Dispatch #3: If I had to start over as a movement coach...
Motusmade Studios 🏴
If I had to start over as a movement coach, I would do things differently.
Back then, I didn’t document much. I taught a lot of classes, ran a lot of sessions, had some great moments in the room, but there’s almost no trace of it. No journals, no footage, no voiceovers, no way to share that experience with anyone outside of it. Knowing what I know today I would:
Mic myself up and hit record. Not all the time, but just enough to capture how I cue, how I lead, how I think out loud in real time. I wouldn’t film full sessions, but I’d always have something rolling. A short clip here. A soundbite there. Enough to share and build trust with people outside of the four walls.
Pick a method or a system and stick with it long enough to become known for it. Yup, I said it — I would put a name to it and present it in a way people easily understand. There’s this fear a lot of us have of getting pigeonholed. But honestly, getting known for something is a good problem to have. You can always iterate and evolve later. I’d drop the hyper-philosophical, overly-movement-romantic act because it kept me a wandering generality. The average person makes about 35,000 decisions a day, I’d make sure they spend no time trying to understand what it is I do and what I’m about.
Share more about how others have changed with the bit of guidance I lended and less about me and my practice.
I’d build with systems in mind. Not just teach the class, but think about the flow of the entire experience…what someone sees, reads, hears, and feels before they even begin to work with me.
Lastly, I’d let go of the identity.
I wouldn’t wrap myself up so tightly in what it means to be a (capital M) Movement coach. I wouldn’t constantly look sideways at what other teachers are doing, trying to measure up or fit in. It’s a trap. I wouldn’t forget that my way of seeing things is the value. I’d treat teaching more like a tool, not a title. Something I can use, not something I have to defend.
It’s easy to underestimate what you’re building in the moment. Especially when it feels small. But looking back, I wish I had just started sharing what I was already doing… it’s the lowest barrier to building trust.
MEME OF THE WEEK 🧠
I saw this one this week and it resonated so much. My goal moving forward it to just share what I’m learning and building in public. It is my humble opinion that you probably should too.
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To Talking To Oneself (In Public)
Galo Alfredo Naranjo
PS. Seth Godin on why you should give things away for free →
Just catching up on this, Galo … and it felt like it was written right to where I am. Been rethinking a lot lately about what it means to share honestly, without the need to package it or prove anything. This piece reminded me that the process is worth documenting, even if it feels small.
There’s something real and grounding in the way you write. A friend used to tell me, “Simplify to amplify,” and I feel that here in such a potent way.
If you’re open to it, I’d be curious to hear more about the things you used to skip over — the ordinary stuff that’s become central. Or the patterns you find yourself coming back to now, the ones you didn’t expect to matter as much. Especially since you’ve explored so many different paradigms in your growth. I imagine certain threads have started to stand out in new ways.
Keep going. This is meaningful.
With Gratitude,
Abe