Whats Up With All These Coaches?

If you are anything like me, you may have noticed a tremendous increase in the number of coaches that have appeared recently. Traditionally, coaches existed primarily in the world of sports, but you could also find voice, acting and singing coaches.

Today however, this has all changed. Lifestyle, relationship, personal development, business, soul, life, leadership, executive, career and countless other types of coaching are now widely available. So what can these coaches do for us?

The dictionary defines the term "coach" as "someone who instructs or trains others". From this definition, at least we can draw a potential connection between the coaching profession and ourselves.

So how do you know if you need a coach? Basically, if there are areas of your life which you would like to improve or enhance, the opportunity exists to employ a coach.

The Dream Team

In everyday life, we all employ "specialists" to perform various functions because we have neither the skills nor knowledge to do the job. You wouldn't consider attempting to fill a tooth if you had a toothache - you would go to your dentist. Would you complete your own tax return if your objective was to minimize tax exposure - no, you would visit an accountant. If you were feeling ill, you wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) self-medicate - you would contact your doctor. It all comes down to the fact that these professionals have skills and knowledge that provide faster, better, safer and more satisfying results than you could possibly achieve on your own.

I refer to this group of people as a "Dream Team" ? a group of professionals to help you achieve that which you want ? in the above-mentioned cases, a nice smile, more disposable income and good health.

So why stop there? If there are other areas that you want to change, the same principle applies. If you have a desire to improve your levels of health & fitness, you could join a gym. The problem is that the novelty quickly wears off and, unless you are incredibly disciplined, it is difficult to keep going on your own. There is also the dilemma of not knowing which equipment to use or which exercises to do. In fact, a real issue is not having specific goals at all which will leave you lost. The result? You stop going to the gym and your membership fee is wasted. Even worse, you will feel like a failure which in turn will lower your levels of self-esteem, negatively impacting many areas of your life.

The solution? Get yourself a personal trainer! Make this person part of your Dream Team. Your trainer (or coach) will help you define your goals, provide a specific program to follow and will also give you moral support. This approach offers a much higher likelihood of accomplishing your goals in this area at a much faster rate.

Other areas that most of us want to improve include key relationships, levels of success or financial freedom. Time management and career counseling are other potential areas for improvement.

The problem is most of us don't know how to improve or make things better in these areas. We have our own ways of handling things, along with the inherent issues ? which of course, has us where we are now! We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results!

The solution of course, is to change your approach, and that could mean finding someone that can help you in the specific area you want to improve ? in other words, a coach, to become part of your Dream Team.

But Whom Do I Choose?

As in all professions, it is a fact that not all coaches are created equal! In order to select a coach, I would recommend spending some time to identify your objectives, create some "interview" questions for potential coaches, define your budget and do some research to compile a list of potential candidates. There are a number of coaching organizations and associations on the web, that have lists of their coaches names, complete with biographies, qualifications and areas of expertise.

When interviewing your prospective coach, ask yourself how comfortable you would feel working with the person. Are they someone to whom you would be comfortable sharing personal information? Do you like them? Do they seem to have an action plan and strategy process that will help you achieve your goals? What is their fee and what can you expect for that level of investment? Can you work with them? Is their interest and commitment mainly around helping you or collecting their fees? Interview 3 ? 5 candidates. Once you are comfortable, make a selection and get started! You will quickly be on the road to achieving your goals.

Please note one thing; hiring a coach, to help you improve the various areas of your life, requires commitment! The process is likely to take several months and you must be prepared to "do the work" that goes along with affecting change in your life. If you are not fully committed to the process, the result will be frustration (for both of you) and failure, not to mention a bunch of money spent on nothing! Affecting meaningful change will take time. Old habits will need to be broken and new, supportive habits created. It took you years to get where you are today, so it is unreasonable to expect that accomplishment of your goals will occur in just a few weeks!

Coaches are not miracle workers; they cannot do the work for you or wave a magic wand to make things easy. What your coach can do is help you to define what it is specifically that you want, work with you to develop strategic and tactical plans of action, provide guidance and moral support in your quest and keep you accountable for following the plan.

With commitment, dedication and a good coach, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish!

About the Author:

Tony Davies is a Business Consultant as well as a Business & Personal Coach. He is an expert in the areas of Leadership and Personal Development and in integrating these two, seemingly different, disciplines. Tony is successful at this as the result of personal experience - a solid business background combined with a passion, and gift, for personal development and helping others.

To find out how Tony can help you to live your best life, check out his website at http://www.momentumbusiness.ca, and contact him directly.

---

D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E.

What does this word really mean anyway? According to Webster's... Read More

Top Ten Tips for Living Authentically

1. Know your purposeAre you wandering through life with little... Read More

How To Gain Control Of Your Life

"The latter part of a wise man's life," said Jonathan... Read More

Personal Life Coaching And How It Can Help You

Coaching is an effective process used to support individuals in... Read More

That Little Bit Of Extra

The "little bit extra" is a very powerful concept to... Read More

What Rules!

There are things that we do automatically internally that we... Read More

Dont Be Jealous - Be Inspired

When we see people do things we cannot do, or... Read More

5 Tips to Improve ANY Performance

Seeking improved performance at work? Wishing you could finally achieve... Read More

Secrets of Creating Interpersonal Power

If you work with people, as a company owner, manager... Read More

How to Make $100,000 Dollars as a Personal Trainer ? Part B for Business!

My name is Greg Ryan. For the last twenty years... Read More

Hows Your Self-Talk?

You know, what are you saying to yourself? There's always... Read More

Sorry Dr Maslow, I Think You Got It Wrong

In the 1950s Abraham Maslow published a book entitled "... Read More

Going On a Mental Diet

Diets are always in style. Every time you turn around,... Read More

You Can Get There From Here

But first you've got to raise your standards.I know at... Read More

Learning To Recognize Your Ego

What is an ego? Well, in case you didn't know... Read More

Solution-Focused Therapy

Most types of psychotherapy involve exploring feelings, being validated, finding... Read More

Resolving Conflicts Effectively

Every relationship has conflicts. In some relationships, conflict is a... Read More

Simple Tips to Move Forward on the Job

Someone I know wants to move into another job in... Read More

Personal Strategic Planning

I have a few questions for you ---What if we... Read More

Personal Power

All of us would love to have personal power ?... Read More

Use a Journal for Self-Discovery and Self-Expression

As a therapist, I often suggest to clients that they... Read More

4 Steps to Successful Goal-Setting

Successful people have always had clear, focused goals that guide... Read More

Why Things Are The Way They Are

Things are the way you think they are, because you... Read More

The Fastest Way to Ruin Yourself

I don't know many people who would admit to wanting... Read More

Crisis: Danger or Opportunity?

I have often heard motivational speakers say that the word... Read More

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: How Do You Change the World?

Recently, I saw an exhibition of paintings by a very... Read More

How to Create Your Ideal Life - Excerpt from Individual Power

When I lost it all, I felt powerless. During my... Read More

Are You Too Critical?

First of all, criticalness breaks up more relationships, than anything... Read More

3 Secrets to Developing Superior People Skills

1. If What You Are Doing Is Not Working Change... Read More

How to Give Yourself a Check Up From the Neck Up

When was the last time you did some dedicated physical... Read More

Trust In The Moment, and Trust In Yourself

Do you often get yourself upset and feeling less than... Read More

Words That Inspire - PEACE

WORDS THAT INSPIREA monthly quick shot to motivate you, in... Read More

Whats in it for me if I Hire A Coach?

1. An unshakable foundation:Create and build your life from the... Read More