Who can become a life coach? That is the question? Can you become a life coach? You can if you possess certain qualities and abilities.

To be a life coach, you need:

• Communication skills
• Patience
• Observation skills
• Empathy
• Ethics
• Motivation
• Intuition
• Energy
• Creativity
• Thirst for knowledge

However, there are a few more qualities and abilities you need if you want to become a successful life coach. Who can become a life coaching success story? You can, if you possess and nurture these abilities.

The word “coach” was first used in English in the 1500s and meant a “carriage”, which is a form of transport. As a coach, you are metaphorically transporting your client from one place in life to another. To do this you need the following six abilities

Who Can Become a Life Coach – Do You Have These Abilities?

1. The ability to suspend judgment. Are you a judgmental person? If so, then coaching isn’t the right gig for you. You will be interacting with various individuals from all walks of life in your coaching practice. Everyone is different and a coach can not be judgmental about ideas and perspectives shared during coaching sessions.

2. The ability to listen. Who can become a life coach? Not you if you can’t listen. Not just hear words, but also “hear” body language, tone, and inflection. You also have to be able to “hear” what’s NOT being said.

3. The ability to set goals. You need to be able to set goals for yourself and your practice, along with having the ability to get your client to set and keep goals. Goal setting is a vital component of coaching, and without this ability, your coaching days will be numbered.

Can you offer these 3 skills in sessions with your clients:

4. Subjectivity. Everyone has different perspectives of their world; many different perspectives can exist for successful people. However, some perspectives can be detrimental to success and achievement. Are you able to stay subjective and recognize that some perspectives other than your own are valid, while also being able to help change perspectives that are negative or dangerous?

5. Guidance. As a coach, you are more of a guide than an instructor or teacher. A teacher shows someone how to do something, while a guide provides the tools, knowledge, and support an individual needs to achieve something for themselves.

6. Empowerment. Are you truly passionate about empowering people to open their minds and change their perspectives? To be a coach, you need that passion because it’s not an easy gig to alter the way people think, behave, or view the world.

Which brings us to the most important quality needed to become a life coach. Who can become a life coach? You can, if you have the passion. Yes, passion is the most important ingredient in the life coach’s stew of skills and qualities. Without passion, you will not be driven to acquire knowledge, learn the skills needed to help your clients, or continually pursue excellence in your work.

Who can become a life coach? You can! Yes – you! If you have the ability, the skills, and the passion.

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!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community