The Ultimate Guide to Life Coaching
Whether you are a woman working in the corporate world, a leader within your company, running your own business, or a working mom, the positive impact of life coaching cannot be overstated.
Having the courage and discipline to consciously make changes to create a life that is more fulfilling, successful, and joyful, is difficult to do on your own. However, like most things in life, having an experienced, knowledgeable mentor to provide guidance and accountability is an extremely valuable resource for driven women ready to unlock their full potential.
What you see tons of:
Women on social media telling you how to transform your career, health, finances, family, and overall life.
Countless self-development books, articles, podcasts, and magazines on how to live your best life... but, at the end of the day, every woman is unique, and “one size fits all” advice isn’t personalized enough for you to sustain real change in your life.
Thankfully, driven women now have an opportunity to receive the personalized, private guidance that they need to leave behind the land of good intentions and turn goals into meaningful action — life coaching.
What is Life Coaching?
Life coaching is a sacred space for you to do your most powerful work.
While there are thousands of free resources, information, and advice available to you on the Internet, through social media, or through books or podcasts, this advice is somewhat generic and not personalized for your unique situation in life. Life coaching, on the other hand, provides you with something much more valuable -- a custom plan to guide you and push you towards the life that YOU (and only you) dream of.
If someone wants to learn how to speak Spanish, it’s much easier (and faster) to learn from a teacher than it is to study on your own.
Similarly, if a person wants to improve their fitness, they will be far more successful with a trainer or a coach than they would be by themselves.
The same is true with life coaching!
Having a life coach is like having an experienced mentor in your corner, cheering you on and encouraging you as you navigate through life, while also pushing you out of your comfort zone and holding you accountable in the moments you need it most.
Whether you have a specific personal or professional goal you’ve been trying to achieve, or if you’re feeling aimless or in a rut and looking for more purpose and direction in your life, hiring a life coach is one of the most effective ways to level up your life.
Life coaches serve as mentors, encouragers, goal planners, and sources of accountability. They are masters of helping you create a roadmap to reach your goals and dreams.
Life coaches:
Help you overcome fear in order to create the life you really want for yourself
Equip you with the mindset, skills, and support to make bold changes in your life
Push you to reach your goals that seem impossible or out of reach
Teach you to change your daily habits in order to increase your productivity, energy, and joy
If you run into challenges or obstacles, your life coach will assist you in navigating through these tough situations.
Life coaches start by learning about you and your vision for yourself. We start with big picture goals, creating a mindset of confidence and success. Once your life coach has learned everything they can about you and your aspirations for yourself, we get into the details of what tangible steps you can take to achieve the success you desire.
Just as every person is unique, your work with your life coach will be uniquely customized to you based on your goals, vision, and all the ins and outs of your life.
What Can A Life Coach Help With?
Most life coaches offer a wide range of coaching services, meaning they can provide guidance in a number of areas where you might be struggling or hoping to improve. Whether you want to make a decision about your next career move, or improve your confidence in all areas, a talented life coach will be able to assist you.
Now, many people think that hiring a life coach means there’s something “wrong” with you that needs to be fixed.
While life coaches can certainly help you solve problems in areas that might feel “off” to you, life coaching is typically focused on your future dreams, goals, and aspirations. By working with a life coach, you’re not saying, “I have a problem that needs to be fixed.” You’re instead saying something much more powerful… “I have a dream that I care about so much that I am willing to invest in myself and get the right support and accountability to reach it.”
Life coaches can help you clarify your short-term and long-term goals for your career.
Life coaches can help you find a time management system that works for your busy life.
Life coaches can help you refine specific skills that might benefit you in the workplace.
Life coaches can help you improve your relationships with the people you work with, live with, and socialize with.
Life coaches can help you find more joy, fulfillment, and peace in life.
When you work with a life coach, you’ll have someone in your corner who is pushing you to reach your goals with a roadmap that works specifically for you, no matter what else is going on in life. They will teach you to adopt habits that will set you up for success, and let go of habits that may be hindering your progress. Life coaches are sounding boards, mentors, and the push you need to reach your full potential.
How is Life Coaching Different Than Therapy?
There’s a common misconception that life coaching is the same thing as therapy. While both are extremely impactful experiences, there are some key differences between life coaching and therapy.
Fellow life coach Ryan Barletta puts it simply: “Therapy focuses on your past, while life coaching focuses on your future.” When you go to therapy, you will likely work through past trauma, talk through events that have already occurred in your life, and resolve past issues or relationships. Life coaching, on the other hand, focuses on creating a plan of action to move forward towards your future goals.
A therapist is a healthcare professional who specializes in psychotherapy. They focus on resolving mental health issues by processing past traumas and changing destructive habits. Life coaches are not healthcare professionals. Rather, life coaches are masters of helping you gain clarity around your goals, identifying challenges that keep you from meeting them, and creating a road map to help you reach your desired result(s).
When therapy might be best for you:
Working through grief
Processing past trauma
Depression or anxiety that get in the way of your daily functioning
Past issues that affect your present mindset, behaviors, and actions
When life coaching might be best for you:
Desire to achieve big goals but you aren’t quite sure how
Becoming “unstuck” from a work or life situation
Accountability & encouragement
You desire a higher level of joy and fulfillment in your life
Is A Life Coach Worth The Cost?
The short answer is: YES. Life coaching programs are specifically designed to give you the support, knowledge, and accountability you need to achieve your goals in any area of your life. However, there are several things to consider when making a decision about life coaching. Weigh your options and consider the factors below.
Time Commitment and Outcomes
Many Life Coaches will encourage (or require) you to make a longer-term commitment. Coaching over a longer period of time is more likely to provide you with the positive outcomes you desire. While it may be a larger financial investment, committing to coaching for at least one month, if not 3-6 months, will set you up for success and ensure you’ll get your money’s worth.
Not All Coaches Are The Same
Do your research to determine which coach, or kind of coach, might be best for you. Take advantage of free Consultation Calls or Breakthrough Sessions. Read client testimonials and blogs. Visit their social media pages. There is a wide range of coaches, and it’s worth it to take the time to decide which coach will be the best fit for you (and your budget).
When you’re financially invested, you’re also mentally and emotionally invested.
If you’re a woman looking for a life coach, chances are that you’re already inspired to make some changes in your life. When you take that leap to invest your money, time, and energy into coaching, you want to get the most out of your experience. While a significant financial investment might seem scary, it also indicates a mental and emotional commitment to a better version of you. You’re ready for change and it will be worth the investment.
What Kind of Programs Do Life Coaches Offer?
Life Coaching programs vary greatly depending on what you are looking for. For example, private one-on-one coaching provides a much higher level of personalization and accountability compared to a group coaching program.
Lengths of times of life coaching programs also vary, but as a general rule of thumb, the longer you invest in coaching, the more results you will see and the better the results will be.
Discover which coaching program is right for you to shatter all limits in your life:
90 Days to Courageous Leadership
This Life Coaching Program is specifically designed to empower you to gain confidence, improve your leadership skills, and take bold action to shatter all limits and unlock your full potential in life. After 90 days, you’ll be ready to command any room you step foot in. Whether you’re leading a team, running a meeting, or starting your own business, courageous leadership is the key to reaching your big, juicy goals. This life coaching program will unleash the leader within you. You’ll learn to lead with courage, communicate confidently, advocate for yourself and your team, and leave your legacy as an empowered female leader.
2-Week Immersion Program
After this two-week coaching program, you’ll emerge as a more empowered, confident woman. Get the jumpstart you need to improve your mindset and unleash your potential. We start with a 90-minute Deep Dive coaching call, in which you’ll create a roadmap towards your goals with a step-by-step plan for how to achieve them. This customized, two-week coaching experience is perfect for women looking for a short-term commitment or anyone who wants to “try” coaching before making a longer-term investment.
Do you have big goals for yourself, but struggle with time management, productivity, follow-through, and letting overwhelm take over? The accountability coaching program will boost your productivity and push you out of your comfort zone and into the land of success. This isn’t about fluff — this is about turning your plans into tangible actions. Accountability coaching is right for you if you’re ready to follow through on achieving your goals in ways you never have before.
The Life Coaching Process
The process begins with an initial free 30-minute Breakthrough Session. The purpose of a Breakthrough Session is to share your vision and goals with your life coach. It is also an opportunity for you to learn more about their life coaching program(s) and ask questions so that you can make a decision about moving forward in a coaching relationship. At the end of the call, you will know if I am a good fit for you as a life coach, and I will know if you are a good fit for me as a client.
Next, you will complete an Initial Intake Assessment. This assessment is not about judgment, but awareness. It is used to get a sense of where you are at the beginning of life coaching as a benchmark to assess your progress throughout the program.
In your first life coaching session, the focus of our conversation will be goal-setting. Life coaches help their clients find clarity around their short and long-term goals so you have a vision for yourself moving forward and know what you’re aiming to achieve. At Shattered Glass Coaching, we help clients set goals that are specific, measurable, and achievable.
Once your goals are set in place, you work with your life coach to create a strategy for how to reach them-- a road map of sorts. Every person is unique, so every life coaching session will be personalized based on your specific goals. Your life coach will assist you with creating and executing a strategy to help you take daily, weekly, and monthly steps towards achieving your goals.
From there, your life coach will provide you with ongoing coaching, guidance, accountability, and support. Weekly coaching sessions ensure that you stay focused, disciplined, accountable, and continue pushing yourself. Your life coach will also provide opportunities for you to step back and reflect on your progress, ensuring you recognize and celebrate yourself when strides are being made.
How To Get The Most Out of Life Coaching
When you commit to life coaching, you commit to your own personal development. You truly invest in yourself and take steps to become the person you want to be. In order to get the most out of life coaching and make sustainable progress, here’s what you’ll want to do:
Commitment: Life coaching requires a commitment. A commitment of your time, energy, finances, and personal effort. When you fully commit to life coaching and say, “I’m all in— I’m ready to grab life by the horns and do this,” you will get the most out of your coaching. Like anything in life, the more you commit, the more results you will see.
Be willing to step outside of your comfort zone: Your life coach will likely encourage you to do things that you have never done before— things that might be outside of your comfort zone. There’s a reason for this! You don’t grow and stretch yourself while still inside your comfort zone. Embracing this discomfort and leaning into it will help you get the most out of life coaching.
Be pushed and challenged: Along with stepping outside of your comfort zone, your life coach will challenge you to approach life differently. Personal growth requires doing things differently than you’ve done them before. Your willingness to embrace the challenge, be pushed, and step up to the plate will accelerate your results.
Self-Accountability: Life coaches often give clients action steps to take in-between sessions— “homework” of sorts. Make a conscious decision to complete your homework in its entirety each week. Hold yourself accountable for following through and taking action, so you’re not just coasting in-between coaching sessions.
Are You Ready To Hire A Life Coach?
I’ve helped 50+ women achieve success and I’m ready to go to work for you, too.
