There was a great scene in the movie “Jerry Maguire” where Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character, Rod Tidwell was in the locker room after a game. He was boasting on how he smokes all the greats, but yet he wasn’t being shown the money. He wasn’t getting the multimillion dollar contract he felt he deserved. Jerry Maguire played by Tom Cruise shared with him that he was currently in negotiations with the Cardinals, however, nothing yet as far as a new contract.
Jerry, obviously also looking to help Rod asked him if he could get back to the game where he was playing from his heart and not from his wallet, playing the game for the simple love of the game. Rod wasn’t taking it, he didn’t want any part of that conversation. He just wanted Jerry to do his job and get him his contract.
Why was Rod being so resistant to Jerry’s question? Why did he essentially ditch the person that was trying to help him most? The answer was that Rod simply wasn’t ready to receive Jerry’s assistance and advice. He wasn’t ready to break through his current mindset to get himself what he truly wanted.
There’s are great quote “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” What this means is only when we are open and ready to receive whoever blessings will we then accept it. Unfortunately, sometimes we are just not ready to receive what could be so enlightening to us. It could be the most valuable piece of information in the world, however, if we are not ready to receive it, it will not penetrate our consciousness. Jerry actually began pleading with Rod, “Help me help you, help me help you.” However, Rod in his stubbornness just laughed and shrugged it off.
It’s the same in the coaching of business owners, executives, and teams. It’s the same if you are a parent with your child. They have to be open for the lessons to receive the value from it and only then will they take the action to get them the results that they are seeking. Whoever you are, you can be sincerely coming from the place of true authenticity, from the heart of how you want to so desperately help someone. Unfortunately, until they are ready they will not be receiving what we are presenting them.
The next time you are ready to exert your energy, effort and focus on assisting someone with their challenge. Just make sure that they are first ready to receive it.