There’s a feeling I know well. I don’t love admitting that, but it’s true.
It’s the feeling of being alone with a decision that matters.
If you’ve ever asked yourself “why hire a coach?”—and then talked yourself out of it—I understand. I did the same thing for years. But after a lifetime of making major decisions in isolation, I finally understand what that cost me.
Not physically alone—life is busy, work is full of people, and I’ve always had good teams around me. I mean something different: the kind of isolation where you’re carrying the weight of the call, and the only voice you’re really listening to is your own.
I’ve made some of my biggest mistakes from that place.
And if I’m being honest, I’ve probably repeated the same pattern more than once: I tell myself I’m being responsible, I tell myself I’m saving money, I tell myself I don’t have time, and then I try to muscle through with sheer effort and instincts.
Sometimes it works.
But when it doesn’t, it can be painfully expensive.
The Pattern That Made Me Ask: Why Hire a Coach Now?
When I look back at different chapters of my life—especially the years when I owned and ran my own veterinary business—there are decisions I wish I could rewind.
Not because I didn’t care. Not because I was reckless. Most of the time I was doing the best I could with what I knew.
But I made decisions that, in hindsight, I should have run past a professional.
Purchases that didn’t make sense.
Hiring choices that created more problems than they solved.
Financial decisions that didn’t protect profit the way they needed to.
And the frustrating part? I didn’t need someone to “tell me what to do.” I needed someone to help me see what I couldn’t see while I was inside it.
I needed accountability.
A weekly conversation.
A place where I had to say out loud what I was about to do—and have someone ask, calmly and directly:
“Walk me through why this makes sense.”
That kind of outside perspective might have saved me a lot. Not just money—stress, time, second-guessing, and a few lessons I learned the hard way.
Why I Finally Hired a Coach This Year
This year, I enrolled in Double Win Coaching through the Michael Hyatt Company. I’m fortunate enough to have university funding that allows me to invest in professional development like this, and I decided to actually use it—fully, intentionally, and without half-committing.
I didn’t sign up because I think coaching is trendy.
I signed up because I’m tired of paying the “isolation tax.”
For years, I avoided coaching for the same reasons most people do:
- “It’s too expensive.”
- “I don’t have time.”
- “I can figure it out.”
- “I’ll do it later.”
But the more honest version is this:
I didn’t want to admit I needed help.
Not because I’m proud in some dramatic way. More like… I grew up with a default setting that said: handle it yourself.
And that mindset can take you far.
It can also take you straight into preventable mistakes.
This Isn’t Just About Business
Here’s the part that hits deeper: I don’t think this is only true in business.
I think the same pattern shows up in personal decisions, too.
When people are at a crossroads—relationship strain, career burnout, a major move, a possible divorce, a job change, a big financial decision—many of us do the same thing:
We sit alone with our thoughts.
We replay the same internal arguments.
We ask friends who care about us (and that helps), but sometimes friends are too close to it. Or they only see one side. Or they want to be supportive, not challenging.
And then we make a major decision while we’re flooded—tired, anxious, angry, lonely, proud, scared… sometimes all at once.
I’m not saying a coach is a replacement for therapy or legal counsel or financial planning. It’s not.
I’m saying that outside perspective—the right kind—can keep you from making a decision you’ll spend years paying for.
Coaching won’t solve every problem.
But it can slow you down long enough to make a better call.
What Hiring a Coach Can Help You Avoid
Let’s be practical.
A good coach (or advisor, or mentor, or counselor—pick the right category for the situation) can help you avoid:
- Buying the wrong business
- Hiring the wrong person
- Expanding too fast
- Ignoring your margins
- Letting stress drive decisions
- Staying stuck in a job you’ve outgrown
- Leaving a job for the wrong reasons
- Moving across the country without thinking through the real tradeoffs
- Letting fear make your choices for you
And yes—sometimes it can save you a mountain of money.
But what I think it really protects is something else:
Your judgment.
When you’re isolated, your judgment gets noisy. Not bad. Just noisy.
When you have the right outside perspective, your judgment gets clearer.
Don’t make the next big decision alone.
If you’re at a crossroads—career, money, leadership, or life—outside perspective can change the quality of the decision.
What I’m Committing to This Year
My goal is simple: stop making important decisions in isolation.
Not because I don’t trust myself—actually, because I do.
I trust myself enough to know I’m human, I’m biased, I get tired, and I can talk myself into almost anything when I’m under pressure.
So this year, I want a system that slows me down, sharpens my thinking, and keeps me accountable.
That’s why I hired a coach.
If You’re Wondering Whether to Hire a Coach
If you’ve been thinking about hiring a coach, or working with a financial planner, or talking to a counselor, or bringing in a mentor—here’s the question I’d offer:
What’s the cost of staying isolated?
Because the fee is the obvious cost.
But the isolation tax is usually the bigger one.
And it tends to show up later.
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