by Curtis Songer June 3, 2016
Life coaching has proven to be the most effective way to break free of whatever is holding you back and to start making progress toward your goals.
According to Newsweek, a life coach is “Part consultant, part motivational speaker, part therapist and part rent-a-friend. Life coaches work with managers, entrepreneurs, and just plain folks, helping them define and achieve their goals — career, personal, or most often, both.”
Life coaching is the process of helping people identify and achieve personal goals. Although many life coaches may have expertise in several fields including psychology, a life coach should not attempt to take the place of a therapist or a counselor. Psychological intervention lies outside the scope of life coaching. Therapists and counselors deal mostly with the past, while life coaches deal mostly with the present and moving forward to achieve goals that lie in the future.
A life coach is a success partner. They come in many “flavors.” Some focus on career planning, others on leadership development. Some focus on health and wellness, others on relationship management. Some work with private individuals, others with small business owners. But in all cases, life coaches develop a relationship with their clients that is uniquely designed to tap into your full potential. Just as high-performance athletes wouldn’t think of training without the added insight, objective perspective, and enthusiastic support of an athletic coach, many of today’s most successful young professionals, mid-level managers, senior executives, and entrepreneurs use the services of a life coach to take their lives, careers, or businesses to the next level. Life coaches have the ability to view things objectively and to shed new light on difficult situations. Often they can act as a sounding board through tough decisions, help sharpen skills, lay out action plans, and motivate people to achieve things they never could have achieved on their own.
Do they really get results? A recent article in Public Management revealed a study where training alone was compared to life coaching combined with training. The study showed that training alone increased productivity by 22% while training combined with weekly life coaching increased productivity by 88%. Additionally, in a recent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 99% of companies and individuals surveyed stated they were “very satisfied” with the results of hiring a life coach and “would hire a life coach again.” The main factors documented that attributed toward the success rates were:
- Accountability – Most life coaches have two to four sessions a month with their clients. These regularly scheduled sessions motivate clients to get more done than they would if left on their own. Clients take bigger actions, set bigger goals and think bigger thoughts when working with a professional life coach.
- Expertise – The trained life coach knows how to help you set the right goals (SMARTC goals), make more money, and structure your personal and professional life to achieve greater productivity with less effort. Overall, people say they achieve more in less time, and live a life of greater fulfillment, with the help of a skilled life coach.
- Delivery – A well-trained life coach knows how to use the right words so that you are naturally motivated. One client remarked, “My life coach knows me better than my spouse does!” Weekly sessions motivate clients to take the time to integrate new ways of thinking and to take the actions necessary each week to achieve their goals. The experience is challenging and uplifting.
- Experience – Wisdom comes from people who have been where you want to go. The best life coaches have been there. They have lived life and can provide the advice you need to avoid the bumps in the road, as well as the dead-ends! They can assist you in developing implementable action plans that will help you achieve your goals in the most realistic manner.
- Speed – Most people find that things start to happen very quickly after hiring a life coach. This is because an experienced life coach knows what will work and what won’t work for each of his/her clients individually. S/he understands the tools, techniques, and advice that will uniquely work for each person.
Can you benefit from life coaching? Studies have shown that entrepreneurs, executives, business leaders, actors, musicians, creative people, managers, small business owners, start-ups, professionals and home-makers all more effectively reach their goals with the help of a life coach. If there is a gap between where you are now and where you want to be, there is room for life coaching. Not only will your life coach help you close the gap, your life coach will help you break through your limited beliefs and challenge you to think bigger.
All Truth@Life coaches are trained, certified, and average over 30 years of experience. Our results prove it.
If you are ready to break free and start making progress toward your goals, go to our “Free Consultation” page to get started.
Comments 5
Really this is very well written about Life Coach.In 2014 I made the decision to get certified as a Life Coach. I wanted to supplement my music career with another kind of work that would allow me to connect with people authentically, the same way music has. Learning to be a Coach was inspiring and challenging. My first task as a student was to identify something I wanted to achieve or change in my own life, make a commitment and then do it. Powerful stuff!! Being given this challenge AND the support of my Coaches and fellow students taught me how to listen better, honor my deepest desires and steadily move forward towards my goals. This is what I now do with my coaching clients.
Thanks for your comments!
My son has been having some difficulties in his life recently. He has struggled to decide what career he wants to pursue and what he needs to get there. I didn’t realize young adult life coaching can help clients set goals that will help them achieve greater productivity with a purpose. I’ll be sure to remember this option moving forward.
Life coaches sound pretty great. I like the fact that they can give you accountability in your life is great. Having someone to back me up in decisions would definitely help me.
A good life coach can be amazing. They will take time to understand the issues, and to understand what is driving those issues. A good life coach really will make a big difference.