What is Life Coaching?

One of the most frequent questions about my coaching services is “are you a life coach?” Life coaching may be the best known of the various coaching specialties, and many in the industry believe it is a part of every coaching specialty, as it is mine.

This is part of a four-part series looking at the best-known areas of professional coaching, also including leadership, executive and business coaching. All three of these types of coaches do some of what life coaches do, but the overall focus and clientele differ.

So, what is life coaching? You’ll likely get a wide range of answers, but generally it is to help guide clients to accomplish their goals and navigate personal or career challenges. It helps individuals gain clarity on what they want all, or part of their lives to look like and find ways to accomplish their goals.

Life coaching primarily focuses on an individual’s personal life, addressing their relationships, goals, challenges, and/or overall well-being. It is not the same as therapy and counseling, although some licensed professionals cross-over.

The fundamental principle of all coaching is the belief that clients already have a sense of their desires and potential pathways to success. The coach seeks to stimulate their thinking and facilitate conversations to help them draw out those insights more effectively and gain clarity for pursuing their goals.

It is possible to listen to or read the works of well-known coaches/authors that give general advice which can be helpful. The difficulty with so-called self-help methods is that they lack the individual guidance and accountability that a relationship with a personal coach provides.

Personal life coaching can provide numerous benefits, including:

·      Gain clarity on your true purpose and passions.

·      Address challenges and problems more effectively.

·      Identify the strengths and talents that will propel you forward.

·      Increased self-awareness of habits and thinking that inhibit growth.

·      Establish meaningful goals and action steps to achieve them.

·      Accountability to take actions you have committed to.

·      Increased self-confidence and self-esteem.

·      Improved communication skills and relationships.

Serena Williams, the retired tennis player, credits her coaching for improved focus when she was dealing with injuries. Men’s tennis player Roger Federer credits his coaching with helping bring about a change in his personality and attitude. Leonardo DiCaprio was able to polish his skills and focus on his strengths to improve as an actor, and later won an Academy Award.

The list of successful people who have used a coach is long because it works. Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google said: “The one thing that people are never good at is seeing themselves as others see them. A coach really, really helps.” My mission as a coach is to help entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders develop their skills and mindset so they can be more effective and maximize their performance.

Contact me for a complimentary call to see if I can be of service to you.

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Tad Douglas Coaching

www.taddouglas.com

tad@taddouglas.com

502-553-8119