When Catherine Staples lost interest in her career two years ago she turned to Google and typed in the words “life coaching.”
A few weeks after clicking mylifecoaching.com, Staples was charting a new career path with life coach Michele Caron. She soon abandoned her career as a business consultant and found herself studying to become an interior designer.
“I did a complete 360,” says Staples, a Barrie resident. “I never guessed I would go into interior design. But it’s the best thing I ever did.”
She’s now in her third year of study and has opened her own business, Catherine Staples Design. Staples credits her ongoing relationship with Caron for her new career and a more positive outlook on life.
She’s not alone in seeking the services of a life coach. A lot more people everywhere are looking to personal coaches to help guide them through life. Fitness coaches, management coaches, parenting coaches and life coaches are sprouting up to meet the demand.
Staples realized just how daunting the task of finding the right life coach could be when her Google search turned up hundreds of life coaches from all over the world. Her nervousness eased when she talked to Caron who lives just 45 km down the highway from Barrie near Coldwater.
Trust is the watchword when looking for a coach. Although there are accepted practices and centres that offer training, it’s an unregulated field that operates in a virtual world. Few clients ever meet their coaches in person. Coaching is done over the phone and online.
Caron has clients from all over the world including China, London, South Africa, Nigeria, Holland, Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Most found her the same way Staples did or through client referrals.
“There are some voluntary certifications but nothing formal,” says Caron. “It’s about finding somebody you have a connection with. It’s important you get with a coach that you really feel great about and you love how your life is working when you’re with that coach. In three sessions you should feel like who you’ve brought your life forward.”
Her story sounds much like those of her clients.
In 2002, Caron had a promising career as a Canadian working in Las Vegas developing software for sleep technicians.
It was a rewarding career in many ways but still left her unfulfilled.
Her mother suggested she explore the field of life coaching after hearing American Thomas Leonard, considered by most as the person who started the practice, on television. Caron sought out Leonard and knew she had found a new vocation. She studied Leonard’s practices at his virtual online training centre called CoachVille, worked with Leonard in person and was soon developing her own coaching career.
She and her husband moved back to Canada seven years ago and she set up an office. Caron now has a full customer base with about 20 clients. They pay $330 a month for three scheduled coaching calls, unlimited email coaching, and free short interim calls for urgent situations.
“It’s expensive but it’s a significant investment in yourself and your life so you’re not going to sign up unless you’re going to take this seriously,” she says. “Half of my clients have been with me for two years.”
It starts with a free introductory session, where Caron talks to prospective clients on the phone to explore what they’re looking for in a life coach and to see if they’re right for her. She’s quick to point out life coaches are not mental health professionals or counselors. She says she often suggests to people they would be better served by a mental health professional.
“We work largely with people who would like more success in their life. We’re very affirming – it’s about what’s going right and let’s build on that. People hire a coach to get very objective feedback about what’s going on in their lives. Everybody has friends and family who tell us what we should do. But they’re not always objective. At the heart of life coaching is honest objective feedback.
“You have to be ready to hear the truth and be willing to consider some different ideas about doing things. Coaching absolutely will not work unless the person is open to change.”
Staples says the first few sessions helped her explore what she truly wanted from a career. Once she decided on a new direction, they worked on setting goals leading to her new career.
“Michele is my personal cheerleader,” says Staples.
“Friends and family can help but they make emotional choices.”
Staying focused on goals is at the heart of life coaching. Caron stresses to her clients the importance of concentrating on matters they can control.
Too many people are either mired in their past or so worried about the future, that they become paralyzed with fear, she says.
“Life works a lot better when you stay focused on what’s in front of you right now and deal effectively with the current conditions,” she says.
“Somebody stressed out is often trying to do the universe’s business, like worrying about the war in Iraq. They worry themselves about things they can’t control. They’re focused on somebody else’s business. When you start taking care of the ‘right now’ the future takes care of itself.”
For Staples, working with a life coach also makes it easier to stick to her goals.
“I felt like there was somebody there I had to commit to. She keeps me accountable.”
Hey coach, Put Me in the Game (OF LIFE)
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