Episode 43: Are You Meant To Be A Life Coach?

Hi there, welcome to She Coaches Coaches. I’m so pleased you’re here.

Today we’re talking about a question that people often ask themselves over and over before they decide. It’s this question: How do I know if I’m meant to be a life coach? Or put another way. Is being a life coach right for me? 

Now, before I dive into answering this question it let me share this review with you.  It’s from The People Gardener and here’s what they have to say …Candy has a fabulous ability to ask good questions...the lifeblood of coaching! She’s personable, positive and powerful.  Way to go Candy and wish you so much success in building better coaches 

That’s so cool, thank you. I love reading reviews. If you haven’t left me a review yet, please do. I know it takes a few minutes and I really appreciate you doing this.

So back to this question… How do you know if you’re meant to be a life coach? 

Let’s start with this….another question.

What does ‘Meant To Be’ even mean?

Being a life coach or any other kind of coach is a choice. So when I hear the phrase “meant to be” I kind of wonder. What’s up with that anyway?

Looking up Meant to Be – here’s what a dictionary says ”if something is meant to be, it seems certain to happen, usually because it has been decided by God or other forces (outside of you) that people believe cannot be controlled”

The dictionary also says synonyms for “meant to be” are pre-ordained or going to happen, for sure”. 

Isn’t that kind of odd, that we would give our power away when making a decision like this?  That doesn’t help you.

Do you notice the heavy feeling of the phrase “pre-ordained” like you’re royalty ready to take up your expected role on the throne? It even feels like this is your mission ( -very serious and heavy) . Like the only mission that is open to you….And it also implies you might never be happy/satisfied or fulfilled if you don’t fulfil your mission. 

Phew, that’s a lot of pressure.

I do think that many people are “meant to be” a life coach, but not in this way of heavy obligation.  I think there are those of us, who really want to help others live a better life. Coaching is a great way for sure, but it’s not the only way. You could become a coach, or you could be a nurse, or a school volunteer or a guidance counselor or even a travel agent. All these ways are great ways to help others live a better life.

So now, are you meant to be a coach? Good question.

What if you could decide to be a life coach because you want to be one? Or because it sounds like fun?

It might make the decision itself a little easier. Being a coach is always a choice and it helps to know what choice you’re making.

Here’s an idea, if you’re curious about becoming a coach or even think that mayyyybe you could become a coach. How about if the answer is YES.

What if that was completely possible? That you are meant to be a coach.

Is that really the question or the confusion / uncertainty that you have or is it something else?

Is it more that you would love to be a coach…but you’re worried about what happens after you make the decision.

Are you worried you won’t be successful (what is success anyway)

Are you more worried someone else will judge you.

Are you more worried that your spouse will say “oh come on” and think you’re silly.

Are you worried you won’t create any clients?

Are you worried it will be hard?

What are you worried about? It’s ok for you to have a bunch of reasons that are floating around in your mind. And it’s ok for you to see and accept the reasons you might be hesitating.

You could be delaying because you’re avoiding this worry. But the thing is. holding yourself back….you’re still experiencing discomfort, the back and forth, the second-guessing, so why not do the thing?!?!?!?!?

Come back to me now….so now that I’ve given you the permission (if that’s indeed what you were looking for) and the answer is yes….I’d love you to sit in a feeling of possibility.

What if you become a life coach. And it’s amazing? What would your life be like? What could be possible for you?

Breathe, can you feel that possibility????

Yeah me too – how can you be curious about this desire and hold the feeling of potential and possibility instead of in worry or confusion?

Well, you begin by recognizing the places you’re feeling uncertain. That’s right don’t hide from them or deny them. And decide to move forward anyway.

What is a life coach?

Here’s the thing all coaches are life coaches, whether you’re a health, spiritual, business or career coach ultimately we coach our clients on one aspect of their life.  So we’re always coaching on their lives….so now you see why I call it “life coaching”

A life coach helps their clients have more of what they want and less of what they don’t want.

Another way of describing it could be you help people solve their own problems by understanding the way the human brain works.

Or maybe, helping them to think about their thoughts in a new way, get present to their feelings or emotions and take action, do something that moves them closer to what they want.

Life coaches do this by listening, observing, facilitating, encouraging and asking powerful questions.

So if you like helping people live a more fulfilled life and this sounds like the kind of thing you’d like to do, then you get to choose to be a life coach.

Being a life coach is a choice, a decision

What if you could decide to be a life coach, because you want to be one? Or because it sounds like fun?

And consider this, what’s the value of making a decision. Well deciding means you say yes or no. When you hold off from deciding you are actually deciding, you’re actually saying no….Now if you’re someone who has been thinking about this for a while. You’ll never know how great it could be when you stay in that not deciding place.  You’re never going to know how great it can be until you finally say yes, and get started.

You know, I was one of those people who put off making that decision….and I did it for years.  Every 3 months or so, I’d go back to google and look at coaches on the internet I’d read books, I’d look at different coach training programs and then……I’d stop myself. Literally, I would get scared, because it was something new and I’d never done it before. So I’d find some reason why it wasn’t convenient to get started, there’s always something right? A big project at work, one of your kids graduating, a big holiday planned…..there’s always good reason it’s not convenient to take a risk today.

Only YOU get to decide if "You’re Meant to Be” a life coach.  So why not choose NOW.

It might make the decision itself a little easier. Being a coach is always a choice and it helps to know what choice you’re making.

Here’s what we don’t always take into account when we’re pondering this decision

Often time we’re asking two questions at the same time “do I want to be a coach?” and “can I be successful as a coach?” meaning will I create clients, make money, quit my job, be my own boss, not answer to anyone, have freedom, and any other way we define success

Being a coach, having coaching skills does not mean you have to be an entrepreneur.

Coaching skills and being an entrepreneur are two completely separate discussions.

You can be an entrepreneur, a coach who runs your own business.  Here’s where you’re in charge, you get to create a few clients on a steady basis or you can create an empire with larger complex coaching delivered either in person / on video conference or delivered on-demand. Or anywhere in between.

You can be an internal coach. Which is someone who works for a company and coaches people inside that organization.

You can be an external coach. When a company engages you through a contract with your company to coach some of their employees or teams.

You can be a coach who works for an agency on contract and they provide you with clients. You’re kind of like a subcontractor.

Being a coach is a very different conversation from who you coach, where you coach them and who pays you.

As I said, having coaching skills / being a coach and being an entrepreneur who provides coaches services are two completely separate discussions. And I think this is one of the places where it’s easy to get and stay confused when you’re trying to decide if you would like to become a coach, or not.

I think most people when they wonder if they are meant to be a coach…actually mean…should I learn coaching skills and become an entrepreneur. Should I have my own coaching business?

Being a coach sounds great – you get to talk to people, and watch them grow – and help them to create a far more fulfilling life.

Being an entrepreneur means you have time freedom in how you live your life and how you spend your days.  As a self-employed coach, you can coach from anywhere in the world as long as you have a phone line or the internet. So you could travel and coach, and I know several coaches who live this laptop lifestyle and they love it. It also means you can wrap your business around your family, so you can be more present for your children or to take care of loved ones.

So now that you hear all of this what do you think?

Do you want to help people live a better life and get paid to work anywhere in the world and experience freedom?

Well, who wouldn’t right? So, what’s the catch. Or is there a catch?

Well, I think when we boil it down the catch is about fear….

Scared that it might not work, that it may be hard, and worry about what other people will think of you.

Do you like coaching?

Something I haven’t mentioned yet, is do you even like coaching?

I know right seems kind of obvious, kind of a given. But here’s what happens with so many potential coaches that I speak with. They like the idea of being a coach, but they’ve never experienced coaching for themselves. 

So if this is you….wondering if you should become a coach your very first step is to start working with a coach.

Be on the receiving end of coaching, learn more about yourself and the way your mind works. Grow your awareness, learn and get clarity about what you want more of in life and start to create it.

Don’t wait ….if you think coaching is a great idea and a potential career choice then you will want to experience it too.

It’s not like when you go to university or college to take classes on being an accountant or an engineer. If you decide to become an engineer, you might not actually know what being an engineer is like, you don’t get to be an engineer or experience all the aspects and benefits of being an engineer  before you’re completely qualified.

But if you’re thinking of being a coach, you can actually experience it now. Then, you’ll know how great it is and know exactly what you’re signing up for. You’re going to be so much more motivated to start your business and sign your first clients.

Alright I think I’ve covered it.

Hey, I so appreciate that you’re here and that you’re part of my community and I hope you’re pausing and rewinding these episodes and answering the questions I ask you and then taking the steps I recommend. The information and ideas that I share will help you best when you apply them in your own life. So use these practical podcast episodes as support on your way to becoming a fully booked coach. 

Now, if you want more help, maybe you resonate with how I speak and what I share, and you want to work with me. Then we should talk. Like I said if you’re considering becoming a coach the first place to start is to work with your own coach and get started creating more of what you want in life.

So, if this sounds like you click the link to find out how we might be able to work together.

Alright, that’s it for today. I’m so appreciative that you spent this time with me. 

I’ll be back to talk with you next week.

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