I can’t remember the first time I heard the term “Life Coach” (a quick Internet search suggests that Life Coaches have been around for the past twenty years, which sounds about right), but ever since that time, I’ve wished I had one.
Call me crazy, but I love the idea of having someone blowing a whistle in my face, telling me to get out there kid, and break a sweat and give your all and win, dammit, win (not that a Life Coach actually does this, of course). With the kind of work I do—freelance writing and voice-overs—it’s important to be self-motivated and self-structured. And I am definitely not these things, especially not lately, in this scattered funk of mine. Somehow over the years, I’ve had reasonable success in spite of my unorganized self, but how much more successful might I be with a Life Coach? This, I decided, is the perfect time to bring in some help. Someone to make me better than I am. Or at least, better than I’m able to be on my own.
And so, a few months ago, I was referred to someone I will call Coach. Coach is not a burly ex-football player in a sweatshirt with a beer gut who yells at me to get out there, suck it up, and win one for the Gipper. Coach is actually a very civilized, lovely woman about my age with a gentle demeanor, a soothing voice, and a warm, encouraging smile.
“What is it you need help trying to achieve?” she asked.
“Well.” I took a deep breath and consulted my list.
My goals include, but are not limited to: Learn the software to set up my own home voice-over studio (for which I’ve already bought all the equipment), hook into online voice-over services, continue to pitch my completed novel until I score an agent, finish writing my second novel and send it to my mentor for critiquing, generate more non-fiction articles for magazines and newspapers, find out how to market my writing on the Internet, finish editing my essays and short stories and send them out for potential publication, possibly get a part-time job outside the house, continue writing and marketing this blog with my daughter. (Those are just the professional goals, now here come some of the personal ones): Get to the gym at least three times a week, care for my new puppy, take guitar lessons and practice daily, promote my band so we can get more gigs, promote my a cappella group so we can get more gigs, find time to journal and meditate to feed my spiritual side, take a poetry class, get back into my art, possibly take a class in pastel drawing, care for my elderly parents, look into volunteer work...
When I glanced back up at Coach, she looked a little dazed. “Traditionally, I get two kinds of clients,” she told me. “Some people come to me not knowing what they want to do with their lives. And others come to me with tons of energy, too many things they want to do, and no idea where to start.”
Uh huh. Well, it’s pretty clear which category I fall under. And so, our work begins.
-Callie
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