There are many people out there today calling themselves, “Life Coach”. Most coaches are good at helping their clients set goals and use accountability methods in their effort to move their clients forward. These coaches have open ended relationships with their clients who go back to them month after month(continuing to pay the coach)
Other coaches are very good and help their clients to happiness and fulfillment that has eluded them for years. And they do it in a very short period of time. And sadly, I have personally met more than a few people who have no formal training and really have no business calling themselves “Life Coach”, but they still do.
How do you know which Life Coach is right for you? First off, life coaching should empower their client to be able to coach themselves. Coaching should be finite. It should have a beginning, middle and end. At the end of your program, you should be self sufficient, able to deal with your life’s challenges and not dependent on a coach for the rest of your life. That’s not to say that you won’t ever need help. We all do from time to time. Then you can just check in with your coach for a “tune up”.
Most life coaches will offer you a complimentary life coaching session to allow you to see if he or she is a good fit for you. And he/she should not take it personally if you do not choose them. In fact, a really good coach should be happy to refer you to someone else who might be more suited to help you solve your particular challenges.
How do you know if a Life Coach is REALLY qualified to help you? What qualifications should I look for in a life coach?”, you ask? At a minimum, your coach should be certified. But with so many certifications available (many online), how do you know which is worthwhile and which is not? Simple, ask your potential life coach about his or her qualifications. If he or she is truly competent, then he or she should be happy to discuss their qualifications with you!
The title of this article is “Why an NLP Life Coach?” So allow me to answer that now. NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is an ever evolving body of work co-founded by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. They began to study a select group of therapists, who in the 1970’s, were producing extraordinary results for their patients. Since the 1970’s, millions of people have used Neuro-Linguistic Programming to change their lives.
With this knowledge, they have improved their communications, increased their sales, furthered their careers, developed leadership skills, changed limiting beliefs, and created deeper, more fulfilled lives. Simply put, NLP is the study and practice of excellence.
Jack Canfield, author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” says, “NLP is a powerful system of thinking that can accelerate the achievement of your personal and professional goals.”
I personally was gifted by an NLP practicing life coach that dramatically transformed my life in a very short period of time. For that I will be forever grateful. And now as a certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and a certified Life Coach, I am able to pay that gift forward.
If it is transformation you are looking for, an NLP practitioner is who you should choose