts and we have maps in our head. Wherever we stand today, we took some maps to get there. Many, many, many people are not happy with the destination where they have arrived. However, even though they want rosy destinations, they want a fantastic future, they are not willing or they are not able to change to change their maps. And that is the perfect definition of insanity: Doing the same thing but expecting different results.
My specialty is helping people change their mind maps because nothing changes until the mind changes. Most people have an incredible, incredible future. An incredible potential. But unfortunately, they just have not had the opportunity for something or for someone to lift the lid and let them crawl out of that atmosphere or the hole they’ve been in for so long.
My focus is always in helping people become better people. Because when we become better, everything we touch and every person we encounter rises to a new height. A new level of excellence. My focus is simply in building people. I actually call myself a ‘people-builder’ and in the words of Mother Teresa, “Don’t let anyone leave your presence unless they feel better than when they came to see you.” That is my philosophy: Helping people become who they wish they could be. Be the leader they wish they had. Be the parent they wish they had. Be the child, the son, or the doctor, or the spouse they wish they had. Be the partner in your business you wish you had.
This is a very big challenge and our energy is really limited. Many people focus their energy in trying to fix other people or change the environment or remake the world to suit their fantasy. That is what I call ‘unproductive pursuit’. I call that as “wasted energy.” We must spend most of our energy in building a better me. Building a better self. When we become better, we can handle all the other issues that we might face. All the challenges we might face. That is my philosophy of coaching, life coaching, or I should say life planning is what I exactly do.
We travel on the wings of our thoughts and we have maps in our head. Whatever we do, we are guided by our thoughts. You change your thoughts, you’ll change your life and you change your thoughts, you’ll change your friends. You change your thoughts, you’ll change the character of your company, of your school, of your church, of your family. You’ll change your own character because your thoughts control who you are.
I have authored six books and four of them are really on the topic. Two are called Mind Realignment for Excellence and that’s volume one and two, and another volume one and two is Building People: Leader’s Guide for Excellence. Many times, leaders are focused on productivity but they are not focused on people. You could talk about rules and regulations and policies and procedures and protocols, but if the person who’s going to follow all of that and implement all of that is on the left field, you don’t have any chance to succeed.
You must start to build the people and then the people can build anything you want. In building people, you must hold them responsible. You explain your expectations and you coach them, lay out your vision, and you show them this is what a good job looks like. This is what the destination is going to look like when we get there. And then you establish pillars along the way. These are the markers where you are going to assess, how are we doing? Are we progressing towards our journey?
My philosophy is based on my belief that we travel on the wings of our thoughts and we have maps in our head. Wherever we stand today, we took some maps to get there.
I would like to state four things that people can follow for principles and they can get anything they want in life. When I share those four things, I share with them really a map. A mind map that will take them to their desired destination. And if they don’t have a map, they probably will end up in a place where they may not want to be. Here are the four keys to accomplishing anything you want in life and that’s why mind realignment is so, so critical.
You must know what you want. Most people don’t have much because they don’t want much. Most people don’t have much because they don’t know how to ask for bigger things in their life. They are kind of thinking in a little tiny pond and they don’t really see the potential even though they may have unlimited potential. That’s the first principle. You must know what you want. And the one word for that is called goal. You must have a goal. Where do you want to be tomorrow? Next week? Next month? Six months from now? One year from now? You must know what you want.
You must be willing to give up something to get what you want. This is where many people fall short. They want something bigger. They want a more rosy destination but they’re not willing to give up what they have.
My favorite example is that of a monkey in India. The monkey, of course, was very excited and running around in the wilderness and the jungle having a great time, but there was a hunter who wanted to catch him. The hunter put a clay pot with a very narrow top. Inside he put peanuts and here comes the monkey, he puts his hand in there because he wants the peanuts. Once he has his hand in there and he has grabbed the peanuts, the hunter is coming in to get him but his friends are telling him, “Leave the peanuts. Let the peanuts go. Let the peanuts go! Take your hand out.” But you see, he doesn’t want to let the peanuts go. So what happens? The hunter catches him.
This is just like many of us. We are hanging on to some little peanuts and we are not willing to let go of those peanuts. We must be willing to give up something to get what you want. You want a slimmer, trimmer, happier, good-looking figure? You got to give up something. You wanted good relationship? You must give up something. You should not be the one having the last word. And if it is the last word, say “I’m sorry.” “Excuse me.” “Let’s talk it over.” Those should be the last words and sacrifice is the word for this principle. Sacrifice. Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. This is the issue. You need to be willing to give up something to get what you want.
We must have a GPS. We must have a GPS for our life. It’s like buying a ticket. Getting on a business or a plane. If you have a ticket, then you know where you’re going to get off. My favorite story is that of Dr. Einstein. He was traveling in a train and the ticket collector came and asked for a ticket and he did not have it. He could not find his ticket and he started searching in his jacket and the ticket collector said that, “Dr. Einstein, I know you’re an honest man. You don’t need to worry. I know you bought a ticket.” He moved on but an hour later, the ticket collector came in and Dr. Einstein was still looking for his ticket. And he told him that, “Dr. Einstein, you don’t need to look for your ticket.” He said, “Young man, I’m not looking for a ticket for you. I’m looking for a ticket so I know where to get off.” That is what life is all about. We must have a GPS. We must know where our destination is. We must know what are all the detours that we might encounter so we can stay on course.
You must stick to the GPS until you reach your destination. Anybody can start something but successful people see it through completion. That is the key. And if schools teach us anything, they teach us to start something and finish something. That’s why we have quarterly exam or annual exam or 4-year exams or whatever, because education is all about starting something and finishing something.
Those are the four keys. And I tell you, if somebody could master those four keys, they can take their families to the next level, their personal life to the next level, their company, their church, their friendship — everything to the next level.
I hope that they will call and they will go on Amazon and get my books. It’s called Mind Realignment for Excellence and the other one is called Building People: Leader’s Guide for Excellence. Or they could call me. My number is (661) 304—1080 and my email is mindrealignment@att.net. I have conducted 11,000 seminars on leadership and I would be delighted to be of service to anyone. My goal is to improve the world and the world I improve is the world I touch. The people who are engaged in the same philosophy, they want to change the world for the better so we could leave a great world for our children. That is what my goal is.
