Inspiring Life Lessons – Randy Pausch reprising his Last Lecture

Randy Pausch, a college professor, who has 3 children is compelled to share his life lessons with the world. He has pancreatic cancer and has been given a few months to live. His perspective on life is humbling, inspiring and truly a moment that will not be forgotten. I am honoured to share it with you. Please share it with those you love.

from video.stumbleupon.co posted with vodpod

Benefits of Life Coaches Featured in The Toronto Star

The Toronto Star recently published an article featuring the benefits of Life Coaches and their growing popularity throughout North America and the world.

How exciting!

As a Success Coach, Life Coach and Business Coach (I’d lump Career Coaching in there too) who specializes in work with women, this type of positive information is crucial to increase the awareness of the benefits of coaching to the general population. It’s not just for executives anymore! If there is anyone who can use the support of a coach who is “on their side” it is a woman who manages a busy life raising a family, a career, business and who is trying to find balance!

Print | Post | Republish | E-Mail | More>

February 19, 2008

Life coaches: Personal trainers of the psyche

By David Graham
Living Reporter

Consider them best friends with benefits.Life coaches, like good friends, are there for you. They are confidants and cheerleaders, motivators and mentors. For a price, you can bask in their rapt attention, burden them with all your problems and map out solutions to any number of life’s dilemmas. In this relationship it’s all about you.These modern-day gurus, who provide a sympathetic, non-judgmental ear may be the ultimate selfish luxury in a culture that’s become remarkably comfortable about buying services.

A survey of Internet sites reveals there may be as many as 30 different kinds of executive, corporate and personal development coaches.

There are coaches who specialize in romance, parenting, business and career development, retirement, diet, fitness and divorce. There are coaches who assist people newly diagnosed with cancer. There are coaches for children, coaches for people and their pets.

Life coaches are variously equipped with the analytical, personal development and motivational skills required to keep their clients moving forward, on the right course and on an even keel.

Because the industry is not regulated, there’s no saying how big it is or how fast it’s growing. But the 12-year-old International Coach Federation estimates there are 30,000 coaches in the world (about 10,000 in North America) and about a third are federation members. This represents a 300 per cent increase since 2000. And according to the Business and Economic Review, “In 2006, PricewaterhouseCoopers found professional coaching to be a $1.5 billion (U.S.) global industry.”

Some coaches are in private practice. Some work in the human resources departments of big companies.

Life coaches are the new personal trainer.

And like the trainer who knows how to get those last few push-ups from a client, life coaches motivate with the same “you-can-do-it,” rah-rah attitude. “Unleash the leader within,” “Find your North Star,” and “Ready or not, here comes your life” are typical cheers.

Sometimes they are registered psychologists. Often they have entrepreneurial or career management experience or some history in behavioural sciences. Many cite professional coaching certificates and affiliations with coaching associations.

The bottom line is, anyone can call themselves a coach.

Elsbeth Tate is a Toronto-area coach with the letters CPCC and PCC after her name. That makes her a Certified Professional Co- Active Coach, a designation attained from the Coaches Training Institute, based in San Rafael, Calif., and an accredited Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation.

“Most of my clients are professional people, dentists and certified accountants who are looking for balance in their lives,” says Tate. She believes a balanced life has many facets – work, family and fun, for example. And when one of these is lacking, it affects all the others.

Like many life coaches, Tate wants her clients to identify their “core values.” Many people, she says, lose sight of what’s deeply important to them as they mature.

“You can’t tell someone how to do this. But you can help them find out for themselves.”

Tate suggests the field is growing so fast because too many people are feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled, even though they are working very hard and have accumulated a lot of material goods. And in today’s service-oriented culture, asking for help is no longer a sign of weakness.

“Last year Duke University found that the number of people who said they had no one to discuss important issues with doubled to nearly 25 per cent from 1985 to 2004,” an Associated Press article reported.

Tate is encouraged that coaching is finally getting the recognition she believes it’s due. “I see teachers and company managers taking coaching courses to help them in their jobs,” she says. In fact, even some mental health professionals are taking coaching courses to augment their therapies.

Like Tate, most coaches communicate with their clients over the phone. Some charge by the hour. Others offer monthly packages, which include regular sessions and any number of emergency emails and phone calls.

For example, Tate asks for an initial three-month commitment, at $400 per month. Clients get three 40-minute sessions, plus the quick contacts. After that clients can go month to month or choose a “maintenance program.” Most coaches accredited by the International Coach Federation charge between $300 and $500 per month, she says.

Some clients are looking for a coach to hold their hands as they negotiate the nervous first steps of a business. Some feel invisible at work and want to figure out how they can sell themselves better. Others are already high achievers who are having trouble reaching the next level. Tate says her relationships with her clients are “partnerships.”

Paul Coputt, 46, of Dundas, Ont., is both coach and consultant. He calls himself a personal brand career coach. Before entering the field six years ago, he worked in executive and professional recruiting, specializing in sales and marketing. “About 70 per cent of my clients are women,” says Coputt. “I think women are more open to the process of coaching.”

He suggests the modern business climate is responsible for the growth in coaching. “Employees, for example, are rarely handed their next opportunity. For past generations it was normal to stay in one job for decades. But today the average tenure in any job is four to five years. They may end up having four to 12 employers over a career.”

But, says Coputt, a lot of people do not know how to clearly articulate their values and goals. A lot of people have trouble identifying what they are about, particularly younger people, who are not exclusively pursuing work for the financial rewards. For them it’s about engagement, not money and benefits.

“I try to accelerate results,” says Coputt, who has clients in Canada, Germany, Finland, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. He meets local clients both face-to-face and over the phone.

Most coaches, including Coputt, believe accountability is a key concept. “A coach will ask for updates,” he says. Sometimes people are too close to their situations to see what fixes are needed.”Sometimes it’s as simple as asking the right questions and then listening. Often clients resolve things themselves.”

Insiders stress that coaching is not therapy. Tate says she has turned down clients who she suspected required psychological or psychiatric treatment.

Tate offers new clients a free “sample session” to make sure they are going to click. As well, she instructs prospective clients to investigate other coaches.

After interviewing several coaches last fall, Tracy Currie, 47, of Stratford, finally approached Tate. “I was and still am working for a large IT company that actually offers coaching services. I needed someone to help me figure out what I wanted out of life. I wanted a change and I needed help making the transition,” Currie says.

“I could have just talked with my husband but I wanted someone who was not emotionally involved, a third party that was a cheering section, but could also be brutally honest.”

Currie has never met Tate face to face. Still, she feels she knows her coach, intimately.

And while she’s decided to stay with her job, and still chats regularly with Tate, Currie now wants to be a life coach. She’s seeking certification with the Coaches Training Institute in Toronto, a satellite of the international school, as well as the International Coach Federation.

“I’m learning that I have the power to make changes.”

Copyright © 2008 Torstar Syndication Services. Displayed by permission. All rights reserved.
You may forward this article or get additional permissions by typing http://license.icopyright.net/3.7212?icx_id=304636 into any web browser. Torstar Syndication Services and Toronto Star logos are registered trademarks of Torstar Syndication Services. The iCopyright logo is a registered trademark of iCopyright, Inc.

Quote of the Day – Daily Inspirational Quotes Email right to your Inbox

Reading selected words, profoundly written can have such a great impact on the mind. Quotations have always been a favourite inspiration of mine. It is amazing how someone’s perspective can help you understand or see a situation in a different light. If you can’t get enough quotes and want effortless inspiration every day, look no farther.

To subscribe to my FREE Quote of the Day – Click Here! www.brightambitions.com
Your email privacy will be respected, please refer for my privacy policy.

How to be Happy – The Power of a Positive Attitude Watch Video: Doc Zone : CBC-TV

More great news! Scientific evidence behind the power of positive thinking! This documentary on the CBC has provided some great “food for thought” on the concepts of creating a bright future through development of a positive attitude. The basis of what Coaching, success coaching, life coaching and business coaching is all about. What a wonderful resource to teach the skill of mastering your mind. I call it the “mastery mindset” and you can never learn enough about it! Click on the link to the CBC video at the bottom of the post to view the broadcast.
from www.cbc.ca posted with vodpod

Attention: Women Entrepreneurs, Mompreneurs and Female Business Owners
Empower Yourself on How to Get From… In only 2 hours GUARANTEED Does the thought of networking make you nervous or anxious? Are you unsure of how to pitch your business, service or product when you’re in front of a crowd? Would you like to become confident and skilled to grow your business and make more money? If you have answered, “YES” you can turn your business around!	Networking Workshops Wed. Feb. 13th, 2008 7pm – 9pm Keswick Library 90 Wexford Dr. Cost $37 +GST Register Here! Tues. Feb. 19th, 2008 7pm – 9pm Newmarket Library 438 Park Avenue Cost $37 +GST Register Here! Thurs. Feb. 21st, 2008 7pm – 9pm Richmond Hill Library 1 Atkinson St. Cost $37 +GST Register Here!
Learn in 2 hours what some people never learn!!!
Workshop Details: Hands-On Workshop Step-by-Step Workbook Intro Speech Template Power Body Language Techniques How to pass your Business Card Effectively Build your Confidence Turn Leads into Sales Promote Your Business Generate Long-Term Referrals Money-Back Guarantee
SEATS ARE LIMITED AND WILL GO FAST!! REGISTER NOW : Keswick Library, Newmarket Library, or Richmond Hill Library
Brought to you by The Success Coach www.brightambitions.com info@brightambitions.com