by Jason Ray France

Created on: August 03, 2009   Last Updated: August 05, 2009

Simply put, a Life Coach is a person with the knowledge to assist you in making the most out of your life. You can almost think of it as a friend that is not only determined to see you succeed, but can also provide you with all of the necessary tools. Some of these tools are such things as taking an objective look at your life, dropping all of the baggage and barriers that stand in your way, and being true to yourself at all costs. Make no mistakes, a Life Coach is your coach first, and a friend second-if one can even be categorized as a friend at all. A Life Coach's job isn't to make you feel good, but to make you feel good about yourself-there is a marked difference. The only way to genuinely feel good about yourself, is by having the courage to take a good long hard look at what isn't working in your life, and the strength of character to fix it. The purpose of a Life Coach is to guide you through this process and teach you to make it a natural part of your life.

Life Coaches come in all different sorts and from all different backgrounds. Some are professionals, some are trained by life skills organizations, and some have just been through the school of hard knocks-life experience can be one of the best teachers of all. Some do the job as a full time occupation, and some do it on a part-time volunteer basis. Some are naturally inclined to do such work, and some have taken years of preparation to become qualified. There is no simple definition of a Life Coach or one fits all explanation of what they do. The key is in finding one that you are comfortable with and that teaches how to create life enhancing results.

Often, Life Coaches will periodically meet with you in your home. They will interview you, in order to get a better idea of your fixed beliefs (judgments about life and others) and personal history. The next step may be to give you challenges that will help you to break free of your comfort zone and do things that you never thought possible. An example may be that you have a fear of strangers, and the Life Coach challenges you to make a new friend by your next meeting. These challenges are to assist you in acknowledging your inner power and to look at things from a fresh perspective. As time goes on, your challenges will become more difficult for you, but they will also bring greater rewards. For instance, once you have made a new friend, you may be asked to take a gift to that nosey neighbor that you can't stand. Whether or not this neighbor responds in a positive way is not the point. Either way, you will have had the empowering experience of opening yourself up and pushing past your barriers.

Other avenues for Life Coaches are counseling offices, telephones, and the Internet. Regardless, the end goal is the same. Life Coaches are there to coach you through life and to show you how to make the most of it. If they do their job well, the time will come that you don't need them as much. An effective Life Coach will teach you to stand on your own two feet and even become a Life Coach yourself. Nonetheless, we all have moments when Life Coaching is needed, even when we are at our best. Life Coaches will always be in demand and are valuable to each other. One of the most important aspects of being a Life Coach, is knowing that no one has all of the answers all of the time.

"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do."
-Henry Ford

Personal Challenge: If you want something, do everything in your power to achieve that goal, and then push even harder!

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