Coaching is such a valuable tool, over the years, I've spent multiple five figures on training, coaching, and courses.  Some of the programs I've taken were absolutely life-changing, others..not so much.  With a recession looming, there will be an onslaught of online subject matter experts offering their coaching to help lead you to the outcome of your dreams.  Before you hand over your credit card information, I offer you this piece of advice...

Yes, coaching is expensive but it can be a valuable investment capable of generating a massive return.   But it can also become a huge waste of money.  It all depends on your strategy.  If you want to make the most from a pricey coaching program, follow this cardinal rule:

Some coaches offer really great advice and ideas to motivate their audience.  All of it sounds great at the moment.  But, a week or so later, the dopamine rush is gone and so is your hard-earned investment.  I've gone through programs where 90% of the content was "unusable." Sometimes, the advice didn't apply to my business or was at a beginner level.  To combat the possibility of losing money when investing in a training course, I created a cardinal rule of always listening for a winning idea that has the ability to generate income that, at least, covers the cost of the course.  

If you're listening for "a winning idea," it causes you to pay close attention to the content you're consuming.  I once took a course on having an abundance mindset...most of the calls were filled with stories and illustrations of how the person changed his way of thinking.  But, as I listened with intention (looking for the winning idea), he revealed-in a single sentence- that his first business grew so quickly because 90% of his daily activities were related to marketing.   That was the winning idea.  Everything else in the course (to me) was purely motivational and inspirational.   If I hadn't been listening out for that winning idea, I would have missed when he dropped that hidden gem and the course would've brought me very little long-term value.  

If you attend a multi-day workshop, find a winning idea for each day of training that you attend....preferably one action you can apply within 24 hours.    The goal is to identify and apply 1-3 ideas that'll help you earn back the cost of the workshop.  Better yet if you can continue to generate revenue from that single idea for years to come.  

If you've bought a bunch of courses in the past, the best piece of advice I have is for you to go back and relisten to the content in search of the winning idea.   Reviewing a training program a second or third time is a powerful exercise.  You'll notice the new details that you might've glossed over the first go around.  Anytime I review past training programs, I always seem to notice something new.  Maybe I identified a winning idea the first time and fixated on it.  Going back allows me to pick up on another hidden gem that could also produce massive results.  Reviewing past content is free so there's no reason not to do it.  If you're someone like me, who's purchased a bunch of programs in the past, ask yourself, "what's the winning idea that I applied from each course?"  If you don't have an answer, maybe it's time to go back and review the content more closely. 

While the woman on Instagram sold her audience on her upcoming course, I found myself tempted to make an impulse buy a coaching session.  Her pitch was pretty convincing and the price was right.  But then I remembered that I have an outstanding "winning idea" that I need to implement from a past course that I'm currently reviewing.   

Once that idea is in motion....and if starts generating income, then I can move on to possibly investing in additional training.  

By the way, you don't even have to spend money to find a powerful idea.  I identified a winning idea simply by watching her free IG live and I've already begun to apply it.  YouTube videos and books are loaded with winning ideas. You simply have to look for them and take action on the idea as quickly as humanly possible to bring it into reality.  

A winning idea is nothing if we do nothing with it.