Life coaches help clients define priorities, reach goals, and
……ACHIEVE DREAMS!
From the St. Cloud Times, St Cloud, MN dated Sunday, April 25, 2004 by Sarah Colburn.

Jenn Ross felt something was missing from her life, and she didn’t know what it was.

The independent consultant for Creative Memories lives in Virginia and works part-time as a neonatal/intensive care nurse.

She was exhausted, stressed and feeling unfulfilled because of big changes within her family, including her husband’s job change and a daughter’s marriage. That’s when she turned to St. Cloud resident and business/life coach Reggie Adams.

“She promised this would make a difference in my life and my business and she certainly has kept that promise,” Ross said.

The number of coaches in Minnesota is growing. The mailing list for the Minnesota Coaches Association tops 400, up from 200 in mid-2002.

“People are starting to say ‘what more is there to life, how can I find that and what more do I want in my life,’” said George Johnson, president of the association.

A coach can help someone manage his or her career, see options and other perspectives and help broaden the horizon of possibilities, Johnson said.

“Help them find out what they’re really passionate about,” he said.

Purpose

Although coaches focus on life goals, ambitions and dreams, they stress they’re very different from therapists and counselors who tend to focus on the past.

“Coaching really focuses on the future, how to be more fulfilled, more balanced with your future, how to be pro-active,” Adams said.

Adams has 500 active clients worldwide spanning from England to Australia. She works with clients in half-hour sessions via the telephone. Many of them come in, such as Ross, not knowing what’s missing.

In 2001 Ross got Adams’ name from a woman who had taken off from Creative Memories, came back and was almost instantly successful.

Ross called, and the two began with business coaching sessions.

The past October they began with life coaching as well.

Now, Ross is doing things she’d put off.

She said she’s learning to prioritize, set boundaries and say “no” to things she really doesn’t want to do.

“I got so caught up in everyday things I put myself last,” she said. “Life coaching has given me the tools, the insight and the encouragement to find myself.”

In her professional life Ross is starting to get involved with a program to mentor young women who are pregnant, something she realized, through the help of her coach, that she’d like to try. March was her best month in personal sales with Creative Memories, and she’s spending her time off doing things she wants to do. She’s not giving up as many of her weekends to work and she sees herself as a better friend.

“I know people who would look at it and say they don’t need it,” she said. “It was definitely something that came at the right time in my life and really enriched it.”

Enlightenment

Coaches typically begin by having the client fill out a questionnaire that gives the coach a better idea of where the person is at personally and professionally.

Then, the coach digs and asks probing questions until, together, client and coach come to some conclusions.

“A lot of times people don’t have the futures they want because they don’t get clear about what it is and they don’t make a decision to get moving,” Adams said. “They wish instead of make a decision.”

Coaches often give homework that makes the client accountable for moving toward their goals. They can also assist with training and creating an action plan.

“We’re too busy thinking small, just surviving from day to day instead of really tapping into our purpose and our heart,” Adams said.

Balance

From Adams’ work with her own business of 4 ½ years and through the 17 years she’s spent in direct sales and coaching direct-sales consultants about growing their businesses, she see people who don’t give themselves an opportunity to try. They often fear failure, she said.

“A coach really gives people permission to be who they are,” she said.

George Copsey has been a business/life/visualization coach in St. Cloud for six years.

“People, even very high performers, will run into a situation in their life and work where they’ve disconnected from making choices,” he said. “They have 1,000 options and don’t know which way to go.”

He works through four steps with each client: achieve clarity, make a plan that outlines what you’ve been putting off, manage your agreements and ask for what you want.

“I frequently challenge people to do things that are tough for them to do because they won’t do it on their own,” he said.

He also said he helps people take a look at what they don’t want when making a change.

For example, he had a client who wanted to increase his sales but was afraid doing so would put him in situations where his faithfulness to his wife would be in jeopardy.

Copsey strives to help his clients find a personal balance in their lives. He divides work, play, inspiration and body care.

“To me it’s about trying things out, review things and see if it added to your balance,” he said.