Looking for a new career? Not satisfied with your current role? Or perhaps you are happy in your job, but you are looking for something more. A career that allows you to make a difference in the lives of those around you. For some people, helping others is a way to help ourselves feel accomplished. It might be time to consider becoming a life coach.
Generally speaking, a life coach helps people make important changes in their lives and reach their personal and professional goals through guidance and practice. Life coaching is about helping people unlock people’s talent so they can achieve what they want in their lives. Life coaching techniques can be applied to all aspects of life including personal, work, business, social, sports, school, performance, and many more.
Virtually every aspect of our lives can be touched by life coaching. How about becoming a life coach? To be successful you have to want to become a life coach because you’re passionate about reaching out to others and helping them.
If you are interested in becoming a life coach, here are a few ways to start:
Like any other endeavor, the first thing you need to do is get the lay of the land. To find your place in it, you need to learn what the life coaching world is all about. What would be expected from you as a life coach? What are potential clients looking for? Where can you apply coaching to your current sphere of expertise? What kind of job and business opportunities are in life coaching?
And most importantly, where can you get accredited? Before you get started, you need to find the answers to all of these questions. We recommend that you start with the International Coach Federation (ICF). The ICF will have all the information you need to become a life coach.
Once you have your information, you need to decide what you are going to do with it. Where would you like to apply your life coaching talents? A good place to start is with what you know. If you have experience in boardrooms, the natural start point would be executive coaching. Are you a small business owner? Become a mentor for novice business owners. A teacher? Apply your life coaching skills to troubled teens. You might be satisfied with your current job and opt to use your coaching skills to help others as a fulfilling part-time career. Or you might decide to create a coaching business of your own. Each person will have their own reasons for becoming a life coach.
Just because you want to coach others, doesn’t mean you can coach yourself. Everyone can use a guiding hand. Browse the ICF website and find a life coach that can help you reach your goals so you can help others do so as well.
The last step is the hardest, but the most important: learning how to be a coach. You might have natural coaching talent, but it needs to be cultivated. A good coaching program will not only give you skills, but also the credential you need to attract potential clients. Look no further than the FLOW Coaching Institute, the premier executive coaching certification program online.
Using the exclusive FLOW Coach Method, our talented instructors will guide you throughout our five modules and the final supervised practicum to help you become a successful coach. The FLOW Coaching Institute is an Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP). Contact us today and find out how you can make a difference! Or check out our program pageto see when's the next intake so you can get started right away!
Life always gets in the way. We are always so busy. And most of us are caught up in being busy and don’t notice what’s around us or what we are actually living.
Because of that, we miss most of life. Sad, isn’t it?
We all have only one life to live and if we constantly stay busy and are not able to find the time to resonate with life and truly enjoy it -- life will pass us by so fast and you won't even realize what you've missed until the time is gone.
This is where mindfulness comes into play.
Mindfulness is about learning to be present for yourself and in your own life. It is a state of being that a life coach can and will help you to maintain calm and peace.
It is also an elegant way of attending and witnessing life through your full senses. Being mindful means experiencing the “here and now”, so that you can choose your thoughts, your actions and realize your negative habits to stop them, process past hurts and emotional grudges that are holding you, and not allowing these to take control of your one and only life. What do we say? Life coaching starts with the self.
Being mindful is a way of taking non-judgmental attention. Developing a mindfulness practice helps one to build and maintain a “transformational coaching presence” that is peaceful, objective, accepting, and detached.
Daily rituals will help you to empty your mind and body after your life coaching sessions and outside your coaching practice as well.
Breathing is an important channel of connecting to our souls and body. Ask yourself powerful coaching questions to explore about the link between your breathing, your body, and soul.
ICF-certified life coaches are trained in developing active listening practice. Give your attention to what other people are saying and not will help your perception and give you a chance to filter mindfully.
Even if it's for 10 minutes -- make an effort to stay alone and have a quiet time with yourself every day.
This will relax your neurons and help you to get day’s stress out of your system on a regular basis.
Making art provides an aesthetic experience to come to our senses and help us to perceive our inner and outer world in a more intuitive way.
When you take the time to appreciate your small wins, it gives you a boost of dopamine and it reminds you that you did a good job. If not you will just go about your days just doing and not appreciating the progress you have made.
List at least five things that you are grateful for every night (family, health, job, people around you, nature, the beautiful movie you just watched, money, creativity...).
These might seem like small things you can do but trust us when we say that it all adds up in the long run.
If you are interested in becoming a life coach yourself, feel free to email us at info@flowcoachinginstitute.com to learn more about our ICF-certified life coaching programs today. Click here to explore some Jobs For Life Coaches
Dog doo. There it is. On the floor. In the living room. On the carpet. Not on the silk rug, thank you, Dog, but on the carpet nearby. What’s my first reaction? I don’t like this. This shouldn’t be happening. I don’t have time for this. What’s wrong with this dog? Or more kindly, Is there something wrong with the dog? Maybe my body tenses up a bit. It’s a little clenching of the jaw. Or of the shoulders, or in my belly.
Office Politics. There they are. On the workplace floor. Where there are people there are politics. What is my reaction to this situation? Someone disagrees with me. Someone agrees with me. Someone wants me to do it differently. I want someone to do it differently. Do I think this shouldn’t be happening? Do I feel my jaw, my shoulder, my belly clench?
Managing Time. Look at all this dog doo in my schedule! What do I do? Where do I start? I’m multi-tasking a mile a minute and getting nowhere. If only I were more efficient. If only my situation didn’t require so much of me. This job is stressful. It shouldn’t be this way. If I stop to notice, I find that something is clenched.
And at the moment I stop to notice, I have a choice. I might now be able to say, “Hmmm…dog doo – or office politics, or time crunch. Better clean it up before someone steps in it. Better clean it up before I step in it myself.” No more thoughts that this shouldn’t be happening. What’s the inspired action that would clean it up? If it’s not clear, can I wait until there is one?
I have one, single, simple, powerful suggestion to take right now: Try not keeping anything out. Try letting it all in. See what happens if you let in the dog doo. It’s there anyway. If you let in the office politics; they’re there anyway. If you accept, surrender, and quit fighting your schedule, your calendar, your congestion of the agenda. And if you find yourself saying “This shouldn’t be happening!” you simply notice that you’re thinking it shouldn’t be happening, and you just interrupt for the moment the thought that you shouldn’t be thinking that this shouldn’t be happening.
When we block out anything, we are blocking out pieces of ourselves. And when we block out pieces of ourselves we are blocking out our joy. Blocking out is blocking out.
Joan Sutherland, Roshi, a Zen Buddhist Roshi, observes that equanimity is keeping pace with your own life.
Have you noticed that sometimes things flow and you get more done than you expected? You aren’t so much bothered by the dog doo or the office politics, or how busy you are, and your world looks easy.
Observe yourself. I bet you’ll notice that these are times when you aren’t blocking anything out. You aren’t expecting one thing and rejecting whatever is not that. You are keeping pace with your life. It may be a fast pace or a slow pace, but you’re okay with it, maybe even loving it.
Do I let everything in 100% of the time? No. Do I do this practice perfectly? Yes, in the sense that I practice when I remember to practice. And practice is perfect.
When you’re ready, you will know what action to take. When you’re ready, your action will be inspired action. If you aren’t inspired – which means you aren’t ready – rest. Or meditate. Or have a brief chat about what is working with someone supportive. Or just breathe. Find a moment of what the poet Tenney Nathanson calls “bonsai spaciousness.” Manage your energy – not the dog doo, the office politics, or your time.
By Jennifer Sellers, MCC (Master Certified Coach)
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” wrote Mary Oliver, the poet of hopes and empowering dreams. As she aimed to raise awareness to life’s busy flow. In fact, are we really aware of ourselves while walking on life’s path?
Nowadays, “mindfulness” sparks curiosity in everyone. Often described as grasping the moment, living in the moment; mindfulness actually is a series of applications.
I find that the best way to describe mindfulness is “to witness the moment and the actions unfolding and to focus on them”. It is easier said than done, since our minds are wanderers and our souls are drifters.
Daily mindfulness practice is a must in order to build those “awareness muscles” in the brain.
Mindfulness practices come from Asia reaching deep into Buddhism based on “deep thought” practices. Scientific studies on Buddhist monks led Positive Psychology focus on mindfulness for the past 30-40 years. According to research at Surrey University, regular mindfulness exercises are helpful in:
Mindfulness is the act of full capacity, moment-to-moment focus of awareness on a person, an object or a place. Eating a tomato, consciously feeling the colour, texture and taste, describing the aroma of it on your tongue, experiencing the senses of it at that given moment. Touching your beloved one, feeling the skin-to-skin contact, with its texture and its scent. Playing with your child, noticing how her fingers are holding the toy, noticing her voice, solely focusing on the play instead of the chore of washing the dishes are all practices of mindfulness.
Those who are experts in mindfulness, train their minds and their body for months and years.
We are connected to the physical world with our five senses and body. That is the reason why mindfulness practices focus on the awareness of the body and the stimulation of our five senses.
So, let’s begin practicing:
Find a comfortable spot. Sit on the floor with your spine upright, soles of your feet fully touching the ground. Feel free to close your eyes. Take a few deep breathes. You could keep your hands on your knees or lap. Now, turn your focus on the sensations on your soles, what do you feel? Next, focus on your spine and the breathing from your nose. What kind of pressure do you feel on your spine? How warm is the air you breathe in? While scanning your body, thoughts will visit your mind. Let them visit and re-focus on the bodily sensations. Focus on the sound of your breath and let it calm your mind.
For the first day, you could start doing this exercise for a few minutes to increase your awareness to your physical sensations. You could eventually increase the duration to 5-20 minutes and notice how your mind relaxes and your capacity to focus on the physical sensations increase. You could expect some ups and downs along the way, which is perfectly normal.
Remind yourself Rumi’s quote “Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times. Come, come again, come.”
It is natural for your focus to get distracted. Once your breath co-ordinates with your mind, you will notice more relaxation along the way.
By Talyaa Vardar, PCC
Inner Critics hold you back from being as successful as you could be.
Negative self-talk, lack of self-appreciation, fear of failure... these are all the sharpest tools of your own PERSONAL INNER CRITIC. They are zapping your confidence.
Here’s something to remember. Competence will only get you so far. If you don’t have Confidence, you are going to hit a ceiling in your growth.
So, what I want to talk to you about today is how your INNER CRTIC is holding you back from reaching your FULL CAREER POTENTIAL.
Yes, it's your PERSONAL INNER CRITIC holding you back. Nothing else. It’s not your Bully Boss, or your Controlling Mom, or your Unsupportive Spouse, or anyone else. Oh yes, they have a role to play. But you are the one making the choices.
I liken it to eating things that are bad for me. My husband can bring the cookies into the house, but I’m the one who decides to eat them.
So, let’s start with identifying some of the common ways your PERSONAL INNER CRITIC shows up, and holds back your awesome career potential.
People who want everyone to like them, have an Inner Critic that tells them they are not worth being liked. These are the People Pleasers.
Signs that we are a People Pleaser include making a lot of wishy-washy statements full of ‘ifs’, ‘justs’, ‘maybes’ and other lovely qualifiers. We also spend a lot of time needlessly apologizing.
Another sign of the People Pleaser, is worry and anxiety. We have an overdeveloped sense of urgency that creates a lot of anxiety in us, and those around us. We worry that we (or our teams) are not delivering ‘the way we should’.
It’s true that many projects are urgent. I’m just saying when it's handled in an anxious way, it screams ‘fear of failure’. And also, it’s not pleasant to work with someone like that
We can choose to keep it calm, encourage people, and manage expectations with our stakeholders. Or we can choose to freak out. Either way the work is going to get done.
Here’s the SAVAGE TRUTH – To have a successful career, people need to RESPECT you, not like you. If you don’t have respect – your options become limited.
Rather than focusing on getting people to like us, focus on confidently treating people respectfully. Our peers and team will love it. And bonus points, our Mean Girl will hate it!
How NEEDING TO BE LIKED kills your career:
A classic sign of a ‘I’m not good enough’ critic is when we are not truly supportive when other people are successful. If you feel anger, resentment or jealousy when someone else actually achieves something, that’s a red flag!
What is actually happening is that we are disappointed and upset with OURSELVES because someone else has the confidence to go after what they want, and to top it off – they don’t care what we think! How DARE they?
And then in order for us NOT to feel bad about ourselves, false narratives are created around how there MUST be SOME OTHER REASON this ‘person’ is successful.
So, if any of this type of stuff is crossing your mind, or worse, coming out of your mouth, your Inner Critic is definitely in control.
How BEING JEALOUS kills your career:
Our Inner Critic wants to keep us safe. And what better way to do that than by avoiding putting ourselves out there.
Let’s look at a few examples, shall we? A job comes up at our current company (or a different company). We don’t apply because we don’t have 2/10 qualifications they listed for the job. And it would take a lot of confidence to sell the 8/10 qualifications we have. So, we don’t even try. Never mind that even if we didn’t’ get the job, we are getting interviewing experience, being noticed by Sr. Management, or expanding your network of advocates.
Excuse: I really like what I’m doing now
And there are a ton of other ways it shows up.
Inner Critic – 1. Career success – 0
How AVOIDING OPPORTUNITIES kills your career:
Your boss is having a good day, so you are having a good day. Someone compliments the work you did on a project, so you walk around grinning all day. Someone says they like your outfit, and your peacock feathers are in full bloom. Everything is right in the world.
And then your boss gets mad because something wasn’t done ‘right’ – you feel like a loser. No one mentions the good job you did on that project you worked so hard on, and you feel underappreciated. You didn’t get the job you interviewed for so you feel like you’ll never get any job.
Because our Inner Critic doesn't believe in us, we become at the mercy of other people's mood's and attentions. We end up losing control of how we feel about ourselves.
Just because someone says we are good or bad – doesn’t make it true. It only matters how awesome WE think you are. So be proud of our work! And even if the boss has some ‘constructive feedback’ and is being ‘not so nice’ about it. So what. Feedback is good. Learning is good. The ‘not so nice-ness’ is them. You don’t need to worry about it.
How LACK OF SELF-WORTH kills your career:
You just finished presenting your work to an important audience, and you feel great about it. You practiced and practiced, and you are very proud of yourself. Then the next person on the agenda gets up, and in your mind, they are more at ease, get more laughs, get more pats on the back – whatever. You think they did a way better job than you. All of a sudden, it’s Inner Critic time, and you feel like you failed.
“Comparison is the Death of Joy”… Mark Twain said that.
I was reading ‘You’re a Badass’ and she made a fantastic point. Her question was, what would have happened if our greatest heroes has conceded to comparison?
Jen’s example was about Marilyn Monroe. What if Marilyn compared herself to Kate Moss? Would she have given up her curves? It made me think. Would we have ‘Sgt. Pepper’ if the Beatles compared themselves to the Rolling Stones? Would we have ‘Seinfeld’? Oprah?
OK – and then there is the argument that comparison drives us to be better. It makes us push ourselves harder. Well - there is a difference between COMPARISON and INSPIRATION.
With inspiration, it's more like "Wow, that's incredible. I want to do that... or be like that". This is where we establish heroes or role models or mentors. It pushes us to be better. This is wonderful and comes from a place of energized learning and growth.
Comparison is when we feel badly about ourselves because we are not as good as someone else. In some cases, we may become apathetic, e.g. I'll never present as well as her. And in other cases, we go into 'fight-mode' and drive ourselves into action, e.g. I've got to learn to present better or my competence may be questioned. In both cases, the reaction is driven by FEAR. Fear of failure and not being good enough. This creates stress and anxiety - and that is destructive. And in the end, it actually lessens the likelihood of achieving your goal.
You can definitely appreciate… and even CELEBRATE… other people’s success without it reflecting on how you feel about you. In fact, make it a habit. Celebrate everyone’s success… INCLUDING your own. There is enough success in this world for everybody.
If comparison is the death of joy… then loving yourself is the death of your Inner Critic.
How COMPARISON kills your career:
OK – here’s the almost the last thing I want to say about your Inner Critic. YOU ARE THE BOSS OF YOUR INNER CRITIC… not the other way around. Whenever you become aware that your Inner Critic is trying to derail you, just send them on an extended lunch and get back to your amazing life.
Yes, it’s easier said than done. Even if you only catch your Inner Critic in the act once a day – that’s better than before. And then slowly it will increase. It is totally possible.
OK - now here's the last thing I want to say...It’s your uniqueness that makes you awesome. It’s your uniqueness that will make you successful. BE YOU!!
MY SIGN OFF:
My goal is to help as many people as I can create a career where they get up every morning and say, I CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE PAY ME TO DO THIS! 20+ yrs Corporate Marketer | ACTP Certified Coach | Owner @ Savage Success Coaching | President @ Flow Coach Institute
What is Business Coaching?
Whether a start-up or a mid-sized company, business coaching is about supporting business owners and entrepreneurs to help them in the following areas:
A good business coach is the success partner for an entrepreneur. If you want to become a business coach, it is important to work on your own relationship with success and failure.
What should you look for in a business coaching certification program?
Coaching is a general term and still, so many people across the world can claim that they are coaches. There is no barrier to that. However, when you look at the factors that brought success to coaches who made it to 6K figure and kept coaching, you realize that these coaches do not hesitate to invest in their skill development. Whether they are a career coach, executive coach, business coach or a life coach; they all have a progressive mindset and believe in continuous development. Do they invest randomly? No, there is almost a success formula that these coaches followed through.
So, do you want to follow their foot steps?
Business Coaching is about partnering with business owners and entrepreneurs to take their business from where it currently is to where it can evolve.
A good business coach will support the business owner in growing their business by helping them clarify the vision of their business as well as craft tangible strategies that will bring advancement.
All coaching is future-oriented, and so is business coaching. A good business coach becomes a thought partner for the business owner. It helps if the coach has a successful business background to be able to understand the challenges and opportunities for the business. This way the coach can use that experience to drive the business coaching process in the right direction.
A good business coach knows how to support the business owner in gaining increased focus, clarity, and strategies. Many business owners live on the edge of burnout and therefore having business coaching support helps them maintain their resiliency and motivation. For every successful business it is important that the owner has a sense of direction that includes both short- and long-term goals. Even though the intention in the beginning is clear for most business owners, they may get distracted and confused when things move slower than their original hopes. That is why smart entrepreneurs hire a good business coach, knowing that it is a sure ROI.
If a business coach has relevant experience in the field, sometimes clients may benefit from their mentoring service as well. If this is the case, the coach might wear two hats: business coach and business mentor. Mentors are responsible to give advice and share their experiences with their clients. Therefore, when there is a need for guidance, the initial agreement should include mentoring in order to manage expectations and set boundaries for the mentorship right from the very beginning.
Business Coaching is the relationship and process that takes a business from where it is now to where it can go. Whether it is a start-up, a small business, or a mid-sized company that has been going through some challenges, a business coach will train and support the business owner and its managers in growing their business by helping them:
Why working with a Business Coach is important?
Did you know that only two of five entrepreneurs become successful? What is the secret ingredient behind their success? Why do only a minority make it but many others don’t? Their secret ingredient is working with a good business coach and mentor. Those that don't succeed don't build a strong support system around themselves and their business. A strong support system involves surrounding yourself with people that are willing to partner with you in your journey to success.
The role of a Business Coach is to become a success partner for your clients. Today a success partner does not only work with business goals but they also help the entrepreneur or business owner learn and unlearn habits that will bring them closer to accomplishing their dreams. This allows the owner to move towards adopting functional habits that bring success and leave behind dysfunctional ones that prevent them from achieving what is truly important to them.
Professional Coaching is First and Foremost a Development Model!
The most fundamental outcome of the coaching process is the client's establishment of short-term and long-term vision and goals. In order for the person to accomplish this vision, the coach aids the person in setting efficient and meaningful goals. Another important outcome of the coaching process is the person's increased commitment to the setting and attainment of their goals. With the help of the coach, the person can better focus on accomplishing their vision and achieving the goals they have set out for themselves.
The basic elements of the FLOW Coaching process: