7 Tips for Hiring a Life Coach
Do you need a Life Coach? Do you know what a Life Coach is? Are you in the Alberta area and looking for Calgary Life Coach? In this post I will explain in more detail the roles of life coaches and how best to hire one.
Many people think the use of a Life Coach signifies an inability for handling the challenges of one’s own life. They believe only weak people require the assistance of a coach. This is simply not true. Why else would people like Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey and Derek Jeter have personal coaches. The reason is because a Life Coach helps people maximize their potential and seeks to aid individuals who want to get the very best out of their lives. If anything, the use of a Life Coach represents strength of character and the will to succeed.
Another misperception is that Life Coaches are therapists, although a therapist could choose to become a Life Coach. A Life Coaches role in an individuals’ life differs significantly from the typical doctor patient relationship. Life Coaches consider themselves equal to the people they tutor, not superior. Their primary goal is to help individuals set goals for their lives, focusing only on the present and the future. Because they lack a proven process such as Subconscious Restructuring, many Life Coaches seldom deal in emotions. Life Coaches are typically far less concerned about the past than most therapists. Life Coaches focus on the future.
If you would like to achieve more out of life but are a bit unsure about how to proceed, a Life Coach may be able to help you start your personal development journey. Below are 7 tips for hiring a Life Coach:
1. Hire someone you feel comfortable with.
You’ll be spending a lot of time with your new Life Coach so it’s important to choose someone with whom you get along well. Just like a good teacher can make the difference in your academic endeavors, a life coach whom you trust and get along with is essential for your personal/professional changes. Life is much too short to spend time with people you dislike.
You should choose someone who can be objective to your overall goals. Do you want competency or companionship? You are not looking for another friend but rather someone to keep you accountable to the standard you know you can achieve. Avoid people who are too close to you such as family and close friends.
2. Has your Interests in Mind.
Make certain that whoever you hire has your best interests in mind. You can find differences among life coaches such as you would find differences among any other practitioner. Find someone to work with who is genuinely interested in your success and try to avoid those people who are merely trying to “hitch a ride”.
One way to establish a connection is to explain to your Life Coach the goals you have for your life and ask for feedback on how he/she will proceed. How many times a month will you meet? What communication channels will you use to connect? What kind of access do you have to them? Most importantly, do you believe this person will give you a solid chance on establishing the changes you want to see?
3. Communicates Well.
It is very important that your Life Coach is able to clearly communicate his plans for helping you achieve your goals. The ability to communicate effectively is extremely important in establishing a winning relationship. Insist upon an open line of communication where each party feels equally comfortable expressing their views.
Your relationship with your Life Coach will evolve and grow over time as your needs and requirements do. The only way to ensure you are moving forward together on the same page is through consistent and concise communication. You have to be willing to step up to the plate and voice your opinion, and your Life Coach has to be able to keep that communication going.
4. Hire someone who is qualified.
The application and interview process should be taken quite seriously, and used to find the very best person for the help you want. Hiring a life coach is an important task, and therefore your qualifying criteria should help to establish your best chance of success.
Many people wonder if you should get a Life Coach who is certified or not. This is a great question and will depend on your ultimate goal. In theory, certified Life Coaches have been taught how work with you to achieve your goal. However, because it is a school, not everyone that graduates as a Life Coach is as effective at retaining and applying that they have learned.
Uncertified Life Coaches who have been practicing on the other hand many have developed many skills although they haven’t gone to school. The comparison between a certified and uncertified Life Coach is very similar to a licensed mechanic and a hobby mechanic. You can find the good, bad and ugly in both cases.
Make certain that the person you hire has the experience for helping you effectively. What types of coaching has he/she done in the past and how does it apply to your situation.
5. Check References.
Remember, when you hire a Life Coach, you are the employer. Talk to people who have used this person’s services in the past, and get a feel for what to expect. Do they have testimonials that you can check? What do the testimonials and feedback tell you about working with this person.
What kind of vibe do you get from the people who have left references or testimonials? Can you identify with their problem/situation/personality? For obvious reasons it is always a good idea to avoid people with characteristics detrimental to your plan.
6. Hire a Motivator
If the first meeting with your new Life Coach fails to get you excited about the goals you seek in life, the person is probably not for you. This doesn’t mean that you should feel excited because the person you hired is going to solve the problem for you. The motivation you feel should come from knowing that by working with this person, it is only a matter of time before you get the results you want.
Your Life Coach should be a champion to your cause, a partner towards your success and a support tool to hold you accountable. Your Life Coach should be excited about your future and that excitement should be infectious. Choose somebody who can truly motivate you towards great things.
7. Has Connections.
It certainly is not mandatory to hire only those people with connections in the area you seek assistance, but it sure does help. Your Life Coach will work with you to plan your life, setting goals and objectives for each step. Connections to important people in your particular field can greatly enhance the chance for success. Sometimes it really does come down to “who you know.”
Does your Life Coach have professional connections and a team of people working along side them? Do you feel comfortable in the hands of this extended support network? Could they easily refer you out to another trusted professional if needed?
Keep these things in mind when you are ready to hire your Life Coach. Remember that the process is all about you, and the proper person should be someone whom you trust with your dreams. If you would like to see how Russ conducts his famous “Exploration Sessions”, which are known for leaving people feeling motivated and excited about the changes they seek, contact him today and ask to be put on the next available schedule.
Recognize and Avoid Self-Sabotage
One of the finest feelings is that state of satisfaction that accompanies accomplishment.
The feeling of pride you experience when you’ve managed to cross off those items on your “to do” list is amazingly rewarding. But that having been said, why, do you suppose, do people not strive to replicate that feeling on a more regular basis? Why do they settle for mediocrity and procrastination when accomplishment, and moreover, the fantastic feeling that goes hand-in-hand with it, is reasonably in reach?
The truth lies in a wise old saying: “We are our own worst enemies.” For some reason we sabotage our own success and enjoyment, settling instead for a life of uncertainty and only marginal happiness. Make no mistake though, people want things to change. They want more out of life but they convince themselves that they are not good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or rich enough. Success and happiness, “they say”, is reserved for the few, the lucky.
This is hogwash! Success and the happiness that accompanies it, is accessible to everyone, but first we have to “get out of our own way.” We have to allow it to happen by eliminating self-sabotaging actions and beliefs and replace them with clearer objectives through which success can be achieved. The first step is to recognize the various forms of self-sabotage. Here are a few, recognize any?
1. Procrastination
In simple terms, procrastination is putting things—things that could be reasonably accomplished now—off until another time. For example, a high school senior who says she will start college in the fall is not procrastinating, but the person out of high school—the one lying around the house with goals that are undefined—is procrastinating. The problem is that this “other time” is rarely measurable. People say, “I’ll get to that tomorrow,” but when tomorrow comes they repeat the mantra and the process.
This procrastination is a major roadblock on the road to success. Many continue to put things off for years with the notion that another time may be more suitable. They wait and wait only to find out that the “more suitable” time never comes.
Make a list of the things you really want with clearly defined objectives on how you plan to achieve them. Most importantly, give each objective a timeline and stick to it. Even on the days you “don’t feel like it,” do it anyway. You’ll be happy you did. It sounds cliché, but there really is “no better time than the present.”
2. “I’m Not ______________ Enough” (Smart, Good, Talented, Pretty)
Believe it or not, rocket scientists were not born rocket scientists. They worked extremely hard to achieve their positions. If they are happy as a result of their success, being smart had very little to do with that happiness. They had a goal in mind, one that matched their abilities and interests, and they pursued it. They didn’t allow doubt and the occasional setback define who they were.
If you think about it, inferiority—feeling as if you are somehow beneath another person—is truly imaginary.
Allowing setbacks to act as permanent barriers to success is detrimental and wholly unnecessary. Just ask Michael Jordan. The man many consider to be the greatest basketball player in the history of the game, Michael Jordan, was cut by his high school basketball team. Some coach at a North Carolina high school believed he was not good enough, and sent him on his way. The rest of the story is so famous that I need not repeat it, but you probably see my point. Through hard work and an unshakeable belief in his own ability—his own dream—he was able to overcome an obstacle that, for some, would have stopped them in their tracks.
You can achieve anything you want if you are truly committed to it. Eliminate self-sabotaging beliefs and turn setbacks into opportunities to grow.
3. What will people think?
On a recent trip to the mall, I happened upon a mother and her very young daughter who were picking out clothes for a teddy bear they had purchased. Yes, strange as it sounds, I said teddy bear. Anyway, the young girl had selected a certain dress she really liked and I overheard her mother say, “Not that one honey. What will people think? It doesn’t match your room.” Naturally, the girl began to sob, but the mother did not relent. Now I know I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help wondering why this mother would deny her child the happiness of choosing the teddy bear clothes she really wanted, based on some ridiculous and erroneous notion of what others might think. Certainly the girl’s happiness—which will in turn create more happiness in the mother’s life—is more important than the way she might be perceived. Isn’t it?
When we allow thoughts and perceptions, such as those described, impede our path to happiness and success, it may be time to evaluate what is truly important. If you are acting in a positive and healthy manner, trying to improve your life and the life of your family, how could it possibly matter what others may think? The truth is that most people are far too concerned about themselves, and the way they are perceived by others, to even notice what you are doing. If you act according to your dreams, the people who really matter in this life will support you, and that, after all, is the only thing that matters.
