Coaching Inc with Tom Krol

CI - S2 - 118 - You Have to Break First (The Glow Stick Lesson Every Coach Needs)

13 min
Apr 23, 2026about 1 month ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Tom Krol emphasizes that coaching content fails not due to algorithm or strategy, but because coaches lack authentic enthusiasm when presenting. He introduces the "glow stick" metaphor—a physical reminder to maintain genuine excitement and appreciation for the solutions you've found—as the key differentiator between content that gets ignored and content that attracts clients.

Insights
  • Authenticity and emotional energy in content delivery matter more than tactical strategy, niche selection, or algorithm optimization
  • Coaches must anchor to their personal transformation story (problem → solution → result) and maintain genuine gratitude when teaching to create magnetic content
  • The difference between successful and unsuccessful coaching content is the presenter's emotional state and belief in their message, not the quality of the information
  • Coaches should avoid performative enthusiasm (fake it till you make it) and instead only teach solutions they genuinely believe in and are excited about
  • Content that repels the wrong audience while attracting the right one is more valuable than content designed to appeal to everyone
Trends
Shift from algorithm-focused content strategy to authenticity-focused personal brand building in coaching industryGrowing recognition that emotional intelligence and genuine enthusiasm are core competencies for coaches and course creatorsEmphasis on vulnerability and personal transformation narratives as primary content pillars rather than pure tactical instructionMovement away from polished, scripted content toward raw, authentic, in-the-moment communication in coaching spacesIncreased focus on audience repulsion as a feature, not a bug—selective messaging that filters for ideal clients early
Companies
Kajabi
Tom Krol mentioned having a call scheduled with a Kajabi representative regarding coaching platform services.
Party City
Referenced as a retail location where coaches can purchase glow sticks as physical reminders for content creation.
People
Tom Krol
Host of the podcast who delivers the main lesson about authentic enthusiasm and the glow stick metaphor for coaches.
Lori Graymount
Mentioned as having a scheduled coaching call with Tom Krol about a niche coaching project.
Quotes
"Your content isn't failing because of the algorithm. It's not your niche. It's not your strategy. It's you. More specifically, it's how you are showing up."
Tom KrolEarly in episode
"If you don't feel it, neither will your audience. And this is where most people break because now it's not about what you're doing. It's about who you are when you do it."
Tom KrolOpening segment
"You should be running out of the woods to the townspeople and saying come with me guys you all have this problem i found this little pool of water if you just drink from it."
Tom KrolMid-episode
"If you are authentically unenthusiastic and not really that excited about what you have to share, it's not probably worth sharing, right? So get excited."
Tom KrolClosing segment
"This is why you don't have to really tweak things too much on what the solution is because i guarantee you with whatever you were struggling, there's other people like you. You're not that unique when it comes to your needs and wants."
Tom KrolMid-episode
Full Transcript
The podcast you're about to listen to is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing you hear should be taken as legal, financial, or professional advice. The majority of people do not make money as coaches. If you hear someone on this show who has had extraordinary results, they are the exception, not the rule. You could do everything you hear on this podcast and still not get results. We don't know you, and we are not implying you will make money from anything you hear on this show. If you're not willing to accept that, this is not the show for you. If you're still here, let's get into it. If you are authentically unenthusiastic and not really that excited about what you have to share, it's not probably worth sharing. So get excited. Your small win for today is order or go out and get a little glow stick, hang it behind your monitor and go and make a piece of content that it shows your authentic enthusiasm. Okay, let me start by saying something that might piss a few of you off. Your content isn't failing because of the algorithm. It's not your niche. It's not your strategy. It's you. More specifically, it's how you are showing up. Because right now, most coaches sound like this. They sound flat. They sound boring. They sound detached. Almost like you're reading a script you don't even believe in yourself. And here's the problem with that. If you don't feel it, neither will your audience. And this is where most people break because now it's not about what you're doing. It's about who you are when you do it. Do you actually believe in what you're saying? Do you remember what it felt like when you first started out and you were struggling? Do you feel any urgency to help people or are you just posting content? Because the difference between content that gets ignored and content that pulls people in instantly is something almost nobody talks about. And today you're going to hear exactly what that is. Let's dive in. Bam! Hey guys. So I want to give you a little speaking trick or a little hack here and a great authentic hack that is going to change the game for when you are producing content. And it's something that you can use that I use all the time. And it works as a magnet to attract a lot of people and to have people hear what you're actually saying and to cut through all the fat and to get your message out there and either to attract or repel people. Those are the best messages, right? The best messages, remember? But one of the things that I want to talk about is you had a problem, you found a solution, you implemented that solution, and then you got a return that was better than expected, right? You were struggling as a high-ticket sales professional. You found a script, an approach, a sales method that helped you make a lot of sales, bigger sales in a shorter amount of time one call closes and now your life is better You Now you have more money more freedom more options right What is wealth Wealth is more and better options So the top high ticket closers in sales get to work with more companies, right? They have more freedom. That's what wealth is, more and better options. So you have this problem, you stunk at sales, you found this solution that you created or found or whatever developed. And then after you found it, You now want to share it with everybody. And that is your course, right? That is what you do, is what you provide to your students, is you provide the solution that you found because you're excited and you're appreciative, right? And this is true for anything. This is true for whatever it is that you're coaching, right? You were an entrepreneur. You were down and out and crippled by fear and anxiety. You found something that released you, that built your self-esteem, your confidence, gave you your life back, taught you how to prioritize your life, how to give you courage, how to reduce anxiety and stress. And now you're a successful entrepreneur. And now you want to share that with the world, right? You were struggling to lose weight. You found this quick thing and now you lost the weight and now you feel great. I want to remind you that every time you are speaking, It is so important to hold on to that as tightly as you can. So many coaches forget this. They become like a college professor or an engineer or architect or somebody who's like an accountant and just going through a presentation or talking about a trick. But you have to maintain, I call it the glow stick, right? So one of the things that I would suggest that you do is go to Party City or the dollar store or whatever and get something that you, you know, you have to write, you have to break it, you have to break it so that it glows, right? So I wasn't glowing, I broke something and now it's, you shake it up and now it's glowing. You might want to hang a glow stick right behind your camera to just remind you that you should be beaming with energy and excitement and authentic appreciation for what you have found and what you do and how it has changed your life for the better. This is so important. So many coaches will forget this. I'll be doing an evaluation with a client and looking at their content and they're like, yeah, guys, so the reason that you want to use A website over B website is because it's going to save you money. And it's like, hello, right? You were broke, you're struggling, single mom with two kids. You found a way to keep your full-time job and make an extra $3,000 or $4,000 a month and doing that in a small amount of time so you can have more money and spend more time with your kids. You should be excited. This is also part of NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming. Interrupt yourself. You know, guys, I use this website because I remember, right? So this is an example. I remember when I was using this other website and I wasn't getting any leads or whatever. I wasn't getting the results. So I knew the problem was this. I switched. And guys, can I just say something? As I'm sitting here, I just got this note from a client and I'm just so appreciative to be able to. I remember when I was struggling with my weight or my self or my business or my expenses were out of control my personal finances I remember when I wasn't able to make any money. I'm just sitting here now filming this module with you. That's how you do it, right? You always have authentic. And I keep using this word authentic. This is not some BS marketing tactic. This is real, right? This is how your message transcends and gets to everybody who needs to hear it. It's because it is authentic. If you woke up today and your life is better because of what you're sharing with your clients, show appreciation. Even today, I'm looking on my calendar. Here's my calendar, right? I've got two calls, right? One with Amy and one with Lori Graymount. She's the one who does the show Funding Faceoff, right? I have a conversation with her about for coaching for this little niche thing that we're working on. Those are my only two calls today. And then I also do have a call with a Kajabi rep that's not on my calendar. So I do have that just for full transparency. But guys, there was a time where I had an alarm clock waking me up to go to a job I didn't like that I was failing out at. And I was broke and I was there all day. I'm so excited that I can do this, right? So that's my authentic enthusiasm. So what I want to share with you today is the glow stick. Every single piece of content that you produce, you should be glowing and beaming with appreciation and enthusiasm for what you found. right you should be running out of the woods to the townspeople and saying come with me guys you all have this problem i found this little pool of water if you just drink from it the woods are scary there's a bear in the woods and there's a cliff and some of the parts of the hike are treacherous and dangerous but if you follow me i found a path to it i'll show you where it is how to drink it and then i'll walk you back to town and your life will be better that's what we do as coaches, it's such a blessed life, right? We found something good and now we're going to share it with other people. We found out how to do something, how to get a result that a lot of people struggle with, right? Whatever you teach, Amazon dropshipping, high ticket sales. If you're an agency and you provide whatever it is, marketing agency, you found a way to get a lot of leads for entrepreneurs who need leads in a specific industry. You have to have enthusiasm for what you're doing and you should. It should be authentic, not because you're faking it, because if you're not enthusiastic, if you are authentically unenthusiastic and not really that excited about what you have to share, it's not probably worth sharing, right? So get excited. Your small win for today is order or go out and get a little glow stick, hang it behind your monitor and go and make a piece of content that it shows your authentic enthusiasm for what you're you have found. None of this fake it till you make it or act as if that's all garbage and bad advice. Forget faking it until you make it and acting as if you want to be a truth teller and a truth seeker. You want to have brutal honesty. Talk about where you were, what you found. You should be excited You implemented you got the result and how they can get it to give it all away Simple things just keeping it real keeping it authentic and just being authentically excited about what you have figured out and your need and want to share it with everybody who also needs it and guys this is also important part is this is why you don't have to really tweak things too much on what the solution is because i guarantee you with whatever you were struggling, maybe you run a photography agency or you run an agency for marketing or for implementing bookkeeping, right? So you run a bookkeeping agency. Well, whatever you found that worked for you that you're sharing with other people, there's other people like you. You're not that unique when it comes to your needs and wants, right? This is a very simple chart of what you need and want. So your struggles are other people's struggles. So identify them, solve them, and then help others enthusiastically. I cannot say this enough. Don't go off topic and don't be boring and don't be Eeyore, right? If you guys know Winnie the Pooh, right? You remember Eeyore, right? Well, looks like there won't be a Christmas this year. No way, Jose, right? You are excited because you found a great solution. You owe that to your base. You owe that to your clients and customers and students. You owe that to them. Your life is better because you learned something and implemented something and got a good result. Don't forget that. That's your anchor. Anchor into that every single time you are doing anything. On stage, filming a video, filming a module, creating content, YouTube, Facebook Live, Instagram Live, a TikTok, whatever you're doing, anchor into that and how grateful and appreciative you are that you found it. And now that you get to share it with them, guys, I hope that that helps you today to give you a little clarity on how to produce amazing content that cuts through the fat, attracts and repels a lot of people. Enjoy the rest of your day. So here's the truth. You can have the perfect plan, the right niche, the right offer. But if you show up sounding like a robot, none of that makes a difference. What you heard here today is the difference between posting content and actually moving people. This is the piece that turns views into conversations and conversations into clients. And if you don't get this right, you can follow the entire blueprint from the last episode and still get nothing. If you are a coach, a consultant, or an expert who wants to grow and scale your business with our help, be sure to head over to coachinginc.com. Again, that is coachinginc.com. Schedule a short discovery call with us. On the call, we'll take a look at where your business is right now, what's working, what's not, and we will give you a proven game plan to take your business to the next level. Okay, until next time, we will see you on the next episode. There comes a time to say that's good enough. I'm finally learning how to let some doors stay shut. It gets so hard, but I'm not giving up. Comes a time to say that's good enough. Comes a time to say that's good enough