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Popularity of Life Coaching

February 23, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Just a few short years ago if someone told you they had a coach you would have probably thought they had a tennis or a golf coach they were working with to improve their game.  Now when someone says they have a coach more and more people realize that person is trying to grow as a person, and trying to become successful on their terms.

Personal life coaching has an enormous potential for growth.  As I mentioned in another post Why Not Become A Life Coach, there are thousands of areas where you can become a coach.  If you look at each person in America, they need coaching for: personal development, finances, marriage, home schooling, decorating, career, leadership, starting a business, accomplishing goals, and any number of things you can think of.

Why Is Life Coaching So Popular?

In my opinion, life coaching is so popular first because, most people already know what they want to do.  People have goals but most people need some one to come along side them and help them fine tune the goals and act on them.  They also need an honest sounding board that may not be specifically tied to them like a close friend is.  Friends are great, they just think like you do so they may not have the best view of what is going on.

Second, most people don’t have a mentor they can go to.  I had a conversation last week with a friend about how we wished someone would have come along side us earlier in life to open our eyes to the opportunities that are in front of us now.  If everyone had a mentor there would be no need for coaches.  Coaches are available now to come along side us and help each person walk through the opportunities at hand.

Finally, coaching is so popular because technology has made it possible.  Cell phones let us talk for unlimited minutes.  The internet lets us stay in constant communication and do seminars at all times of the day and night.  But technology has also made it harder to find a good coach.  You need to talk to several coaches before you make a choice on hiring one.  Just because a coach charges a lot of money does not mean that coach is a good coach, it just means they charge a lot of money.  Find a coach you can connect with and feel comfortable with not one that is going to charge you a whole months paycheck to get the same results.

If you are looking for a Christian Life Coach you can see my coaching page.

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Why Not Become A Life Coach

February 19, 2010 by · 1 Comment

Do you like to help people succeed?  Is there an area you have a niche in?  Are you able to listen to what people say and honestly reflect that back to them?  Do you want to own your own business?  Then becoming a life coach may be right for you.

When I began exploring coaching in 2006 I knew I had a calling deep within me.  I graduated from Liberty University with a degree in religion and thought I was going to be the pastor of a church.  However, counseling is not my thing.  As a pastor, counseling is one of the main things I would be doing during the day.   I found that  I was to honest, and most people do not want you to be honest with them.  I like to work with people who want to accomplish goals, people who have vision, and want to lead others.  I can not work with people who just want me to tell them I love them and it will get better.  Because I know it won’t get better unless they do something to make it better.

What Is Your Back Ground?

I mentioned above about having a niche.  Everyone is an expert at something.   My father was a Caterpillar Tractor Mechanic.  He was payed more money than anyone I ever met for working on a tractor.  Why? Because that was his niche.  He worked on nothing else, and he was the best.  What Are You Good At?  You can be a coach in any field.  You can get started with a blog like I did then expand into coaching.  I’ll help you set up a web address if you want one, just email me at steve (at) pinnaclebalance dot com and let me know you want to set up a blog and I’ll help you get started.

I Don’t Have A Degree.

So what!  Like I said above, “Everyone is an expert at something.”  Can you cook, scrapbook, plan parties, help the grieving, or stay married for 15 years?  Do you paint, craft, mechanic, sell anything, or just love people?  Do you know a lot about beer, wine, spirits, food, pastries, or anything else? Do you see what I am getting at. You know something about something so you can be a coach.

Do you like to be stretched and challenged?

Many or maybe all of the sites that advertise coach training tell you that you need to be trained to be a life coach.  There is no rule that says you have to get formal training to be a coach.  They want to sell you the training so they can make money.  Instead, I suggest getting several books and reading them to help get started.

First is, Becoming a Professional Life Coach, This gives you a great start to learning the coaching profession.  Next is, “Four Steps to Building a Profitable Coaching Practice” by Deborah Brown-Volkman.  This was the first book I ever bought.  It will get you started in the art of building and marketing your business and most importantly choosing who you coach. Third is The Coaching Starter Kit: Everything You Need to Launch and Expand Your Coaching Practicefrom Coachville.com.  While this book has a long name it has ideas, reports, documents, and even coaching contracts you can use to get started in your business.  Finally, if you need help asking question or ideas for developing documents  Total Life Coaching: 50+ Life Lessons, Skills, and Techniques to Enhance Your Practice…and Your Life again by Patrick Williams.  Yes it has another long name, but can be invaluable to help you get your practice started.

I hope this has given you a look at coaching and instilled the belief that you can become a coach. If you have question feel free to contact me from our about page.  Or if you are looking to start a coaching relationship fill out our coaching questionnaire for a free getting to know you session.

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3 Ways To Stop Procrastinating

February 19, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

When Henry Ward Beecher was asked how he could do so much more than other people, he replied: “I don’t do more, but less, than other people. They do all their work three times over: once in anticipation, once in actuality, once in rumination. I do mine in actuality alone, doing it once instead of three times.”

How many times have you created a list; or just didn’t put something on a list; or maybe sat outside a customers office because you were playing out in your mind what would happen when you did the thing your knew you were supposed to do? Chances are you have procrastinated before. Nike gave us the phrase, “Just Do It.” I think they took Mr. Beecher’s sentiment and condensed it. If you want a balanced life you’ve gotta stop projecting your thoughts on something before it happens and quit worrying about what you should have done after it is passed.

Three good ways to stop procrastinating are:

1. Change your thoughts. I know this sounds over simplified but it is true. The best way to change your life is to change your mind. Think about people in your life that affirm you. Think about what made you happy when you were a kid. Think about what makes you happy now; wife, husband, family, art, music, football, whatever.

2. Change your heart. What you let into your heart is what stays in your life. If you are constantly playing out what the next business deal is or where the next sell is coming from or how the bills are going to get paid stop because these things are going to become habits then you may get stuck in a rut you will need more than coaching to get out of. I’m not saying don’t plan and set goals. I am saying quit playing in your mind and just do it.

3. Change your future. Find someone to come along side you as a coach or mentor that can help you set goals and keep you accountable to those goals.

Plan daily what you are going to do and do your most important things. Don’t spend time wrestling with the; “should I do this” or “I wish I had done that.” Make quick but solid decisions and trust your gut. Always focus on the task at hand.

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Life Balance – Take Time to Plan

January 21, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
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When I begin coaching someone in developing Life Balance we brainstorm about all they want to accomplish. Once we have this on paper it is easier to see where they want to be and then sort through what is and is not important at this time. What I have noticed however is people get off track because they do not take time to review their list or even glance at the goals they have set. This is how I believe you should break down your time to get the most items accomplished.

1. Take 2 days to one complete week each year to review what you have done over the last year, then decide what you want to accomplish for the next year. Before you start making excuses let me tell you this, (If you want to accomplish all your dreams then you must stop and take time out to make a plan). Find a way! Get a babysitter, get a hotel room, go away to somewhere so you can think whatever it takes to get alone and think. Do this individually first then with your spouse or business partner or who ever is involved. (If you are doing this for the first time others may not want to do it. Do not force others into joining you pray that they will become involved and slowly speak to them about what you are doing.) During this time you will get everything down on paper and organized.

2. Take 1 day per month. This will help you refocus and plan the next month. Again you are putting down what you want to accomplish over the next month in order of priority. Reread your goals and refocus where you have lost footing.

3. Take 2-3 hour per week. This is where you focus intently on the upcoming week. This list will be short and precise; your weekly planning time is where you save yourself the most time and energy. Remember 20% of the items on your list will bring you 80% of your results. Decide what your most important tasks are and list them in order.

4. Take 15 minutes every evening to set-up you list for the next day. Things might have come up during the day before that need to be addressed tomorrow so review and revise your to-do list. Read your goals. You must read your goals at least daily so they are fresh in your mind; I prefer to read them in the morning and evening so they are ingrained in my thought process.

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Personal Development-Why It’s Important

January 18, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Why can we not just show up? We hear all the time about the kid that makes a million dollars just because he or she just did one small thing. So why can’t we just show up and be successful. I know a couple that was in the right place at the right time and are now millionaires. The problem is the right place was managing McDonald’s. Are you willing to start at the bottom cooking fries and flipping burgers to make a million dollars? Probably not; so you waste tens of thousands of dollars trying to find the next get rich scheme on the internet or in mail order or where ever it may come from.

Personal Development is the key to changing your life.  John Maxwell once said, “What your are reading today, is who you will be ten years from now.” Do you understand the implications of watching the news or just television in general everyday for hours on end. It consumes you it becomes who you are. you begin to see that life is bad. everyone is out to get everyone else. Our government is out to get us. You lose your will to be the success you were called to be. You take on the personification of someone you are not.

If you want to succeed tomorrow then start by bettering your life. Go Buy a book or get some coaching. If you think coaching is to expensive then try email coaching or hit me up on Facebook. I do email coaching all the time because it is more affordable for some people. Some books you can read are Zig Ziglars Better Than Good: Creating a Life You Can’t Wait to Live and John Maxwell’s Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow’s Success. Both of these books will start you on the road to personal development. But don’t stop with two. Read every book you can find on personal development and if you need someone to keep you accountable get a coach.  I am not saying read self-help books that tell you that you need a better view of yourself.  Read books that give you an outline of how to succeed.  You are not going to agree with or enjoy every book you read but if you get one nugget out of each book you will see yourself begin to change.  Over time ever thing you read and do adds up to help you rise above the rest. 

I have a coach to help me get better and my coach has a coach. Tiger, Oprah, and countless others have coaches.  Successful people have others around them that can speak encouragement to them and help them develop themselves.  If you have friends that are of the same mindset then begin to meet with them and start to sharpen each other.  If your friends are people who make fun of you and try to pull you down to their level then they are not the ones to speak encouragement into your life.  Get someone in your life you can count on to help in your development. 

If you want to be truly successful then you must develop yourself. I want to also suggest the bible as daily reading. If you are of a different faith then by all means read your holy books. But as a Christian I read the bible and suggest it to those I coach. Don’t let the rest of your life slip away. Make the choice today to become the person you were called to be.

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