Is a Life Coach Is Right For You?

Since embarking upon what I now KNOW to be my Life purpose of working as a Life Coach, I am often asked, “what is a Life Coach or what does a Life Coach do?” As there is with most anything, there are many thoughts and interpretations around what a Life Coach is, but there is a consistent definition among Life Coaches themselves. Contrary to popular belief, a Life Coach is NOT one who provides answers, but one who provides guidance through offering perspective and motivation by which they are able to lead the Life Player to discover the answers that were present all along. A Life Coach works with groups or individuals to find the inner greatness that often eludes many of us. They help them to navigate Life issues that can snag us all, and can poke a hole in our balloons causing us to lose precious altitude. But what really matters most is what Life Coaching means to the Life Coach and to the Life Player who have chosen to unite and work together; it matters how they see the formation of their alliance as being mutually beneficial to both of their growth and transformations. They are only as good as they are together, so the chemistry they share is a huge factor in a successful Life transformation. So, in this post I will discuss with readers in more detail how I define a Life Coach, and why I have chosen this as a career – or better yet, why it has chosen me.

When we hear the word “coach”, most of us tend to think sports right away. And naturally the progression of thought moves on to players, which ultimately make up a team. But even in individual sports such as tennis and golf, there is still a team involved in the effort of competing. No one performing successfully at any level is truly playing alone. There are a number of other pieces behind the success we observe as an end result. Even the winning organisations seek to surround themselves with others whom they feel will contribute to their success – each person plays a crucial role. They will also tell you that they would not have been able to achieve such greatness without their TEAM, and the rest of their supporting cast. I have personally experienced this, and therefore know it to be true. Even the greatest of coaches have mentors/coaches in the background guiding them, and they will openly admit it. Many conversations take place offline (between coaches and their coaches) in between games, practices, and meetings, to compare and contrast notes and discuss challenges. There is a certain humility they typically have, knowing that they did not reach any pinnacle of success without some motivation and guidance along the way from someone who had a vested interest in seeing them achieve that greatness; without someone to help them stay focused on the prize until it was realised.

If we go back into recorded history, we will find that the concept of coaching has been around for as long as humanity has. There have always been these leaders who seemed to possess a certain quality for extracting the best out of others. They have this innate ability to take whatever natural gifts are present, and mold it into something no one (not even the player in many cases) knew or believed they were capable of. Perhaps they weren’t called “coaches” at that time, but the concept existed nonetheless. Example: The older or more skilled and experienced would teach the younger ones how hunt, fish, paint, cook, etc. They coached them to become contributors to their respective tribes. There was no room for pride. It was welcomed because having a “coach” was a means of survival.

In our modern society, we feel like asking someone to look at our Life, and work with us to sort through things and put together an effective road map to a desired destination, is an admission of weakness. We say: “It is too personal, and I don’t want anyone knowing my business and the stuff I am dealing with”. Oh, stop it! This could not be further from the truth. In my humble opinion, this sort of an admission, in fact, exhibits intelligence and savvy. It says that one realises the value of having a skilled and objective eye on the matters YOU deem important. While today not having a Life Coach won’t determine IF you live, it can surely determine how EFFECTIVE and INJOYEBLE of a Life you live.  And why would you pass on a chance to enrich your own Life? I’m just sayin’.

So to me, a Coach is someone who has those intangible qualities to identify where improvements can be made in another’s Life, work WITH the Life Player to devise an effective game plan to drive those previously identified improvements. They help with making those ‘game-time adjustments” in, monitor practices, and provide the Life Player with clarity, motivation, and ongoing discipline and support to see the game plan through to fruition. A good Coach is able to push (without forcing) others to achieve that often-dormant greatness inside. Truth is, we can All BE great! All of us are born with the greatness gene, because we come from Greatness.

So don’t get caught up into the glitz and glam of the superstar players you see before you, and fail to notice the Coach and their critically important role in their success. The Coach is is the one who is up watching film until 2 AM, sizing up the upcoming opponents, drinking black coffee with no cream at 4:30 AM, while most of the players are still asleep. Only a handful of players are up with the coaches, and those are the ones who are consistently at the top of their games; these are the ones who become icons in their respective arenas. They are the elite, and are few and far between. So I ask, who is coaching you? Who is evaluating your Life Performance to ensure you are performing at the top of your game (of Life)? How would you feel about having this same unrelenting motivation, inspiration, and support in your life?…the same that a superstar athlete receives?

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OK, here comes the “plug”….ready? 🙂  If you don’t have a Life Coach yet, I would Love the opportunity to become yours, and to work with You to achieve your own personal greatness.

Email: info@BradfordSpeaksLife.com for a FREE 30-minute consultation huddle. Please also visit BradfordSpeaksLife.com  and sign up to receive our weekly Inspirational Injections! They are motivational, funny, enlightening and inspiring.