Why you need a coach to level up. Carlos Garcia on finding mentorship when no one's had your back. Real talk for young men.
Most young men will never have a coach. Not because they don't need one—but because no one ever told them why you need a coach in the first place.
I grew up without one. My dad wasn't around. My teachers didn't know me. The guys I hung with were just as lost as I was. So I figured it out alone, which meant I figured out a lot of things wrong first. I wasted years on bad decisions, wrong directions, and the kind of confidence that comes from not knowing what you don't know.
Then I got lucky. Someone believed in me before I believed in myself. That person didn't just tell me I could do better—they showed me what better actually looked like. They called me out when I was lying to myself. They celebrated wins I didn't think mattered. They made me understand that needing help wasn't weakness; it was strategy.
That's why I coach now. Not to be some guru on a stage. But because I needed the coach I never had, and I know you probably do too.
Here's what a real coach does: they see potential you can't see in yourself yet. They know the gap between where you are and where you want to be, and they refuse to let you pretend that gap doesn't exist. They push you, but not to break you—to build you. They've usually walked a similar road, which means they know where the traps are before you step in them.
The problem is, most young men either don't look for a coach, or they're looking in the wrong places. They think a coach is someone who yells at you, or someone who has all the answers. Real mentorship is quieter than that. It's someone who asks you the right questions. Someone who believes in the work, not just the talk. Someone who shows up consistently because they actually care about your growth, not your praise.
If you're at Success Scholars or anywhere else trying to level up, understand this: you don't have to know all the answers. You just have to be willing to learn from someone who's been where you want to go. Energy sharpens energy—when you're around someone serious about their development, it changes what's possible for you.
You might not have the family support you wanted. You might not have grown up around winning. That's not your fault. But staying stuck because of it? That becomes your choice.
Start looking for your coach. Not the perfect one—just someone real who's a few steps ahead. Someone who'll be straight with you. Someone who cares more about your character than your comfort. That conversation, that relationship, might be the difference between drifting and actually building something.
You're not alone in this. But you can't do it completely by yourself either. Find your person. Then be that person for someone else.