How to Take Away The Fear Of Becoming A Psychology Life Coach

What is the difference between a psychology life coach and a psychologist? The main difference is the university degree and credentials that a psychologist has to earn before using the title. Unless you have the credentials, you don’t want people to think you are a psychologist unless you want to get in major trouble with the law. There is a place for psychology life coaches, and without understanding human psychology.

3 Keys to Success as a Psychology Life Coach

  1. Understanding What People Want: Understanding that people are motivated to fulfill their needs is key to motivating people to take action. People need certainty, variety, significance and love or connection to survive. Without getting enough certainty in their lives, a good psychology life coach understand the primary emotion clients will experience is fear. Psychology life coaching can be a good vehicle to getting more certainty. When people are getting these needs met at a high level they start looking to fulfill their needs for growth and contribution.
  2. Recognizing What Is Holding People Back: Unless someone is just moving effortlessly toward their goals, something is probably holding them back from achieving it or at least slowing their progress. With good a psychology life coach, people can overcome obstacles a lot more quickly. What really holds people back is not usually what they think it is, otherwise they would deal with it. Most of the time what holds people back is the perception that they might get one or more of their basic needs met at a lower level if they take action. For example, someone might not take action because of lack of certainty; which takes the form of fear. This fear might be about lack financial funds or loss of funds, not knowing what to do, or any other fear of risking what they already have. Someone else might not take action because he fears a loss of getting his need for significance met and looking “bad” if he fails. If this person believes he has to be significant to deserve love and connection, he may even lose love or connection because he goes into the cave and hides from others.
  3. Finding Empowering Alternatives: The main difference between a psychologist and a psychology life coach is getting people to move powerfully ahead toward their goals. Even if someone believes that she is stuck, taking a single step forward means that she is now taking action and no longer stuck. Seeing things from a different perspective or understanding what believes are holding someone back is not enough to transform someone’s life. For a true breakthrough to happen, there has to be more than talk.

Do Psychologists Have The Upper Hand Psychology Life Coaching?

Psychologists make have more education, but don’t let that stop from making a difference in someone’s life. You don’t need to be able to be an expert in abnormal psychology to help people move forward toward living the life of their dreams.

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step “Master Coach Blueprint” video toolkit. Just go HERE now to get yourmaster coach blueprint videos.

Colette Seymann
JTS Advisors Designated Accountability Coach

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What are Holistic Personal Coaches?

Holistic personal coaches occupy a growing niche in the coaching industry. As people become more health conscious, a holistic approach to life becomes more appealing. For many people, the services of a holistic personal coach can help them find a balance in life.

Holistic personal coaches work with clients on a variety of different levels and seek to find the balance between these levels. They analyze, assess, and ameliorate a client’s personal life, career, physical health, and mental health on three principal levels.

The 3 Levels of Holistic Health

  • Mind
  • Body
  • Spirit

People who lead busy lives, attempting to balance work, family, community, finances, and leisure activities, often find that their lives become unbalanced. Too often one aspect becomes far more predominant and other segments are left wanting. Holistic personal coaches can help bring balance back into your life and teach you ways to maintain that balance.

Imbalances can lead to problem in one’s career, relationships, and mental health. We have all felt stress at one time or another, but when stress becomes a daily issue, it may be time to get your life back in balance. Pursuing a healthy, holistic life is one of the best ways to achieve balance and health. A coach help you guide to a holistic way of life.

What Can Holistic Personal Coaches Do For Their Clients?

  • Work on building a healthy BODY by teaching the value of proper nutrition and exercise. Teach ways to understand BODY acceptance that is balanced with healthy living and self-esteem.
  • Help teach ways to reduce stress and clear the MIND of daily clutter. Create goals that stimulate the MIND and design a roadmap to reach those goals. Design strategies that help with personal issues, traumas, and emergencies.
  • Help clients understand the SPIRIT of life. Whether it is a belief in god, nature, or the community of man, balance is often achieved through the recognition of some higher power.

Holistic basically means to emphasize and recognize the functional and organic relationship between the parts and the whole. It helps to create a balanced and functional “whole.”

How Holistic Coaches Can Help Clients

  • Help find and embrace a life purpose
  • Teach ways to attract and nurture positive relationships
  • Design strategies to help create more time and help life stay in balance.
  • Work with clients to help build their self-confidence and their self-esteem.
  • Help clients find their inner child by discovering passion and joy that may have been lost over the years.
  • Help identify obstacles and roadblocks to success.
  • Create a roadmap from which clients can become “whole.”

As a coach, it, it can be more profitable to find a specific niche in the coaching field. Holistic personal coaches occupy one of those niches. Being the proverbial big fish in a little pond can help boost your professional recognition and your profits. If you are passionate about achieving health, harmony, and balance in life, this might be the perfect niche for you.

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step “Master Coach Blueprint” video toolkit. Just go HERE  now to get yourmaster coach blueprint videos.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community

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5 Secrets to Starting a Life Coaching Practice

Thinking of starting a life coaching practice? There is no time like the present to get started on a new career. Whether you are already a coach in a different field, or still on the sidelines, this is a great time to take the plunge!

The economy stinks, but the coaching business continues to grow and provide opportunities for qualified people to start a coaching practice. According to one an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, personal life coaching in the United States was the second fastest growth industry after IT.

There are an estimated 40,000 practicing coaches in 70 countries and the coaching industry continues to grow at a rate of 20% per year. Sound like an industry you want to join?

Though the field is rife with opportunities, starting a life coaching practice is just like starting any other business – it takes hard work, patience, persistence, and a high tolerance for frustration. But, it can also be rewarding and profitable. Before you take the plunge, here are a few helpful hints.

5 Secrets to Starting a Life Coaching Practice

  1. Don’t believe the hype! You’ve probably seen seductive ads or articles about the coaching profession. How you can earn big money by helping people. Well, the truth is…you can earn big money while helping people. However, it takes time and effort. Plenty of time and effort. The ads make it seem as if you can start calling yourself a coach and the money will begin to flow. Some coaches make good money, some coaches are broke. Some who get trained, do very well, others should probably find another career. It is what you make of it!
  2. Coaching is a business and you are an entrepreneur. Starting a life coaching practice is basically the same as opening a restaurant or any small business. You need to think and act like an entrepreneur. You have to create a business plan, determine cash flow, research, create and implement marketing strategies, and organize all legal aspects of your business. Just like any other business.
  3. Be committed. Some people start out their coaching careers as a side venture; it is possible to do that. However, the best path to success is to devote yourself to the coaching profession and your coaching practice. Though the coaching industry is still a growing field, and the demand for coaches continues to increase, the competition is becoming fierce as more and more people enter the field. Passion, devotion, and commitment are the ways to stay ahead of the competition when starting a life coaching practice.
  4. Get the best coaching and training. Yes, it counts. In a competitive field, you need the credentials to sell yourself to potential clients. When deciding on training and certification programs, do NOT cut corners. The most expensive programs are not necessarily the best, but the cheapest are definitely not worth it! Do diligent research on a program’s competency standards, get feedback from former students, search the Internet for testimonials and reviews. A good place to start your search is on the ICF (International Coach Federation) website at www.coachfederation.org.
  5. Look for a niche. Specializing in a specific field within the coaching industry may be one of the most important keys to success. There are literally hundreds of different niches within the coaching industry. Don’t just be a life coach – be a working mom’s life coach. Don’t just be a weight loss coach – be a weight loss coach for people with diabetes. Don’t just be a business coach – be a business coach for small online businesses. Find a niche with which you have knowledge and then become an expert in that niche. Being that proverbial big fish in the small pond is much better than the other way.

If you are starting a life coaching practice, use these secrets to get started on the right foot. And let me be the first to welcome you to the coaching profession!

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step “30-Days to Become a Coach” video toolkit. Just go HERE now to get your30-day coaching blueprint videos.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community

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Life Coaching Tools: 12 Life Assessment Areas

In your coaching practice, having a variety of effective life coaching tools at your fingertips can help you determine potential strengths, weakness, and vulnerabilities of your clients. These tools can be used as a starting point when working with a new client and as a way to initiate communication.

One of the best life coaching tools to use is a listing of the various areas of a client’s life that can be assessed, analyzed, evaluated, and ameliorated. Each area can be rated and then the areas that seem to be problems can be prioritized during sessions.

Life coaching tools are essential aids in any successful practice. This list can be amended, edited, and manipulated to fit your particular practice and the needs of individual clients. This is not only one of the most versatile life coaching tools, it is also one of the most effective and easiest to use.

Life Coaching Tools: 12 Life Assessment Areas

  1.  Body
  2. Health
  3. Self Perception
  4. Character Traits
  5. Relationships (Marriage/Lovers, etc)
  6. Relationships (Friends)
  7. Community
  8. Career/Work
  9. Fun, Recreation, and Travel
  10. Spirituality
  11. Education, and Continued Learning
  12. Time

To use these areas as an effective life coaching tool, you would ask clients to describe each area of their lives according to the following scenarios.

  1. Their life as it is today.
  2. Their ideal life.
  3. What prevents them from having an ideal life.
  4. What can they do to make their life ideal.

They would rate each of the 12 life assessment areas, utilizing the four client descriptions. It may be difficult to go over all 12 areas in one sessions, so it might be best to separate them into two or three different sessions.

Though you can select any rating scale you like, this is a good example of a simple yet effective rating scale that will provide you with some insight into the mind of the client.:

5. Life is perfect in this area.

4. Good. Can’t complain. Very satisfactory.

3. Satisfactory. Client can easily see that there is room for improvement, but feels no pressing need to improve.

2. Needs improvement. Client feels that this is one of the weak areas in life.

1. Bad. Client feels that this area is a mess, perhaps even hopeless.

Obviously, this rating scale is subjective and open to interpolation, and it is up to you, the life coach, to create parameters for your clients so they can effectively and properly categorize their life areas.

There are many life coaching tools that can be used when assessing clients. This list and rating scale is one of the better starting points in a coach/client relationship. It gives the coach a good method of categorizing and assessing what a client may want or need from coaching. It provides the client with the perfect opportunity to begin essential communication with the coach.

Special Bonus – Learn 32 ‘Guru’ Transformation Techniques when you fill in the form at the top right and click the “Watch The Videos Now” button. You’ll learn how to become a life coach in 30 days.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community

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Coaching Arguments: Should Personal Coaches Push Or Pull?

One of the biggest coaching debates is whether personal coaches should push or pull their clients. In one camp, there are the directive personal coaches who say clients need to be held accountable to tasks in order to transform their lives. In the other camp, a non-directional personal coach view says that Freudian listening will help you gain access to the inner challenges your clients face.

Personal Coaches Fighting? Why Can’t We All Be Friends?

Silly as it sounds, there are a lot of personal coaches who are so passionate and committed to their form they just can’t agree. And given that these two styles tend to appeal to two different behavior styles, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. For example, a personal coach who is non-directive probably is less likely to confront people in general. This coach exudes more feminine energy than the more directive Patton type or drill sergeant coach who prefers a much more directive style. I imagine that if Star Trek’s Deanna Troi, who used her skill of extra-sensory empathy as the ship’s counselor.

Let’s face it, not every coach has the same skills. If someone who was more of a Patton type tried to use Freudian listening on his clients, he would most likely lack the patience to wait for the client to get to the point, interrupt, and eventually just bellow out some orders. In a role as an accountability coach, you could easily imagine that clients would be more afraid to report back that they broke their commitments to this type of figure than they would be facing most other fears.
The non-directive style of personal coaches would have a rather tough time holding anyone accountable to tasks. A client could easily talk around a circle and evade questions about lack of follow through for an entire session, avoiding anything like even the slightest slap of the wrists.

Whose Side Are You On?

Enough bad-mouthing of the non-directive personal coaches of the world. These coaches actually can transform clients’ lives in a single session, driving them to do things they wouldn’t have done just before the session. This is one of the highest levels of skill a coach can aspire to. For some personal coaches it’s natural, and other coaches may struggle for years without ever achieving other than the lowest levels of mastery. The great news is that with proper training, practice with feedback, and desire, mastery in either of these areas is possible. In fact, the coaches I feel are the best in the world are flexible enough to use both directive and non-directive coaching styles within a single coaching level to achieve results that would be improbable with only one style.

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step “Life Coaching Business Blueprint” video toolkit. Just go HERE now to get yourlife coaching business blueprint videos.

Colette Seymann
JTS Advisors Designated Accountability Coach

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Live Your Life Like a Dog: Life Lessons From a Personal Coach

A personal coach can give you lessons on living life to the fullest by teaching you to live like a dog. That’s right, one of the keys to a satisfying life is to learn from man‘s best friend!.

What can a personal coach teach us about a dog’s life that will help us live our lives to the fullest? Well, you would be surprised how much we can learn from our faithful companions. Dogs can teach us humans the right way to live!

6 Life Lessons From a Dog: The Perspective of a Personal Coach

  1. Clean Your Plate. One of the best things you can do for your financial health is to clean your plate. The more food your throw out, the more money you waste. In these difficult economic times, wasting money is definitely not a good thing! Rover knows what’s good for him and a good coach will tell you to take the hint. Cleaning your plate is also a metaphor for finishing what you start and living life to its fullest…until the very end.
  2. Take naps. Napping is good for your body and heart. Don’t you envy how your dog can just lie down on the floor and fall fast asleep? You should try it. Take some advice from a personal coach; napping rejuvenates and replenishes. Napping recharges your batteries and allows you to face the remainder of the day with more energy. Your dog knows best!
  3. Find something you enjoy and do it over and over again. This can apply to a career or a hobby. A dog will play Frisbee, chase after other dogs, or chew on a bone for hours on end; he or she is doing something they love. If you can find a career, hobby, or recreational activity you enjoy doing; do it over and over again. Just like your dog!
  4. Speak up when things aren’t right. Learn to bark…just like Rover. When Rover asks for something, he barks. When he wants to go somewhere, he barks. Learn to be assertive and get what you want in life. Sometimes all you have to do is ask!
  5. Learn to love to walk. Dogs love to go on walks and so should you. Every form of exercise is beneficial, but as we age, the choices we have are sometimes limited due to injuries, physical limitations, and time. But, movement keeps us healthy and one of the healthiest ways to move is to walk. Walking is good for weight management, cardiovascular health, and keeps us feeling young. Take a walk with your dog and enjoy life!
  6. Drink plenty of water. Dog’s don’t drink soda or other flavored drinks. They drink pure water, and we should, too! When they’re thirsty they drink plenty of water and humans should follow their lead. Everyone’s knows water is good for them, but they sometimes fail to get enough of it. Dogs don’t even understand how good water is for them, and they drink plenty! Be like your dog – drink plenty of water!

As a personal coach, you can take lessons from a dog’s life and use them to show your clients habits that will benefit them for their entire lives. A dog instinctively knows best, and a personal coach can use their instincts to truly help clients achieve happiness, good health, and success. That’s right, take it from a personal coach’s best friend; life is meant to be lived like a dog!

Give this strategy a try and see for yourself that it works. If you liked this coaching tip, leave a comment or use the handy bookmark buttons below to share it with others on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc. Thanks!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community

 

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Life Coaching: Move up or Cease to Exist

There is an old saying in life coaching that goes: if you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space. I learned this lesson on the rock walls of the Wind River Mountain Range in Western Wyoming. Known for its high quality granite, the Wind Rivers are a haven for mountaineers willing to hike in for three or four days to enjoy what might be the most sensual experience of their lives.

Each Day’s Beginning Lies in the Night Before

The last conscious acts done before slipping into a mountaineer’s sleeping bag is to spread wide open their boots, so that even after they freeze during the night, the mountaineer can still get their feet into them and start the process of thawing them out so the mountaineer can properly lace them up by the time the mountaineer needs to begin the serious climb of the day.

Each Day’s Ending Begins with the Sun’s Rising

At first light, the rock’s cold is paralyzing. Fingers are too stiff to grasp anything securely. But as the sun warms the rock, fingers begin to feel the rock’s texture and become aware of the commitment of the mountain to absolute solidity – to be the measure of all things reliable and substantial. Then as the climber’s fingertips begin to understand that even the smallest nubbin can support their master’s entire weight, they begin to understand the meaning of commitment and accountability. And if the mountaineer fully engages the rock, and sets aside all thoughts of doubt and hesitation, then and only then can the mountaineer survive the trials of the day – all to return to their camp, and eat, and once again prepare their boots for the freezing temperatures of the night.

Life Coaching must Rise from Life really Lived

The first role of life coaching is to connect the client with life really lived. Not life obsessed with self or petty undertakings. But life fully engaged with the execution of great dreams. This is because, to be hesitant and to dabble in mediocrity, at the expense of higher aspirations, is to abdicate our role as human beings. And life coaching cannot settle for this, no matter what the challenge, any more that the mountaineer can choose not to participate in the climb and consequently die as a victim of their own mediocrity.

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step 30-Days to Become a Coach video toolkit. Just go HERE now to get your30-day coaching blueprint videos.

Dave Iuppa
JTS Advisors Strategy and Accountability Coach

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Socrates was a Personal Life Coach

The great Greek philosopher, Socrates, did not go down in history as a personal life coach, but he left us many pearls of wisdom that apply when coaching clients to achieve happiness, success, and personal satisfaction. Perhaps he should be considered the original personal life coach!

Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Couldn’t that apply to the job description of a PERSONAL LIFE COACH? One of the most basic components of your practice should be to ask your clients: Let’s examine your life and see where we can make changes. That Socrates fellow knew what he was talking about, whether he had a personal life coaching certification or not!

Socrates could also be a pain in the butt; he was quite fond of asking “why?” over and over and again, just like an annoying little kid. This method of asking questions became the basis for the Socratic method of teaching. The “why” questions were proposed in an effort to get people to think about their lives, their surroundings, their world. The Socratic method of teaching gives students, or clients, questions, not answers. Socrates taught people to probe, examine, and dissect their lives. Just like a coach should do.

You should be asking your clients, “why?” “Why did you do that?” Why do you think that will happen?” Why are you afraid to try that?” “Why not try something new?” Why do you feel happy, or sad, or afraid, or confident?” There are millions of “why” questions that will provoke discussions, inquiries, and introspection.

Socrates also recognized the importance of dialogue. Dialogue with a friend, a co-worker, a family member, a spouse, or a…coach, eliminates blind spots and leads to breakthroughs. As a coaching professional, one of the most important elements of your practice is to inspire and encourage dialogue.

4 Reasons Socrates Was the First Personal Life Coach

  • He asked the “why” questions.
  • He understood the value of examining one’s life.
  • He assisted individuals with questions that will provide answers on how to live a better life.
  • The purpose of life is personal and spiritual growth.

4 Reasons Socrates Should be Your Model as a Personal Life Coach

  • He asked the “why” questions.
  • He understood the value of examining one’s life.
  • He assisted individuals with questions that will provide answers on how to live a better life.
  • The purpose of life is personal and spiritual growth.

Obviously, you noticed that I repeated the same four reasons. That’s because those four reasons should serve as the basis for your coaching practice and your work with individual clients. Teaching clients to ask themselves the “why” questions, providing them the tools and the foundation to examine their own lives, and assisting them to find a better life should be the way your describe your coaching practice. If clients can learn to do all that, then you have helped them set out on the road to personal and spiritual growth.

That Socrates was a pretty smart fellow. If you take the time to learn about the Socratic method and the wisdom of this famous Greek philosopher, you’ll be a pretty smart personal life coach.

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step “Life Coaching Business Blueprint” video toolkit. Just go HERE now to get your life coaching business blueprint videos.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community

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The Biggest Single Mistake in Personal Coaching

In personal coaching, the single biggest mistake is to fail to really connect with our clients and understand their authentic inner hopes and fears – their very being. You could call it being a good active listener, but just that is not it, at all. It actually defies a principle of physics: how can you get close enough to really understanding something without changing it? You can’t. Or can you? If you can, how can you do it? Here’s how.

Guide without Leading

Ask open questions that don’t imply a personal bias. Right or wrong is not the point. Ask simple questions like “Tell me about yourself?” or “What do you think about that?”or “What would you like to have happen?” And then listen, listen, listen.

Understand without Judging

Open yourself to your client without judging them. Channel the force of infinite love, and help them know that you accept them at the most fundamental levels, and that you are there to help. Not to forgive them, because forgiveness is not the issue or your job. You are simply there to accept and support them.

Connect beyond Hearing

Listen for the being beyond the words. But do not strain. Effortless listening. Infinite openness. For you and for the client. Openness is the key, not the questions. If they can relax and not feel the need to guard their feelings or their raw nerve endings, then they will spontaneously share their highest hopes and their deepest fears, without your asking a single question. This need to spontaneously share in a totally safe environment is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. In such a place, we and our clients have an opportunity for insights that can change our lives forever.

The Secret to Personal Coaching Success

The Secret to success in personal coaching is to simply be the coach. Guide without leading. Understand without judging. Connect beyond hearing. Simply that. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article…Thank you!

Dave Iuppa
JTS Advisors Strategy and Accountability Coach

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Break Free and Fly with Abundance Life Coaching

An old adage of life coaching is that if you aim for the moon you’ll get over the barn but if you aim to get over the barn you’ll end up in the puddle in front of the barn. You knew that, didn’t you? Well that is Abundance Coaching in a nut shell.

Fear of Heights and Fear of Flying

So much of coaching is all about overcoming fears. It is fear that keeps us from stepping into our potential. It is fear that keeps us from allowing our spirits to soar. And unfortunately, it is fear that keeps so many people clutching to the carpet of our world as if they were clutching to its ceiling. So how do you coax a baby eagle to fly? The answer is that you don’t. Don’t think about it. Don’t even dare to try. No coaxing! That’s right the mother eagle hurls her young from the nest. And in that moment of tough-love, the young eagles are thrust into their greatness.

The Call to Greatness from Our Creator

It is no accident that the young eagles never fall. They always fly. And it is no accident that people blow through the ceiling once they let their spirits fly. It is an inside job. It is in our DNA. And it is in the imprint of our creator’s being pressed onto our hearts. Like the eagle, we were made and called to soar— frankly far beyond our wildest imaginings. Now if that is the case, why do so many people need serious life coaching? That’s a great question, but not for this evening.

The Question for Tonight Is How Can Life Coaching Break the Bonds that Hold Us Back?

The answer has two parts, and we have touched on each of them. The two keys to liberation through life coaching are aiming for the moon, and throwing our clients from their nests. And each of these is a form of abundance coaching. Help your clients experience the greatness of the world and their part in it. Do not try to move them in tiny steps off the carpet and into the air. Help them see that they are called to greatness and the rest of the world is waiting celebrate them for playing their part.

Special Bonus – Learn 3 simple ways to become a life coach with the “30-Days to Become a Coach” video toolkit when you fill in the form at the top right and click the “Watch The Videos Now” button. You’ll learn how to change your client’s life in 45 minutes.

Dave Iuppa
JTS Advisors Strategy and Accountability Coach

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