With his mortgage paid off, Ande Schurr reflects on the value of having the right business coach.

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For seven years I've worked on films, TV series and commercials as the sound guy who records the actor's dialogue, the CEO's interview or the cows mooing in a paddock. You get the idea.

For the last five years I've had a business coach who has taught me that as long as a goal is feasible then it is achievable.

It so happened that it was feasible for me to buy my first home three years ago. When we looked at my income, we found that my earnings were on an upward trend and, with some careful watching, I would be able to pay off the mortgage in three years. Well, earlier this year I paid off my mortgage. The freedom I feel is hard to describe. It's one of life's major financial hurdles out of the way. Of course there is more than this to true financial independence, and to life, but still, it's a big step.

This is really a thank you letter to a friend, mentor and business coach, David Samuel, who has believed in me and provided the right kind of correction and encouragement to move forwards from the place of debt and lack of self-confidence that I started out with.

Having worked in businesses in more than 30 industries in 15 countries, David has an understanding of the customs of business in many cultures and this is great to draw on when I chat with him.

David's core philosophy is that business success is 100 percent dependent on the quality of your character. So, knowing nothing really about my industry (my other friend and mentor Mike Westgate was great for advice on the technical sound side of things), David worked with me on what it means to respect others, to respect oneself, to have correct conduct, to try to consider how others were feeling and to try not to cause anyone public embarrassment, among many other things too numerous to write about here. Putting this important character trait of respect into practice, I found it possible to remain busy all year around.

I never complain about the work I get. I want it every day. How can I complain at the very thing that I need to help me achieve my goal? I appreciate so much all the companies and individual producers and directors that have hired and continue to hire me. I know even for them that work comes and goes in much the same way that it does for me, an individual contractor. So I don't confuse the loyalty I feel with a client with the quantity of work they give me. Sometimes they use other sound guys whom they also have good relations with.

I respect that this is simply the nature of business so I am realistic and keep an open mind to the many other jobs and people out there.

Then there is authenticity and with that comes trust which I feel has been the single biggest thing that inspires me about David. I trust his analysis of me as a person and what I need to do to keep moving forwards. I trust him because of the attitude he instills in his clients, "believe nothing that I or anyone tells you until you have tested and proven it with your own experience".

At the end of this year I will take a few months off to travel around India. It was something I wanted to do after I'd paid off my home; a little treat and some downtime from our sleepless industry.

I think we all need a rest every now and then. Not just a weekend, but a proper break that allows the mind to tune into other things, to allow new thoughts to turn over the machinery of our mind; to relax. What better place than a trip to the mind-expanding world of India.

So this is a thank you to an impeccable coach, David Samuel. If the best teams in the world need coaches, then why not individuals who also strive to be the best we can be.

David Samuel's website