Are you coachable?

Choosing a Life Coach

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned or are not currently learning in church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

If Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan have coaches who are we not to have one? All great achievers have mentors or coaches. All masters of their games have coaches. Do you have a life coach to help you get better so you can life the life you always wanted to live?

Life coaching is a whole new industry approaching two billion dollars a year. It is a fast growing industry. Like any new industry there are the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly coaches. Be careful who you end up with as a coach because you may end up with their results.

How to go about choosing a great life coach?

1.  Results over certification.  Imagine taking advice from someone that is a certified life coach by taking a 50 hour internet course. Certification does not mean that the new coach has results in life to be able to help you. The blind leading the blind does not work. Seek someone with the results you want in life. Do a fruit check; no fruit in the tree run and run fast!

2.    Experience over diploma. Choose someone with life experiences over credentials. When it comes to life coaching, results from experience are what counts. Imagine taking advice for your life from a 22-year old college graduate with a life coaching diploma. What can this person teach you about life? Not much. On the other hand, coaches with a track record of results have the ability to help you transform your life.

3.  Define what you need. Define the areas in your life that you need help from a coach. Imagine taking advice from a financial planner that is broke. Imagine taking advice from a business professor that never built a business and is financially broke. Key areas to get advice are faith, family, marriage, business, finances, friends, fun, freedom, leadership, health, fitness, wellness, etc. Define the fundamental area of life and the specifics where you need help. This way you will be able to proceed in the process of choosing a life coach.

4.    Research. Talk to at least three references that can provide information on what and how the life coach was able to help them achieve results and live a better life. Seek recommendations from people with results from a specific life coach. Professionalism, capability, and credibility are very important in choosing a life coach. The internet is not the best place to do your research.

5.    Interview. Fit and chemistry are very important. Pay attention to the quality of listening and questioning your potential life coach has for you. Prepare ahead of time and ask questions yourself. A great life coach should have bigger questions than her answers. All your questions should be answered. A great life coach answer questions with questions.

6.  Methods and styles. Drill into the methods to be used. Find the style that fits your needs. Find out the type of homework will be given out. Focus on the application of knowledge. The whole purpose is to find a method you can reproduce and duplicate. Consistency and discipline is the key to success.

7.    The scorecard. Define how to measure progress. A great life coach has his own life coach and should be able to share his own scorecard with you. At the end of the day you want to improve the results in your life. That is the whole purpose of investing in a great life coach.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others.

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)