What is Life Coaching?
Is Becoming a Life Coach the right path for you? Read on to learn more!
At Health Coach Institute, we break our Life Coach definition into 3 parts. A Life Coach is someone who:
- Challenges you to question how you approach every aspect of your life
- Unlocks potential so you are empowered to create anything you desire
- Inspires you to change the way you live day-to-day to be more aligned with who you want to be
A Life Coach is
a trained professional who works with clients across 3 domains of well-being, helping them see (and step into) the boldest, most empowered and alive version of themselves.
The 3 domains Life Coaches address include:
- Physical well-being
- Emotional well-being
- Cognitive well-being
A Life Coach Acts As
a guide, cheerleader, accountability partner, confidante, and truth-teller who helps clients hone in on what they want and then works with them to set achievable goals to get there.
A Life Coach is NOT
a therapist or medical professional. Life Coaches do not analyze, diagnose, prescribe treatment, or work with clients to resolve past issues or traumas.
Life Coaches are focused on current obstacles and taking results-oriented actions to move from stuck to liberated.
What is Life Coaching?
Life Coaching is a profession wherein a client works closely with a coach over a period of time to achieve a desired outcome (or multiple outcomes). The Life Coaching field has been around for awhile now, but it’s grown in popularity in recent years, among individuals and businesses alike, as an effective tool for helping people make desired change, achieve more balance, find fulfillment, increase satisfaction in their lives, and set and meet desired goals.
By engaging in coaching, clients learn how to:
Increase their awareness and self-confidence
Tune in to their innate intuition
Reframe their thoughts
Banish limiting beliefs that may be holding them back from what they desire
Empower themselves to make change
Enhance their overall quality of life
Life Coaching is a collaborative partnership between coach and client, where the coaching relationship continually gives all the power back to the client.
As Life Coaches, we hold the premise that the client knows the answers to every question or challenge they may be facing in their life—even if those answers appear to be obscured, muddled, or hidden inside.
A Life Coach’s skill lies in knowing the most empowering questions to ask to bring those answers forward, thereby expanding the menu of choices the client has to create what they want in every aspect of their lives. This is the first of our 10 paradigms for Life Coaching. To unlock the rest, download our free 10 Paradigms for Life Coaching guide now.
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What Do Life Coaches Do?
Generally speaking, Life Coaches assist clients who may be in a period of transition, stuck in a rut, seeking change, or otherwise in need of some type of guidance.
Life Coaches help clients:
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Clarify, set, and achieve personal goals
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Unlock their potential
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Find their true calling
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Reframe their mindset to see opportunities instead of problems
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Unleash their creativity
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Find solutions
…and lots more!
They do this by meeting with clients for anywhere from 30 – 60 minutes over a period of time. These meetings are referred to as sessions, and during a session, a client will typically raise an issue they’re facing and a Life Coach will work with the client to address the challenge. The Life Coach will ask questions intended to help the client gain clarity and identify obstacles standing in the way of what they want.
A Life Coach’s ultimate function is to help the client feel empowered to change their situation and provide the support and accountability to help them do so successfully. Life Coaches challenge their clients, help them focus on what’s most important to them, and create a plan to achieve their desires, hold them accountable, and celebrate their successes.
Life Coaches may provide guidance in a number of ways, including but not limited to:
- Finding work / life balance
- Changing or beginning careers
- Managing stress
- Improving health
- Increasing confidence
- Improving communication
- Creating a business plan
- Starting a business
- Setting financial goals
- Buying a home
- Choosing a school or educational program
- Improving relationships
…and lots more!
Typically, a client will meet with a Life Coach for at least 3 months (the minimum amount of time required to help them facilitate lasting positive transformation in their lives). Some prefer to work with a Life Coach over a longer period of time, and even over several years. It really depends on the scope of the client’s need and the depth of inner work that’s required to help the client achieve their goals.
How Do Life Coaches Work with Clients?
Life Coaches can work with clients in a number of different ways, either in-person or virtually, and on an individual basis or with groups.
Virtual Coaching
Virtual Life Coaching is exploding because it allows coaches to work with clients anywhere in the world and gives clients more opportunities to connect with a coach who can assist them with their specific needs and interests. Virtual coaching typically occurs in one of two formats:
TELEPHONE COACHING
Coach and client have their sessions over the phone (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour in length, depending on the coach’s preference). Coaches may provide clients with a conference line to call into for their meeting (which can even be recorded for the client and shared with them afterward) or call them directly using their personal line.
VIDEO COACHING
If a client prefers to have a more personal, face-to-face session, coaches can call clients using programs like Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts, and even share links to resources during their meetings using the selected program’s chat features.
In-Person Coaching
If a client lives close by and would prefer to connect live, a Life Coach may offer the option to meet with the client face-to-face. Some Life Coaches have physical offices, rent space by the hour, or even meet with clients in public settings like cafes.
After client sessions, Life Coaches typically follow up via email, noting any action items that should be taken to prepare for their next meeting, providing any resources that may be helpful in reaching their goals, and making themselves available for questions that may arise.
A Day in the Life of a Life Coach
One of the beauties of Life Coaching is that it offers tremendous freedom and flexibility. As a Life Coach, you can work from anywhere in the world and you can create a work schedule that lets you live your best life. Here’s a snapshot of a day in the life of Life Coach Lisa Callahan (May 2017 BHC grad)
Meet Lisa, Married Mom of 2 Living in Los Angeles:
Before becoming a coach, I worked for Weight Watchers for 14 years. Even though that has an obvious focus on weight loss, most of the people I worked with wanted and needed to work on more than the just the food they were consuming and the exercise they were doing.
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5 am I’m a morning person, so I wake up early, and immediately take my supplements with 20 oz of water.
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5:15 am I get dressed in my workout clothes, and do my stretching and pre-workout in my apartment.
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5:30 am – 6:30 am I go to the gym, generally doing 30 minutes of cardio and then some weight training.
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7:30 am – 8:15 am I drive my daughter to school.
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8:15 am – 9 am I meditate, take a shower, and get a load of laundry going.
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9 am – 2:30 pm Monday – Wednesday This is the time I reserve for coaching my clients. This allows for 4 clients with 30 mins in between for prep and notes, as well as light snacks.
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9 am – 2:30 pm Thursday & Friday This is the time I reserve for continuing education and working on building the business. I set up my CTD calls, research networking opportunities, shoot videos, and pre-post on my FB page.
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3 pm I leave to pick my daughter up from school and then we are back at home by 4 pm.
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Evening hours I leave my evenings open for my family, but because I am on the West Coast and some of my clients are in the Midwest, I also leave time open for CTDs in the evening and the occasional client who may not be able to meet during the day.
The flexibility of the career is great because my daughter has also started acting and does background work here in LA. Since what we do is remote, I can still have sessions while she is on set. My family is back in Ohio and Chicago, so when we travel my job travels with me…and I mean that in a good way!
As you can see, you have the power and flexibility to create your ideal work day as a Life Coach. Want to see the world? Are you a military spouse who moves frequently? The amazing thing about coaching is that your work can be done from anywhere.
If you’re:
- Passionate about inspiring and empowering others to live up to their full potential
- A lover of all things personal growth and self-improvement
- Interested in doing rewarding work that pays well and makes a difference in others’ lives
…Life Coaching could be for you!
To discover how you can create a rewarding career as a Life Coach, click the button below to speak with a Clarity Coach now.
