If you’re here, it’s likely because you followed the 200 Strong idea, a quiet movement to build a crew of solopreneurs committed to motion, clarity, and deep connection.

That work didn’t stop.
It’s just found a better home.

You can now find everything, including the Collective at
👉 ModernDayPiratesGuild.com

That’s where I’m writing, building, and sharing from now on.

No funnels. No pressure.
Just a steady signal and the people who hear it.

Geoff

I’m sharing what’s working for us right now in Sphere 3.0, where we’ve added five new members this week alone. I want you to see how simple this can be, so you can build something just as powerful.

The Blue Light Glasses Metaphor

Right now, I’m wearing my blue light glasses. Not because I need a prescription, but because they protect my eyes so I can work longer without strain.

👉 Building your coaching business should work the same way.

You could muscle through with endless one-on-one calls, overstuffed calendars, and late nights. But in the process, you’ll wear yourself out.

What if you built something sustainable that protects your energy and grows faster?

The Fastest Path: One Gathering a Week

Here’s the model that’s working for us:

✅ One powerful session each week — just one!
✅ No endless one-on-one coaching calls that fill up your calendar
✅ Focused, transformational, practical sessions

People worry: “Is once a week enough?”

Yes.

People go to church once a week for what they believe is the most important part of their life. They don’t meet one-on-one with the pastor all week long.

Community happens in groups. Transformation happens in groups. Retention is higher. Energy is higher. And it’s scalable

“Okay Geoff — that makes sense… but what does that one session look like? How do I actually structure it so people stay, take action, and refer others?”

👉 That’s what I break down in the next part of this post, including:

• Our exact weekly rhythm

• The tools we use to keep people engaged between sessions

• The key mindset shift that makes this work

• How this model frees you up to market and grow

💥 Upgrade to paid to read the full breakdown, watch the training video, and steal this model for your coaching community.

Read more

Suddenly, my Facebook Messenger started popping like crazy.

“Hey Geoff, tell me about your program.”
“I want to join. What’s happening? This sounds amazing.”

I was getting ready for the fireworks that evening. Where were all these people coming from?

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When I looked deeper, I saw that Laura, one of my most incredible clients, a realtor in Sonoma County who had tripled her business using our methods, had replied to a Facebook post.

Someone had asked:

“If I had $3,000 to spend on my business and didn’t want to buy ads, where should I invest it?”

Hundreds of people had replied with recommendations, trying to sell their programs. But Laura simply told her story of working with me.

Throughout that day, I kept sending people a simple document that outlined how we could work together, and people kept saying yes.

By the end of the day, I had collected $30,000 in cash in about four hours, from one single post.

I’m telling you this story because: community matters.

If you want to work from a place of flow and freedom, where things grow organically because they’re good, then you need a community that supports not only each other, but also supports you, the founder.

Which brings me to what I am building now.

A 200-strong community full of incredible coaches, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, realtors, athletes, and artists.

A community so rich in relational equity that everyone consistently helps each other grow in every dimension of life, including me.

If you want to build something that matters in 2025, you must look at building your community.

10-Point Checklist: How to Grow Your Own Community That Helps You Thrive

This is a new launch for me, and I am super excited about how powerful it is going to be for everyone.

1. Create a clear value set for who belongs and who does not.
   The community I’m building is for people who love others and want to leave a lasting footprint with their lives. It’s for people who place relationships above transactions. If you don’t demonstrate those values, you don’t get invited.

2. Make it stand for something bigger than just business.
   Money matters; it is very important. However, a community is really about the coming together of collective stories and journeys. People are woven together as they pursue their goals. For ours, you’ve got to be ambitious. You need to be building something, going somewhere, and really driven to make things happen in today’s chaotic economy. We don’t want armchair critics, we want brave couch surfers.

3. Be the bravest and show up first.
   You’re the first member of your community. Primarily, use your methods to grow. Celebrate wins, model care, and lead with vulnerability. Make people feel welcome at the table. Normalize their experiences by sharing yours. I am starting every Sphere Builder 3.0 session by sharing what’s happening for me, then by asking them to share their story.

4. Make it super easy for people to get wins fast.
   New members should feel instantly welcomed, engaged, and supported. They need simple actions that create momentum. Early immersion into the community leads to fast growth for everyone. Front-load your training with tasks that make it easy for people to win. Example: the first thing we do now is give people proven social media posts that will generate hundreds of comments.

5. Make it easy for people to help each other.
   Step out of the way. If you make the community all about you, you’ll burn out fast. Provide Zoom rooms, offline chats, and simple strategies where people can share and support each other. For us in Sphere 3.0, our models and teachings are groundbreaking, but they are nothing compared to the exponential growth that happens when great people co-create and take actions that support each other.

6. In the beginning, allow guests.
   The hardest part of building a community is that on day one, you don’t have enough people to create a solid sense of buzz. To draw a crowd, you need a crowd. One of the ways I’m doing this is to allow people to bring guests (if and only if they feel the guest is right for the group). Before, during, and after the gathering, these guests receive information about joining the community.

7. Celebrate everything — yes, absolutely everything.
   Wins, lessons, first steps, all of it needs to be celebrated. Nothing and no one should be missed. This is your primary goal as the leader of the movement. A first client, a first video, a first $1,000 day, a big failure after taking brave action, it all needs to be acknowledged. When people take action, they grow, and they need to be rewarded within the community for being brave, for being themselves, for taking action.

8. Create shared rituals.
   I definitely need to be better at this. People love a sense of predictability. If they know their wins will be celebrated, they’ll be excited to come share what they did. Rituals can include Monday check-ins, Friday shout-outs, monthly goal calls, rhythms that bind people together. I’ve started using AI to help create and hold to these rituals. Very powerful.

9. Keep it surprising.
   Don’t let your gatherings become predictable. Mix it up. Surprise your community. Bring in incredible guests to share their next-level expertise. As our community grows, I’m looking forward to getting experts in, my personal trainer, my elite-level sports friends, my public speaking coach, and friends who have had huge success in entertainment. Tap your network and let your community access your wealth.

10. Give so generously that you are impossible to leave.
    Give more than you ask. Build so much relational equity that it’s almost impossible for someone to imagine life without your community. It needs to be an incredible hub of community, support, wisdom, and growth where every interaction is life-giving. Make it both exciting and imperative.

If this speaks to you, I’d love to connect. Comment or reply “COMMUNITY” below — I’m happy to share what we’re building.

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We don’t move when we feel stuck.

We feel stuck when we are unsure of either our final destination OR our right next step.

More stuckness leads to more atrophy. Atrophy leads to a weak life and a weakened life refuses to dream big anymore.

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In Short - You Need Motion

As part of our transformational coaching models, we help people set 3-Word Goals.

When your goals are so simple to remember, to write down, and communicate with others… Then you are 6X more likely to move towards them.

The 6 Dimensions of Goal Setting

As you can see from our 3-word goals model, there are 6 areas of your life where we set goals:

1. Physical

2. Financial

3. Relational

4. Business

5. Reputational

6. Fun stuff

All 6 of these areas are critical. I don’t want a member of our 200 Strong Coaching Community to have a flourishing business and an atrophied and unhealthy body that doesn’t allow them to enjoy life.

Every dimension matters.

I’ve put the map of my 3-word goals below, so you can see how it works.

When I think about the life I am living I imagine achieving all 6 of my goals. It feels richly rewarding and incredibly motivating. It’s also very easy to communicate these goals with others.

My Personal Trainer Sam asked me… “What are your workout goals?”

Me: (Easily and clearly)… “Fittest, I’ve ever been in my life, at 50.”

Sam: “Great, let’s create a plan to get you there”

Your Physical 3-Word Goal - And My Story

Not being as physically healthy as you can be, is simply unacceptable. Your life matters and your body is the temple that carries everything.

Almost 1-year ago to the day… I took my 12-year-old son Gabriel fishing.

I was over 100 kgs in weight (220 pounds) for the first time in my life.

We had a short walk of about 250 yards over some small round rocks carrying a very small amount of fishing equipment. We were in a very beautiful part of the world.

I enjoyed none of it.

By the time we arrived at the spot, I was flushed red, very short of breath, and unable to stand up. I sat on a large rock and recovered while Gabriel fished. I never even put my line in the water. This was unacceptable. I had not taken good care of my body.

That Monday, I hopped in my car, drove to the gym closest to my house, and signed up with the first personal trainer that I met (Sam). I was not going to think about it, debate the issue, take forever choosing the next step… I was going to take action.

That one action saved my life, changed my business, and significantly altered the relationship I now have with my very active son.

8 months later, I took this video.

Your Physical Goal - Involves Other People

It’s tempting to write down your goals and keep them private. Please don’t do this.

Sometimes we keep things private so failing doesn’t hurt so much. We keep things private so can remain in a world where there is zero accountability.

Hiring Sam made a huge difference for me. He had expertise, skills, and knowledge that I didn’t have, but better yet, he was also determined that I wouldn’t fail.

Your goals need other people because there will be days when they feel impossible and other people can inspire you, push you, encourage you and on some occasions even carry you some of the way.

Plus, it’s way more fun with company.

Being in physical motion is so important. The amount of motion and the kind of goals that you set need to be aspirational and realistic for you, your age, and any health challenges you might have.

As you can see from the diagram above (as an example), I’ve broken my 3-word physical goal “Fittest at 50”, down into 3 measurable and specific micro-goals.

• 50 Pull Ups

• Run 4-minute km

• 85kgs in weight

These are short, measurable, and attainable. Your goals could be different. If you are a 72-year-old with arthritis it could be:

• Do 10 press-ups

• Walk 5 km

• Eat 120 grams of protein a day

Your goals are your goals.

Making Your Goals Relational

You’ll see from the diagram above that I’ve included 3 people who I consider to be critical to helping me reach my physical goals

• Sam Cook - Personal Trainer

• Gabriel Talbot - My Son and Reason Why

• Eric Copeland - Friend on a similar journey

When you’ve got a support crew you will see success. I’ve given these people a clear message, “this is my goal, please help me get there.”

Your Next 3 Steps - Back to the Start and the Importance of Motion

When renowned therapist, author, and transformational thought leader Phil Stutz was asked, what’s the first thing you do to help a patient who is stuck, he answered…

“I get their body in motion”

And so if you are reading this and you wondering what’s my next step, I have 3 next steps for you but the first is the most important.

1. Do some physical activity right now. Go for a 5-minute walk. Drop and do 10 press-ups. Do 10 free bodyweight squats. Get your body moving now. Then comment below how you feel.

   
   Don’t argue. Just do it.
   

2. Come up with your own 3-word physical goal. Don’t try and find the perfect goal. just choose the best 3-words you can think of right now AND share them in the comments.

   
   Creating your 3-word goals is an ongoing process and they will change, deepen, grow, and transform with you. There is no perfect goal.
   

3. Consider becoming a paid subscriber of this substack as we build out our 200 Strong Coaching Community ($5/month). I’ll be sharing our methods, training, and tips as we go, so you can build out your own life and imitate what works.
   

   Subscribe now

The belly of his coaching business was rumbling with discontent. We were traveling up the elevator of Auckland’s Sky Tower 52nd floor.

As far as elevator rides go, this one is a marathon, so I decided to test my friend.

“Max, what’s the goal with your coaching business?”

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I was asking for an actual elevator pitch.

I cannot even remember exactly what it was that Max said as we traversed those 52 floors. I do know that he didn’t stop talking the whole way up.

It was clear talking. It wasn’t precise. It wasn’t certain or solid. It was runny, it was liquid, it was verbal diarrhea and it stunk of the toxic infiltration of other people’s ideas.

It gives rise to a very important maxim:

If your goals are too hard to explain, then they are most likely impossible to achieve.

Max’s needs to make his goals simple.

So he can repeat them easily.

So other people can understand them and be inspired to help him.

So that he knows exactly what it is he’s aiming for.

One of my friends is an International Cricketer; his goal is super clear: he wants to be the best leg spinner in the world.

It’s so easy for him to run, train, practice, study, and dust himself off after defeat, to keep chasing it.

He’s clear on what he wants.

What is it you want?

Imagine traveling without a plan…

If you have no destination, you can simply hop on the Greyhound bus and travel across America. You will almost certainly have an adventure, but it might not be a good one.

This is what happens with coaching businesses that don’t have goals.

This is what happens with lives that don’t have goals.

You hop on the Greyhound bus, and you spend your life getting driven around by other people’s needs.

The best elevator pitches can be shared in one floor…

You shouldn’t need a lot of words to express your goals and your vision.

• Just do it.

• World’s best leg spinner.

• Help people live inspired lives.

• 200 Strong Community.

These are examples of goals that can be expressed in very few words. I love 3-word goals because a dumbass like me cannot forget them AND I can share them with my ADHD-riddled friend Sam without him switching off mid-sentence.

Create a 3-word goal in the comment, I would love to know your dreams

Everyone is doing it.

Over the past 5 years every man, his dog, and his dog’s cousin have been creating online courses.

The consumer has been bombarded with promises, over-purchased, and generally failed to get a result from the courses they bought.

This has resulted in market fatigue.

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People have chased the shiny rabbit too many times. Now they know the rabbit can never be caught.

For a coach or an expert, it was a giant honey pot. Create it once sell it forever.

Make money while doing nothing.

This trend is ending, thankfully. Now you can learn just about anything an online course could teach you with a click of a button and some AI software.

Incidentally, this is why all the course creators are now selling courses on how to leverage AI. They’ve switched their grift.

It’s one final snatch for the gems before the security door comes crashing down.

But the people have grown wiser.

The over-saturation of low-quality courses has bred fatigue and universal mistrust.

Zero regulation and low-quality products have hurt everyone.

There’s no more fish in the shark tank, and now the big sharks are starting to eat the baby sharks

Courses to save course providers with huge $$$ to register.

Incidentally, I don’t even dare to call myself a coach because as one client said to me, “Geoff, everyone calls themself a coach these days and you are nothing like them.”

They described me as a teacher and a mentor. My daughter calls me an entrepreneur. I just think that I am here on this earth to be myself and help people.

And honestly, that’s where I think the current market is leading us.

Away from danger toward the safety of the community.

People never bought an online course for information anyway. They purchased it because they were hoping to grow.

And the growth you want won’t happen in an echo chamber while you watch videos with some guru talking.

Real tangible growth only happens when you improve your interpersonal skills.

That’s what I teach:

How to connect deeply and quickly with other people, both online and offline.

How to master the art of conversation so magnificently that no person would ever take a look at your competitors.

How to form strong collaborative communities where everyone feels connected and supported.

Enter the brave new world of online movements and communities.

Where like-minded people gather together to grow.

Where a mentor or teacher makes doing the work a communal sport.

Where you are not alone in the corner office watching coaching videos and tweaking AI Tools.

The future of the space belongs to those who have the skills to gather and inspire mastery.

Don’t buy another course.

Look for the kind of communities where you can grow to your full height.

I have always been a community creator.

I have always been a teacher who practices and refines what he teaches.

I have always tried to master human connection.

When something works for me, I take it to my community and I show them how to do it also.

This cycle of sharing and learning accelerates growth for everyone.

Communities where people are growing exponentially are never lonely places. People feel energized, excited, and inspired.

If you are not feeling this way, I guarantee that you are not currently part of a vibrant community.

In a polarized world, being part of a community where you truly belong is extremely important.

2025 is the year of community and strong relationships.

Members in these communities will see explosive growth

Next Thursday morning I'm running a masterclass for our Sphere Builder Academy.

I have some tickets available for guests.

In the workshop, I will cover:

- Our Sphere Builder model to reach any goal you have through building relationships.

- A secret method that will move anyone to help you with just 15 minutes and coffee.

- A quick way to identify who your people are, so that you avoid building toxic or average relationships

- How to build your community of Influential people who are actively helping each other.

Drop a comment and I'll get you the link for a ticket.

Geoff. x

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• To show you how to leverage your skills and your time to help others.

• Illustrate how you can make $100K/Month coaching people in groups

• The simplest way to find new clients and convert them.

This will be a great place to follow what I do and learn from my mistakes. Subscribe and support, and I will give you all I’ve got.

Subscribe now