Life Coach Training – Don’t Bleach Your Jeans
When we work with people who are interested in life coach training, there are times when we meet people who want to rush the process. They want the fastest course. They want the shortest time frame. They want an “instant” life coaching practice.
But as I talk with these individuals, I’m reminded of a pair of jeans I once owned.
THE JEANS
Back when I was a teenager, you wanted to have well-worn jeans. You didn’t want to have dark denim. You definitely didn’t want to have jeans that looked new. You wanted jeans that looked soft and washed out.
But then it happened.
At Christmas time I was given a new pair of jeans. They were dark blue. They were stiff. It couldn’t have been more obvious that this particular pair had never been worn and I was tempted to keep it that way. But things were tight and if you got clothes as a gift in my family, you were expected to wear them. It wasn’t an option.
But I had a solution. It was a white bottle with “Clorox” on the label.
I thought, “I can bleach these and make them look as cool as Fonzie.” (Okay, I was growing up in the seventies and eighties.)
So unbeknownst to my mom, I grabbed the Clorox, the jeans, and a wash tub. I put a little bit of water in with the whole bottle of bleach. Then in went my brand new jeans.
I knew if I kept the jeans in the tub for a while, some of that dark blue would wash out. Problem solved. But… I’m a bit of an extreme personality, so I thought “If I keep the jeans in there for a while, a little bit of the color will come out. But if I keep them in there over night, then ALL of the color might come out.”
I had a new solution and I thought it was better and faster. So I left them in for 12 hours.
I came back the next morning to find the jeans a perfect shade of sky blue. As I pulled them out of the tub I had a big smile on my face and a sense of deep satisfaction in my heart. I had done it. I had achieved my goal and I’d done it in a fraction of the time I thought it would take.
But then I saw something on the knee of the jeans and I went to scratch at it. As I did I poked a hole through the denim like it was wet paper. Then, to my horror, when I scratched at the pocket, another hole appeared. That’s right. The bleach had drained the dark blue and weakened the denim at the same time.
I had gotten to my goal quickly… but as a result… my goal was full of holes!
The same thing can happen with life coach training… can’t it?
WE ARE TEMPTED TO RUSH THINGS
We can be so taken with the idea of getting out there to help people. Our heart can race at the thought of making an impact on the world around us! And yes… we can get so excited about the idea of the limitless income that can come from being a successful life coach.
But then we’re tempted to rush things.
We want to grab the bottle of bleach and the jeans!
We want to get our life coach training done and done FAST!
But often times, when you rush things… it tends to cause holes. Doesn’t it?
So when I talk with people about which life coach training to choose, I suggest that they look for the training that will help them to be an excellent coach and make a dramatic impact. But I also suggest to stay away from any organization that’s offering to “rush” things.
Now, do I recommend looking for programs that jive with your schedule? Absolutely! In fact, that’s one of the main reasons we took our LIVE coaching certification and started to deliver it via an online platform. We found, with the new technology, that we could increase the breadth and the depth of our offerings. Plus, with many of our coach graduates being working moms, we found that our graduates needed something that was more flexible and called for less travel.
At the same time, you can’t be like me with my tub of bleach. You can’t rush it.
As a coach, you need to take the time to learn effective coaching strategies. You need to develop your ability to ask powerful questions. You need to learn how to utilize coaching tools that will enable your coaching clients to get unstuck! And… you need to practice. You need to work one-on-one with people, functioning as their coach.
In fact, we also suggest that you practice by being on the receiving end of some coaching as well. That’s right. Part of our model is to have our students coach others. But we also give them opportunities to be coached. That allows them to experience the feeling of being asked questions and getting to use powerful tools.
We highly encourage anyone moving forward as a life coach to coach others but to also be coached.
Yes, admittedly, these types of activities take time. And even though we’re all tempted to rush things, we all know that this is time well spent.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
So, if you’re investigating life coach training, look for those programs:
- That stress the quality of their program, not the short time frame
- That will help you to grow as a coach and develop your confidence as a coach
- That will train you on how to build a successful coaching business in addition to sound coaching principles and strategies
Sure. You’ll also need to look for life coach training that fits well with your life and schedule. But don’t rush it.
If you don’t rush things, you won’t have the holes that my poor jeans displayed!
If you take the time that is needed, you’ll emerge from the life coach training process confident… bold… and incredibly impactful!
If you’re investigating life coach training, but you’re wondering whether life coaching is the right fit for you, I’d encourage you to visit http://TrainingToBeaLifeCoach.com, where we have a FREE mini-course. It’s called “THE FIVE CRITICAL QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE BECOMING A LIFE It will help you to solidify whether coaching is right for you!
jeans blue
