We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jorge Benito. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jorge below.

Hi Jorge, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

To answer that, first I need to clarify a couple of points: What is success, and what are the different paths to get there? Similar to the proverb ‘all roads lead to Rome’, there are many paths to success; but in this case, not all reach it. There’s no exact formula or direct path. This is scary but also hopeful, as we can choose various paths and even create new ones.

But what if my goal isn’t Rome, but Constantinople? Success is not the same for everyone. Some may define success as filling a void in their life, while others view it purely in economic terms. For instance, a parent may see financial success as a means to ensure a better future for their children. In contrast, notable figures like Elon Musk or Steve Jobs achieved incredible financial success but may not have experienced the same in their familial roles.

As a business coach, I’ve seen success manifest and evolve in diverse ways, especially among leaders, and entrepreneurs. Their definitions of success also range from enhancing personal relationships to excelling in leadership. A talented leader who has everything to succed might never reach their full potential while suffering relationship problems or unhappiness in their personal life. In that case, the path to success is not a straight line. Often, it’s not just about financial gains per se but the freedom and opportunities that wealth brings, such as spending quality time with family. Some realize they’ve been pursuing a version of success that isn’t truly theirs and realize halfway to Rome that their dream is in Constantinople.

Having outlined what success might mean (or perhaps deepened the mystery, but ideally provoking thought), I can now share insights from my experience. Specifically, I’ll discuss one frequent pattern I’ve observed in individuals who have attained or are nearing their personal definitions of success.

Steven Covey professes a model: Success is achieved by being, doing, having, and in that order. I won’t go into details, you can read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” for that. But I’ll explain briefly, and probably badly, to illustrate the anecdote.

Being, doing, having refers to the fact that to have what I want to have (or achieve), I must first be (become, or at least behave as I need to be) to do what is necessary at the level of this new being that I am, and that way I can get there.

To protect my client’s confidentiality, I’ll illustrate this with two composite examples, ‘Livia’ and ‘Commodus’. Commodus, having read the book ‘The Secret,’ sat to visualize his dreams and stopped there; then he followed every possible guru, but only picking and choosing what fitted his point of view. He attempted to fix others’ flaws and align their attitudes with his vision, dismissing anything contradictory, uncomfortable, or that seemed too hard. Unfortunately, this led to failure, as he perceived people as unappreciative of his efforts and talents.

Livia, who also read ‘The Secret’, didn’t stop there, realized that visualizing is just the beginning, and asked herself: Why aren’t people responding as expected? Is the issue with me? What do I need to change, learn, or unlearn? She dedicated herself to enhancing her actions as if she were already at the higher level she aspired to reach.

Over time, she not only reached but exceeded that level, even feeling a bit of impostor syndrome – most common among those who shouldn’t suffer it, and vice-versa. Eventually, she realized she had already surpassed the goals she had set for herself.

This isn’t a fable; it’s a simplified summary of real experiences. Success takes many forms: there are Commoduses who, despite long years and frustration, eventually succeeded, and Livias who, doing everything right, are still fighting to find success. But Generally, those persistent Livias are more likely to achieve their goals than those who cease to fight.

Of course, there’s the luck component (to which countless cases of success are excessively attributed, along with being used as an excuse for lack of effort) and factors like the perfect time and place, and people we surround ourselves with. But take this from someone who has behaved like both examples: there are many more chances of reaching Rome if we follow Livia than if we follow Commodus.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I think I’ve been a coach even before I knew I was (heard that before?). My background is in Marketing, and for almost 20 years, I’ve been helping entrepreneurs with digital marketing until one day, I realized that I had too many meetings in which they just wanted to talk through ideas for their businesses. They were extremely happy about the insights and decisions they made from it, and many times I realized that we talked about everything but Marketing. Fast forward, and I enrolled in the Professional Coaching program at the University of Miami, got certified, started coaching formally, and took any formal training that I found, from Neuroscience to a Leadership Program at Harvard. When the pandemic hit, I started joking about saying, ‘If we have to stay home, the least we can do is to get a Master’s Degree or something like that’, The joke became an enrollment, and 3 years later, I received an MBA specializing in Coaching and Leadership from York St. John University in the UK. I just want to be more qualified to do a better job (and I’ll be more mindful of my future jokes).

I was concerned about thinning my attention to 2 different disciplines and mindsets, but the duality of the Digital Marketing Firm and Coaching worked better than I thought for both firms and their respective clients. As a coach, I work primarily with leaders, people who don’t know they are leaders and need someone to help them discover it, and with professionals transitioning to another career or entrepreneurship. I have coached clients (remotely) in the US, Canada, Chile, Argentina, UAE, and Switzerland, both in English and Spanish. My work is incredibly rewarding because I work with go-getters who tend to achieve what they want, and every time they succeed, I celebrate as much as they do.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source for clients has been being found on Google when people search for a coach. It’s that straightforward. Don’t get me wrong, being listed in major coaching directories and active on social media is important, but ultimately, it’s about choosing where to allocate resources, time, and mental energy.

Social media, while beneficial for many industries and types of coaches, isn’t as efficient for reaching my type of potential clients. The key is to cross their path at the right moment in their journey. Maintaining an active social media presence is necessary, if only to show that my coaching firm is operational. However, I no longer obsess over whether a post gets one like or a thousand. Previously, this approach led to many endless conversations with a very low rate of serious inquiries.

At the same time, a simple Google search for “Business coach in Miami” shows my website, JBCoaches.com, in a great position, and it would result in a qualified prospect contacting me. It works almost like a self-filtering system. If someone knows what they want, is serious about it, and has no time to wait, they book a discovery session.

My clients, typically leaders and entrepreneurs, don’t spend an excessive amount of time on platforms like Instagram, scrolling through memes, or clicking on ads. They’re busy individuals who prefer to search directly for what they want when they want it, researching and verifying credentials before deciding. This is where Google comes in, and I pass that test very well.

Similarly, I’ve helped build marketing funnels for clients, which are still effective for many industries. However, my audience doesn’t respond well to being tracked and bombarded with messages, follow-ups, and ads after initial contact. I prefer sharing helpful information on my blog, addressing the questions people most struggle with. If they don’t find me while looking for a coach, they’ll discover me through solutions to their concerns.

TikTok is on my radar as a future search engine tool for many industries, but it needs to mature into a more serious platform for my clients’ use. Conversely, once the hub for all things professional, LinkedIn is becoming more like a “Facebook with a shirt and tie,” with an increasing mix of commercialized and spammy content.

Despite constant tests of other sources and a future podcast relaunch, etc., my focus has circled back to organic search results on Google.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

These are all books, in no particular order. If you’re short on time, just search the title and author on YouTube for a summary or a video by the author, like Simon Sinek’s.

• Getting Past No – William Ury

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Steven Covey

• Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman

• Humble Leadership – Peter A. Schein

• The Richest Man in Babylon – Clason, George S.

• The Laws of Human Nature – Greene, Robert

• Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

• How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie Books

• Awaken the Giant Within – Tony Robbins

• Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell – Schmidt, et al.

• Start with Why – Simon Sinek

• The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin – Brands, H. W.

Contact Info:

• Website: jbcoaches.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jbcoaches/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbcoaches/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbendito/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JbCoaches
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jb-coaches-life-and-business-coach-miami
• Other: Digital Marketing Company: https://ibisstudio.com/