Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.
-Thoreau


In this section you will find answers to these important questions:

What is coaching? >>

Is coaching for you? >>

What is a coach? >>

What kind of results can you expect from coaching? >>

How does coaching differ from counseling or therapy? >>

What does coaching cost? >>

What is the first step to get started with coaching? >>

What is Coaching?

Coaching is a professional, confidential, personal change and learning process. The coaching process focuses on empowering clients to take action toward the accomplishment of their vision, goals, or desires. Coaches assist clients to increase their level of awareness and responsibility regarding the changes they would like to make in their lives. The coaching process provides clients with the structure, support, and feedback that makes real change more likely to occur. Coaching is action-oriented, solution-oriented, and concentrates on forward motion, not looking at the past.

Coaching is not just for the elite. It is truly a process that is flexible enough to fit all people. Coaching is not about providing you with a “blueprint” by which to live your life. It is about helping you discover the life you want to live and helping you create that life.

The coaching process may consist of formal as well as informal techniques and quantitative methods to help achieve your results. Your coach works with you, drawing upon a combination of self-assessments, exercises, and other resources to help identify and clarify specific concerns, set goals, and manage progress.

The formal coaching process begins with an assessment of your current life situation. Information is gathered to identify your strengths and your “improvement” targets. From there specific strategies are identified for you to use. The effectiveness of those strategies are evaluated on a regular schedule in order to refine and tailor the strategies to more target and accomplish your specific desires.

Is Coaching for you?

Coaching is for you, if you:

• want to grow, want to become more conscious and competent.
• are willing to restructure your life and schedule.
• want to live the best life you can.
• are able to envision a more desirable future.
• are willing to think beyond your own mind-sets and assumptions.
• are able to reach decisions through collaboration.
• are willing to learn new approaches to life’s tasks as necessary.
• are willing to follow a sequence of steps to meet your goals.

Coachable people are everyday, normal people who have their lives together. They realize the value of having somebody to help them think outside the box.

What is a Coach?

A coach is a professional trained in interpersonal dynamics and in coaching methods. A coach works with clients to tap new energy and purpose, to shape new visions and plans, and to generate desired results. A coach guides clients into increased competence, commitment, and confidence. A coach gives clients the confidence to get unstuck -- to change careers, repair relationships or simply get their act together. A coach becomes your partner in defining a better future for yourself.

What kind of results can you expect from coaching?

• Setting and achieving specific goals.
• Increased self-reliance, self-control, and self-confidence.
• Increased self-satisfaction.
• Increased efficiency and effectiveness.
• Accurate self-assessment.
• Emotional self-awareness.
• Ability to work more effectively with different kinds of people and in different kinds of situations.
• Ability to manage stressful and challenging situations.

How does Coaching differ from counseling and psychotherapy?

Counseling and psychotherapy most often focus on illness or trauma. These important professions generally deal with dysfunction, especially regarding emotional or behavior problems. In counseling and psychotherapy a person’s past or current disruptive situations are important to review. The purpose is to return the person to normal function. Counseling and psychotherapy are usually done in person, though occasionally they may be conducted over the phone.

Coaching, on the other hand, focuses on achievement and fulfillment. Coaching is for people who are already doing pretty well in their lives. However, they are not satisfied with just doing “pretty well.” They want more. Coaching moves an already mostly successful, functional person toward higher functioning. The aim of coaching is for clients to achieve excellence while creating a life that brings them happiness, contentment, and joy. Coaching can be done in person, over the phone, or by e-mail.

What does coaching cost?

The number of coaching sessions you schedule as well as the type of coaching sessions you use determine the cost of coaching.

Telephone sessions generally last 1/2 hour and are scheduled on a regular basis. The coach and the client determine the number of sessions. Fees for telephone sessions are $60 per session and the client initiates the phone call at the specified time.
E-mail coaching is also scheduled and is also determined by the coach and the client. Fees for e-mail sessions are determined by the time it takes me to compose an answer, prorated at the telephone schedule rate ($60 per session).

In-person sessions are also available. These are scheduled on a regular basis as well and the coach and the client determine the number and frequency of the sessions. The fee for an in-person session is $75 per 25-minute session, $150 per 50-minute session. Longer sessions can also be arranged and are prorated at the same rate.

Payment for coaching may be made by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) and most debit cards. For those who are utilizing in-person sessions, personal check or cash may also make payment.

What is the first step to get started with coaching?

The first step to get started with coaching is to answer these questions.

What isn’t working or is missing in your life – personally or professionally?

What three things would you like to accomplish within the next 180 days?

How many of these statements are true for you?

• I need to become a more compassionate person.
• I need to have more patience with others.
• I have important projects, situations, or problems that
• I haven’t completed, but I need to.
• I experience significant levels of stress in one or more areas of my life.
• I experience life as requiring a lot of “effort.”
• I feel “out-of-balance” in the various aspects of my life.
• I often experience scheduling problems, forgetting appointments, or failing to meet deadlines.
• I am often surprised as to how people react to me.
• I seem to struggle with understanding what other people really mean when they talk to me.
• I seem to struggle with getting other people to understand what I mean when I talk to them.
• I find I am unable to keep promises to myself regarding my leisure time, my diet, and my exercise regimen.
• Sometimes I just don’t understand my own behavior, thoughts, and/or feelings.
• I would like to have a better idea of where I am going with my life.
• I often feel overwhelmed and disorganized.
• I often make decisions I later regret.
• Important relationships in my life often don’t seem to go very well.

These 16 statements reflect various aspects of personal and professional life. The more of them that you answered “true” the more you will benefit from having your own personal coach to help you make your life what you want it to be.

You don’t have to settle for less in your life. Significant and rewarding changes ARE possible. Coaching is a means to ensuring successful results.