Every would-be adventurer can use a little help sometimes. And a good coach can be an excellent resource for helping you to get out of your comfort zone and onto the path towards the (new) life you envision.

In one of the opening scenes to the movie The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins meets up with the wizard Gandalf as he enters the Shire to attend Bilbo Baggins’ birthday celebration. Frodo teases Gandalf about the wizard’s reputation among the Hobbit-folk as a “disturber of the peace.”

To this, Gandalf dryly replies, “If you’re referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door.”

We see similar examples in Obi-Wan Kenobi guiding young Luke Skywalker, Master Shifu training Po in Kung Fu Panda, and Professor X with his gifted youngsters. Coaches, guides, teachers, and mentors are all around us, both in fiction and in real life.

What sets apart a great mentor is their ability to help you look at life differently, to see a new perspective—one that you might not discover on you own.

I have a friend who likes to say, “You can’t read the label from inside the jar.” Likewise, it’s not always easy to be objective about what is holding you back or getting in your way, mentally, when you’re in the thick of it. Sometimes, we could use an unbiased third party to expand our vision.

When you’re looking to change your life or explore new horizons, it doesn’t have to be some massive, burn the bridges, all-at-once undertaking. It can start with one small step on the path.

That, and a gentle nudge out of the door.