Dan John once told me (and then Stevo followed suit):

"Success makes tracks, sure, but most of us are too close to the ground to notice."

--or something along those lines. I always assumed, and I think rightly so, that this was an observation intended to enlighten the coach. In our role as a superstructure of sorts, propping people up (at first, for a while) until they can find autonomy and direction, us coaches are relied on to be forward-thinking. We translate wants and priorities into goals and procedures, and we do it by having more objective foresight than those who work with us. If we aren't looking up, keeping an eye on the horizon, than we are at the whim of everyday life just like everyone we coach.

But today another meaning of Dan's quote glinted, and it was much more individual, and maybe primary. Just like the runner who instinctively looks 8 feet ahead when she hits rocky terrain, handling the rocks under her with ease but without her exact gaze, all of us rely on a live- delay (like the ones on TV, although much shorter) to negotiate life's terrain. It's where much of the magic lies in terms of people finding the autonomy, fulfillment, drive, and ability that makes people deeply, truly happy-er.

Part of the coach's job, then, is to help people gain faith in their own "broadcast delay." We must manipulate their context with stories, stress, advice, support; in short, we must lead them to the place where they are confident in their own ability to handle the rocks on the road.