Right now there are over 30,000 men and women earning a lucrative living as life coaches – and this number is growing by the day. Whether clients seek us out to fast track their careers, create greater intimacy in their relationships, become more effective parents, or increase their overall sense of happiness and well being, there is a powerful “it” factor that sets us apart from all the rest.
When we learn to master this practice, we not only guide our clients to more effortlessly achieve their goals; we simultaneously increase our own ability to lead authentically joyful, successful and abundant lives. What is this “it” factor, you ask? It’s developing the ability to get out of our own way.
The most fundamental principle of coaching is that every “answer” our clients need to achieve anything they desire already exists within them. To access it, they need only to reconnect with their own inner source of intelligence that guides them in the direction of their highest good. Our job as a life coach is merely to be the conduit through which this connection can occur, and the more we’re able to get out of the way, the better able we are to “channel” exactly what each client needs to find that internal alignment. Coaching is a perfect example of the Law of Least Effort: the results we achieve are far greater than we any could generate through our own will.
When I first started coaching, I was still working full time as a pharmaceutical sales trainer, which made for some very long days. I’d literally come home from working a nine or ten hour day and would then begin doing sessions. As a brand new coach, my usual habit was to prepare for each session by reviewing my notes from the previous week, and considering which process I might offer to support my client in gaining some new insight. One night in particular, I came home from work and was really exhausted. I knew that the value I wanted my client to receive from our session would have to come from a source that was much bigger than me.
In the few minutes I had before our call, I closed my eyes and said to the universe out loud:
“Please make me a conduit for this client’s highest good. Please direct my thoughts, guide my intuition, and speak through my mouth whatever insights will most effectively re-connect this person to their authentic power, brilliance and magnificence.”
The cool thing is that in that moment, I physically felt my own connection with my inner being become stronger, clearer, and more available. For the duration of the session, my sole focus was on remaining connected to my inner being. As I listened to my client speak, I would get mental images of how she was blocking the manifestation of her own desires. Without planning or filtering them, the “right” words simply came out of my mouth. Not only did this client have a quantum breakthrough during this call, but I had a breakthrough that changed the entire way that I approached my role as a coach.
From that day on, the only “preparation” I do before each session is to connect with my own inner being – with the bigger, wiser, and more expanded part of myself – and allow that to come through me and provide whatever information is needed to create a shift in consciousness. The best part about learning how to get out of the way is not just that my clients create extraordinary results (which they do), but that I come away from each experience more connected and nourished as well. Your Inner Being is your “it” factor, and your primary tool to becoming an exceptional coach.
