‘Sometimes, a single conversation with the right person can more valuable than many years of study’. (John Mason)
Counsel does not mean advice. Most people take them to mean the same thing. They may be synonymous but they’re not the same. While advice is the adviser’s opinion, counsel is simply the counselor’s analysis or appraisal. Advice comes in pieces but have you ever heard anyone speak of a piece of counsel? An adviser tells you what he thinks you should or could do; a counsellor shows you the options and helps you understand them, then the choice is yours to make!
Anyone who is serious about success will care to know that the most important things are not people’s opinions (honest or not) but their sincere analysis or appraisal of you or what you do. That’s why sportsmen keep coaches. Imagine you are a sprinter. You just ran a race and came last. You meet your coach and all he has to say is, ‘You should have run faster.’ Days turn into weeks and he says nothing more. I can bet you won’t keep that coach.
But if he approaches you and says, ‘You didn’t make it out there because you didn’t run fast enough. Your steps were stiff and your thighs didn’t pump high enough. Again, you were landing flat footed.’ And then he goes on to tell you how to correct those errors. I bet you’ll keep that coach.
By now you should know how counsel differs from advice. People don’t succeed on only pieces of advice - just like you can’t live on pieces of food. You need meals. You need counsel. Your peace depends on it.
‘In the multitude of counselors there is safety’ (King Solomon)
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