My Approach

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
~Henry David Thoreau

 

As a Life Coach, I will help you to create clarity, focus, accountability and the personalized action steps necessary for you to live your life to the fullest. There are many coaching models available, but I chose to use the 4-step model approach introduced to me from Dr. Gary Collins, Christian Coaching Book. The 4-step approach includes Awareness, Vision, Strategy and Action, and Obstacles. The model is fluid and can go back and forth depending the discussion. Imagine it being like a map helping you on a journey…your life journey.

Awareness

The first part of the coaching model has two parts: becoming aware of the present (where the client really is) and becoming aware of the person (who the client really is).

Where are we now?

This starts with the issues or concerns that have brought you to coaching. Presumably, you are dissatisfied with something in life or at work and want to make a change.

Who am I as a person?

In this phase, the coach encourages clients to look at their abilities, strengths, spiritual gifts, weaknesses, passions, personality types, leadership style, and life purposes. This is a self-assessment to indicate the DNA of a person. Basically, this phase is getting to know the person and how they feel, think, and act.

Concentrate more on the people, not the problem.

Vision

A vision is a mental picture of the ideal future. It has to do with what the person wants to accomplish, what they would like to have happen, and where the client wants to go.

Having a clear picture is not a problem for some people. They know exactly where they want to go and can articulate their goals easily. This differs from the many people who don’t have a vision and don’t know how to get one. They are living their busy lives without direction, focusing on the present, and giving little thought to where they want to go.

Some people want a coach them what to do and where to go. Instead, great coaches use focused questions to stimulate the thinking that will let these people discover it for themselves.

Coaches can focus on helping people do things differently,
but also help clients be different in the future.

Strategy and Action

Even when people have a clear idea of where they want to go, they may need help in getting there. This can involve setting goals that are realistic, specific, and measurable. Goals that stimulate action involve concise statements. After setting the goals and starting to implement them, it will soon become clear whether these goals are realistic and specific enough to be reachable.

Evaluate the situation and set a clear picture of the future, but fail to turn the vision into reality is why this phase is critical. There is little value in having a long-range strategy for making change if the plan is never put into action.

Additionally, some people very much want to change or move forward, but they aren’t sure how to do it, their motivation fails, or they lose the courage to take even the first step.

It’s good to have a short-term, focus on solving problems, but
it’s even better to see clients radically transform their life.

Obstacles

Life is not a smooth journey. Progress is hindered by obstacles, roadblocks, setbacks, energy drainers, and disappointments.

These obstacles are not always in the environment where we live or work. Many of our biggest obstacles reside in our minds was self-defeating thoughts and self-talk. This negative self-talk can be immobilizing, like huge mountains in the way of progress, but mountains that few people see because we hide them in our brains.

One of the greatest tasks as a coach is to help a client uncover, face, and get past these obstacles that hinders their progress to move forward. As an objective observer, my goal is to help the client eliminate the barriers.

What’s holding you back from living the life
you dream of or always wanted?