Whether it’s climbing the corporate ladder or making your way as an entrepreneur, there is something that can apply across the board – we all need some help from a life coach sometimes. Being successful at a personal and professional level requires self-reflection, with a real intention and continuous individual development.
However, even when we are at our best, we all have blind spots that prevent us from seeing the big picture of our lives, as well as thoughts, habits and behaviors that can affect our growth. From Oprah Winfrey to Bill Gates, many successful people have worked with a life coach and there are very specific reasons they chose to do so.
Background
According to a report released by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), there are around 71,000 life coaches based in 161 countries around the world. This is a massive increase on the 53,300 coaches that were in the industry in 2018.
Other studies related to the effectiveness of life coaching done by the ICF, showed 99% of interviewed individuals considered their experience of working with a life coach as rewarding, while 96% said they would do it again. In addition, 65% indicated working with a coach allowed them to improve their performance at work, and 80% manifested it helped increase their self-confidence.
3 Reasons successful people hire a life coach
- They’ve lost direction
At any given time, different people could experience a lack of energy and motivation in their current roles, an erosion of their self-confidence, a tendency to dwell on past events and how they missed their true path, or simply doubt that they will ever find a satisfying new life direction.
Even successful individuals might have blind spots, where they could feel like they can’t move forward anymore after working really hard for a while. Sometimes they can lose touch with why they are doing what they do or if it is even relevant to their lives anymore. A life coach might help them bring some clarity and could put them on a new path.
- To take things to the next level
If anyone, including successful people, consider they are stuck and struggling to break through to the next level, a life coach program may allow them to identify blockages or obstacles standing in their way and help them reach a new degree of success faster.
Life coach training can help you uncover any limiting beliefs that may be preventing you from achieving the personal and professional growth you desire Just as great athletes need trainers to help them make significant changes in their lives and improve performance, it can be very advantageous to have a coach in a business environment.
- To find a greater purpose
Success that comes with prestige and money can feel unfulfilling if you feel empty and unclear as to your real purpose on earth. Defining your life purpose means knowing how you got here, your mission and what you really are in this world for. In short, it is a way of giving your life a meaning.
Realizing your purpose could change what you might consider as meaningless, you could find a reason to grow and be able to reflect on it thanks to personal coaching. You will have the possibility to awaken your consciousness with powerful questions that the coach will ask you. Ultimately, life coaching can help you find a greater purpose and free your mind from negative beliefs and judgments.
What should you look for in a life coach?
- Qualifications
It is important to keep in mind that the life coaching industry is littered with thousands of unqualified “experts” and inexperienced individuals, who pretend to be professionals in the field. You want to find a coach with the proper qualifications and who has not only been trained but also certified by a reputable life coaching program. This will allow you to make the most of you experience because you will be getting the proper knowledge and tools to reach the level of accomplishment and success you are looking for.
- They represent what they teach
Feel free to be inquisitive when meeting a potential life coach for yourself. They are not choosing you as a client; you are the one who is evaluating them for the position of “your coach”. They should explain how they can help you, what their values are and offer elements that make them attractive as a professional in your eyes. Whenever you are interviewing a life coach, you should ask yourself if they inspire you because you can see the results of the principles they teach reflected in their own lives.
- They’ve invested in themselves
The best life coaches with proper certifications do not come cheap, and there is a good reason for that. If they have gotten certified as life coach, that means they invested in their craft. The fact that they decided to receive proper training through continuous learning, while working with mentors to constantly improve their knowledge and service, is a great indicator of their professionalism and efficiency. Don’t let price dissuade you, by investing in yourself and choosing a highly-skilled life coach, you will definitely reap the benefits in the long run.