Holiday gifts, birthday gifts, just-because gifts, thinking of you gifts – what on earth do you give to someone who has pretty much all he or she can use?

If you guess wrong, welcome to the world of re-gifting.

Seems easiest to just buy some near-term consumables, things we can enjoy right away, such as a gift card to your favorite restaurant…movie tickets…or a gift basket.

All of the above involve basically an ephemeral one-time experience – memorable, perhaps, but when it’s over, we move on pretty much the way we were.

You could ask your gift recipients to delay their gratification a bit by giving something that pays out over time…such as a subscription to a publication to enjoy over the next year or two.

But will such a gift noticeably change someone’s life for the better?

This brings me to my favorite type of gift – access to an actual transformational learning program or experience that results in a permanent leap in ability, productivity, and growth of your business.

Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving!

Trouble is, most “learning” programs online are NOT built around proven curriculum design, but sadly are just shared information in “rah-rah” motivational presentations.

Information alone doesn’t change people’s long-held, limiting assumptions and coping habits (such as procrastination) that keep them sheltered from the trauma of stepping outside their comfort zones.

That’s basic human programming – and the reason why 97% of people buying information programs online never get cloned to the “guru” level, and in fact, never even finish the program materials.

Don’t waste your time and money on the vast majority of “shiny object” programs promising results they cannot deliver to you.

The kind of gift I’m suggesting you find and share with family and friend entrepreneurs is one of the 3% of online programs that have high transformation rates.

But how do you know what’s the real learning experience amid all the fake programs?

Here are things to look for to make sure you’ve found the real deal.

1 – A coach with the reputation of being focused on your transformation, and not your money…and plenty of transformed clients you can call to confirm.

Skip the online testimonials – talk to people who have gone through the program and got personal help to achieve the desired results, permanently. Find a coach who can honestly back up a transformation rate of 75% or better.

For example, in my Video Maestro programs to build a brand, sales conversion, and learning transformation, I don’t leave anyone behind. My passion is to create an environment over time that’s stress-free and conducive to building their self-confidence and mastering the needed skills one by one to reach that transformation level. I want all of my peeps to get the results they paid for and expected. Period.

2 – Small group with some 1:1 mentoring sessions, over time.

Information programs lost their ability to change people’s outcomes when they dropped the 1:1 personal mentoring in favor of the easier and more lucrative 1:many approach.

Remember college – we don’t master a topic by listening to lectures and going home to read a book and watch videos.  That’s having to teach yourself, and human psyches don’t work that way. The thinking and habits that got you where you are can’t teach you how to think and behave like people at a higher level. 

In my video business, I offer small group sessions that combine the 1:1 application of skills to each person’s unique situation, and also the value of learning from what I share with others.  There is no substitute for personal mentoring over time.

3 – Smart tools they teach you to master in the program, that make what you learned repeatable over time.

Every program gives you templates, checklists, etc., but few actually mentor you step by step through them so you master the process and are comfortable pulling out the tools and making them work for you 6 months or a year later.

For example, my programs are based on interactive workshops and practical tools people master with me – such as my Video Voodoos checklist of 30 of the most common distractions when on camera that chase away your ideal prospects before they have a chance to hear and love your message. 

4 – Personal 1:1 support “just in time” as needed to get unstuck and past periodic overwhelm.

Posting questions in a chat or emailing in your questions doesn’t work.  You need a personal mentor available when you need help, to walk you through processes until you really understand and “get it.”

Too many folks drop out of programs when they get stuck and don’t get personal help.  In my programs, for example, I’m accessible in workshops and by email any time my people get stuck and need their momentum again.

5 – There’s no quick solution to a major change of thinking, habits, and productive results.

Find you a coach and program built around the principle that change comes through a guided, mentored process over time – baby-step wins, in a building-block sequence, that lead to your strong sense of self-confidence.

For example, in my own business, I call myself the Video Maestro because over the years I’ve developed a scientifically proven process for cloning a thriving mindset and system.

I focus my coaching on using video to master three “Hot Spots” in every business that will make you or break you:

• Attractive and professional signature brand…
• Magnetic sales “hook” to draw in only your ideal prospects…and
• A legacy learning experience that actually delivers the results your clients paid for and trusted you to deliver.

The coach who is both an expert in the desired process and also passionately committed to delivering the promised transformation will be able to help master those critical hotspots. 

So when you’re thinking about a lasting gift for the entrepreneur friend or family member, you can’t do better than connect them with the right coach and program that I’ve described above.

Remember, there’s not a business or entrepreneur online who can’t benefit greatly from such a gift that keeps on giving year after year, with long-term personal and financial benefits.

So find that special coach and program – and go rock somebody’s world!