What is life coaching?
Life coaching is partnering with you in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires and motivates you to maximize your personal and professional potential. As your coach, I believe strongly in your innate capacity and capability to live a purposeful life by following your own personal agenda. “Affirmation in Action” isn’t just a business name – I focus on affirming you and helping you put your life into action. You can find out more on my page about Life Coaching.
Who can benefit from life coaching?
Anyone who wants to step things up in their life, their work, their play – coaching can help with identifying those areas in which you want to create movement towards greater fulfillment and a more active presence on a daily basis.
How does it work?
When we first meet, we’ll go in depth into where you are now and where you want to be. As a Certified Professional Coach, I have organized strategies for helping you look at your life and work in new ways, then figure out what you need to do to achieve what you desire. Every week we’ll create very specific goals for the week, and review where you got with last week’s goals, what got in the way and what your comeback is. And we’ll do most of it by phone or Skype, so it’s convenient and timed to fit your schedule.
What is a professional life coach? Aren’t all life coaches professional?
Some, but not all, life coaches are professional life coaches. Anyone can claim to be a life coach, a professional coach, a personal coach, or just a coach. A true professional life coach has been trained and certified by a training institute or organization and is accredited with ICF, the International Coaching Federation.
How are you qualified to help me?
I was trained as a life coach by the Academy for Coach Training in Edmonds, WA. I also hold a BA in economics and an MA in psychology. Before becoming a life coach, I worked for nine years as a licensed mental health therapist in a clinical setting.
My life coach training means I am trained to work with you to:
- Explore your options
- Act on what is most important to you
- Increase your self-awareness
- Sharpen your skills
- Focus on your strengths
- Build personal accountability
- Discover how to live each day with purpose
- Identify and achieve your greater goals
- Celebrate your milestones
What kinds of problems can a life coach help with?
All kinds – anything you want to change, to improve, to fine-tune, or any way you just want to know more about yourself. I specialize in working with athletes, business owners, and community leaders. I help athletes achieve their personal best and work past obstacles to their goals. I help business owners take care of themselves and their businesses, get back to enjoying their work, and take their businesses to new heights. I help community leaders work successfully with their community and achieve their shared goals.
How much time does it take?
When we first meet, we’ll go in depth into where you are now and where you want to be. As a Certified Professional Coach, I have organized strategies for helping you look at your life and work in new ways and figure out what you need to do to achieve what you desire. After our first meeting, every week we’ll create very specific goals for the week and review your progress with last week’s goals. And we’ll do most of it by phone, so it’s convenient and timed to fit your schedule. Those weekly meetings will only take about 30 minutes. We’ll start with a three-month, 12- session commitment. That may be all you need to get you going, though many people do continue their coaching through 6 months.
How much does it cost? Is it expensive?
When you want to set your life going in a new direction, you should be able to. My rates are based on your income, so when we talk at your introductory session, we’ll also discuss making your coaching affordable for you. Your free introductory session comes with no obligation.
Can’t I get the same results from just talking to a friend?
Your coach should be agreeable to work with, but your coach is not your friend. My purpose is to validate you, stretch you, help you achieve more than you realized you could. Sometimes that is uncomfortable. But I’m trained to help you. With all the good will in the world, your friends may have a different agenda for you. When you work with a coach, the focus is all on you; your agenda is paramount.
How can you know me well enough to advise me?
When we’ve finished our first meeting, I’ll know a lot about you – and you’ll know more about you than you ever did before. My gift is to ask you thought-provoking questions so you recognize your own answers. But I won’t be offering advice or telling you what to do. We’ll explore together the best choices for you and work on changing how you create your future.