Should You Become A Life Coach?

Everyday I get emails from people writing in sharing their stories of success, passion and failure and how my story is inspiring them to reach higher and higher. 

It's a beautiful pay off for the work of coaching people. 

After all the game is one of empathy, high emotional regulation, and understanding. It isn't easy and it isn't for everyone but for those who it IS for, it's one of the most rewarding careers you can have.

But before you race off to become a coach because you've heard of the feel-good emails people send or you see the money that can be earned...make sure you have your life together, as best as you possibly can do, before you start charging people for coaching.

A woman once took her child to Gandhi and instructed him; tell my child to stop eating sugar.

He said; he could not do that.

She said, but your Gandhi, tell him to stop eating sugar.

He replied, I cannot bring him back in 30 days.

She took the child away and returned in 30 days.

The mother said to Gandhi, tell my child to stop eating sugar.

Gandhi looked at the child and said...don’t eat sugar.

The mother looked at Gandhi and said; why didn’t you just say that 30 days ago.

To which he replied; 30 days ago I was eating sugar.

Doctor Phil said in one of his episodes [don't judge me] that a good life coach is someone who helps a person with bad habits formulate new ones and course-correct their life.

In essence, a life coach gives tools, strategies, and new ideas that will help someone break out of a rut, get back on track or reach a new level in one or many areas of their life.

Now a person with mental health issues [what this exactly means is wide and varied] should always be referred to a trained professional like a psychologist who deals with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, addictions, and many other areas.

Sometimes a person with mental health problems seeks a life coach and that's the wrong course of action for them and the coach needs to identify and refer on.

But a person with good mental health but making terrible choices or bad decisions or hit a plateau is a great candidate for life coaching.

Yes, life coaching qualifications [and you should have one] mean you can help people who have addictions like smoking or people who have phobias but those with serious issues are not your clientele. 

The problem you face if you want to become a life coach is acquiring the skill sets to read people, understand people, see between the lines, and have real skills in helping people create new habits and formulate self-reliance in a new way.

Ideally, you will need to be a person who does what they preach. Not just read a book and repeat it without demonstration in your own life.

You will want to be self actualized and not still stuck struggling with problems that your client is likely to have. 

Meaning if you're in debt DO NOT teach wealth strategies. It doesn't mean you can't coach people, I did, but I stayed away from the wealth topic until I made my money. For example, you wouldn't expect a heart surgeon to be preparing to operate on a patient who has brain cancer, would you? 

No...you stay in the lane you've qualified for from your own life experience and learning.

If you have less than optimal relationships stay out of the relationship game and don't theorize on what someone else should do.

If you're fat and unhealthy then peak performance is not your space either.

This is not about perfection this is about being further ahead than the clients you work with AND demonstrating by your own results you have earned the right to charge money for other people to learn from you.

Otherwise you are an overpriced substitute teacher gambling with your clients' futures which is unprofessional, disrespectful, and borderline con-man.

The beautiful thing is as you start working with people you will [normally you start off with anyone who is willing to listen to you and for free] you ascend the hierarchy.

You acquire more skills from dealing with more people and become more and more qualified for bigger clients.

You don't start off with $15,000 clients but you can earn the right after you pay your dues doing the work, consistently.

So...should you become a life coach?

This is something you should ask me about because I will NOT recommend it for most people but I know many people WANT to do it.

They generally want to because they have experienced a big shift in their life from seminars or a coach and want to reciprocate. A very natural and beautiful thing.

But just because you enjoy music doesn't mean you should or can become an opera singer. You may be misplacing your talents!

If you're interested in becoming a life coach, complete this form and if your application is successful then we will arrange complimentary 1-hour phone session.

Vaughan.