Wentz Coached, Trump Not Coached

Wentz Coached, Trump Not Coached

                                           by: Brendan Magee

Eagles Quarterback, Carson Wentz, and Republican Party Presidential candidate, have a few things in common and a few that aren't. Both have recently stepped on to huge stages. It doesn't get much bigger than starting in the National Football League, unless its being your party's candidate to become President of the United States.

Trump and Wentz have a lot of God-given talent. You might not like what he says, but, you don't turn $1 million (or $14 million as Hillary puts the figure at) loaned to you by your father and turn it into billions without talent. You also don't go from North Dakota State to the Philadelphia Eagles without the tools to do so.

Another thing they have in common is they are both extremely new to their current positions. Wentz has started just five games in the NFL. Trump has about a year under his belt as a politician. Their contemporaries have many more years of experience as either quarterback or politician. Hence, they will and have made mistakes.

Wentz, by many accounts, in the Redskins game held the ball too long and took sacks when he shouldn't. Trump during the debates and on the campaign has put his foot in his mouth too many times. If they had do overs, I would assume both would do several things differntly.

What they don't have in common is the look of someone who is being coached and is putting the coaching to practice. Wentz, by all accounts, is showing up at the Eagle's practice facility in the early morning hours to absorb the playbook and look at game film in preparation for next week's games. The coaching staff, made up of former NFL quarterbacks, as well as analysts have commented on how much progress Wentz is making. It's evident when you see Wentz play that he has a good grasp of what he is doing when he is on the field.

Trump in the three debates did o.k., but there were times he had openings to stick it too Hillary, or not needlessly spar with the debate moderator, but couldn't get out of his own way. He has good, experienced people around him like Kelly Ann Conway and Rudi Giuliani to offer advice and counseling. Unfortunately, he has come up short in clearly articulating a solid case to defeat Hillary Clinton, a very beatable opponent. From the first debate to the third you can't see a drastic difference in his performances. Analysts, more than anything, seem to be talking more about the opportunities in the debates he was unable to take advantage of rather than how well he did.

When it comes to investing, the difference between a successful investor and a disappointed investor is often a coach. Coaches, from their vantage point can point out blind spots the investor can't see and help the investor see the impact they are having on their results.

Coaching, unfortuantely, doesn't have any benefit unless two things happen. First, the investor has to have eaten a little humble pie. (Does Trump in any way appear as humble as Wentz?) By this I mean the investor has to accept that on their own they will not achieve the results they are after on their own, more likely they will fail.

Secondly, the investor has to have an enormous capacity to trust. Often times, the things to do to achieve success are way out of an investor's comfort zone. It feels awkward and we are fearful when trying something different. How many investors have ever heard of Modern Portfolio Theory and know how to apply it to their investments in a disciplined fashion? Probably less than one percent.

So the investor has to trust the coach the in order to take actions they cannot see the validity in, but that is where and when the breakthroughs occur. The same old/same old doesn't produce breakthroughs.

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. With comments or questions e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322.