LIFE COACHING FAQs

1. Please give me some context about coaching...
2. How is coaching different from consulting? Therapy? Sports coaching?
3. What is the basic philosophy of coaching?
4. Who hires a coach and why?
5. What happens when you hire a coach?
6. Does the coach work on personal goals or business/professional goals?
7. Where does the coach focus with a client?
8. Why does coaching work?
9. What about people who are already doing great in their lives. Why would they need a coach?
10. Can coaching hurt someone?
11. Can I hire a coach just for a short-term, special project?
12. How long must I commit if I start working with a coach?

Please, give me some context about coaching...

A personal coach does just what an athletic coach or music teacher does, only in a more complete and bigger way. A coach challenges you and takes the time to find out what winning in life means to you. A coach is your partner in living the life you want both personally and professionally. A coach is someone to hold you accountable for your life for discovering and then taking the steps you require to truly transform your life. No matter where you are in life, there is always a desire for more success, more money, closer relationships, a deeper feeling of meaning in life, etc. Most people believe that "hard work and doing it on your own" are the keys to finding the life, success, money, or happiness that they seek. They believe that a price must be paid to attain what they want, and often that price is poor health, not having enough time to enjoy life, strained family relationships or lessened productivity. Even though this effort may result in more of something, it is usually not the something you had in mind, and you are back where you started, or worse, further from your real goals or purpose. Athletes and performers know about this trap. They know they need someone, a trained professional to help them set goals, discover real needs, and work effectively toward ultimate goals of excellence. So, they are willing to hire a coach or a teacher. No serious athlete or musician would expect to progress very far without one.

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How is coaching different from consulting? Therapy? Sports coaching?

Consulting – Coaching is a form of consulting. The difference is the coach stays with the client to help implement the new skills, changes and goals to make sure they really happen.
Therapy – Coaching is not therapy. We don't work on "issues" or get into the past or focus on understanding human behavior. We leave that up to the client to know and figure out while we help them move forward and set personal and professional goals that will give them the life they really want.
Sports – Coaching includes several principles from sports coaching, like teamwork, going for the goal, being your best. But unlike sports coaching, most professional coaching is not competition or win/lose based. We strengthen the client's skills vs. help them beat the other team. It's win/win.

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What is the basic philosophy of coaching?

Coaches believe that humans are great. We are all discovering what we really want and that we can get what we want faster and easier by having a coach who's been there and who can help us.

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Who hires a coach and why?

People hire a coach because
• They want more.
• They want to grow.
• They want it easier.

It's as simple as that. Coaches help a client get all three.

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What happens when you hire a coach?

• You take yourself more seriously.
• You take more effective and focused actions immediately.
• You stop putting up with what is dragging you down.
• You create momentum so it's easier to get results.
• You set better goals that you might not have without the coach

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Does the coach work on personal goals or business/professional goals?

Both. With the line between personal and business life continuing to blur, the coach is the only professional trained to work with all aspects of you.

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Where does the coach focus with a client?

We focus where the client needs us most. Some areas of discussion might include:

• Clarifying the client’s values
• Helping a client discover his/her real strengths
• Helping the client beef up their reserve.
• Helping the client set goals based on their personal values.

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Why does coaching work?

Coaching works for several reasons:
1. Synergy between the coach and client creates momentum.
2. Better goals are set – ones that naturally pull the client toward the goal rather than goals that require the client to push themselves to the goal.
3. The client develops new skills and these skills translate into more success.

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What about people who are already doing great in their lives. Why would they need a coach?

They might not need a coach. But it is beneficial to ask yourself:

• Am I doing what I most enjoy?
• Am I tolerating anything?
• Is life easy?
• Am I going to be financially independent within the next 15 years?
• Do I have what I really want?

We've discovered that, often, people need to expect more out of their lives. A coach can help make those expectations a reality.

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Can coaching hurt someone?

No. Coaching is not about doing psychological work. Coaching is a partnership and transformation. The coach and client work in partnership toward goals and transformation. If psychological issues arise within the coaching process clients will be referred to a professional that can work with the client on those issues.

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Can I hire a coach just for a short-term, special project?

Yes. Some clients hire a coach to help them accomplish specific goals or projects. Usually, however, the client keeps working with the coach after that because they have begun the discovery process and find they have even more they want to accomplish.

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How long must I commit if I start working with a coach?

Most coaches ask for a three to six month commitment. The reason a commitment is requested is because transformation and excellence require a commitment on the part of the coach and the client.

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