Maybe you're asking yourself, “Should I spend money on personal coaching?” The quick answer: It depends. And I'll tell you exactly what it depends on.
Let's start by asking some good questions to hone in on whether that would be a good decision for you. Now, I sell personal coaching, it's my business. It's what I do, it's what I love. But I'm not here to sell you on coaching. I want you to make a good decision about whether you should spend your time and money on this kind of a proposition.
Ask yourself: Number 1, “Do I want to learn a new skill or knowledge set?”
Hmm, you probably do if you are considering personal coaching. But really, that's the purpose of doing it in the first place. Some people want to get into coaching and they have no idea of what it is that they are going into it for. If there is a specific skill set that you are hoping to develop or a knowledge base that you are looking to acquire, coaching can be a really great way to do it.
The second question has to do with performance. Am I ready and willing to play my game at a higher level?
Let's take a look at where the coaching idea came from in the first place. We have coaches in sports and athletics. Even the most elite athletes subject themselves to coaching because they realize that they get in their own way sometimes. To take their game to a higher level, they are going to have to do something different.
Better is always different.
I use this phrase a lot in my coaching because I think it's really true. If you are going to improve something, it implies that you have to make it different than it was before. Otherwise, it would be the same.
Better is always different.
To take this game to a higher level, coaching could be very, very helpful. But only if that is your objective, if that is you want to do. If you are perfectly fine living at the level you are currently living, then probably it is not a good fit for you.
If you really want to take it to the next level, it could be a crucial factor. Here is the next question and I asked this all the time when I'm doing a discovery call with someone who is considering coaching. “Am I serious about doing this right now?”
Sometimes the timing is not right. If you are in the middle of something else that is distracting you from getting clear on your purpose for the coaching, it might not be the best time for you.
I can tell what you are serious about by accessing two documents. If I can see your calendar and if I can see your bank account statement, I'll know what you are serious about.
People spend their time and their money on what they are really serious about. A lot of people go into personal development coaching thinking, “Well, I'm really interested but I don't want to spend any money on this.”
Yeah, you're not ready then.
You need to be willing to spend both time and money.
That's why I said the calendar and the bank account. That's going to tell us a lot about what you are serious about. Is it time? That is a legitimate question. I'm not saying it should be time for you. I'm saying ask yourself, “Is this the right time?”
When I first started hiring my own coaches, it was because I had hit a point in my life where I had to do this or perish. It was prosper or perish. I talk about this in my book, Pathological Positivity. The first chapter in that book is called, Lightning Strikes.
Lightning struck me in my life. Not the actual lightning. It was a financial crisis that I was going through. It was during that crisis when I had to really ask myself, “Am I serious about changing?” I was on a trajectory that I didn't like. I could see that if I didn't change something, my whole life was going to end up in a place where I didn't want it to be.
I remember when I used to do traditional psychotherapy. I worked with people who were working through addictions. There is a saying that until you hit rock bottom, you are not going to change anything.
Really?
Do we have to hit rock bottom?
Can you take a look at where you are right now and make a decision, an intentional decision about whether this is the right time. If not now, when? It's a legitimate question. Answer it. And if not me, who?
Get out of your own way and play your life at a higher level.
Here's the thing: It's not about you. It's about other people's lives that are going to change as a result of you stepping up. There are some important reasons why I like to get into conversations about that with some of my clients.
Here's the final question that I would encourage you to ask. “Am I ready to get out of my own way and be humble enough to engage other people who have reasons to know the things that I'm seeking to understand?”
It does take some humility. I know destructive pride gets in our way. It did for me too.
I call it the special case syndrome in my book where we kind of believe in our own mind that we are a special case that somehow all the rules and principles apply to other people. But somehow, my case is extraordinary or special. It's not.
Are you ready to get out of your own way and tap into the skills and expertise of people who have reasons to know? Those are the questions I would encourage you to consider.
There are some things you need to look out for. In the personal development coaching industry, there's not a lot of regulation. This is good news and it's bad news. It means anybody can get into that space. Not everybody in the personal development coaching field has a PhD in clinical psychology like I do. I'm not saying I'm more or less qualified than them. I'm just saying there's a big variety of people who are entering the field.
You need to be selective about who you hire or who you want to work with. Look into them enough to find out, do they have the skills? Do they have the experience? Do they have the expertise that I need to answer my questions?
Another thing you might want to look for is whether they have a proven process or a system in place that has already been demonstrated to have helped other people. It's okay for you to expect or to look for that in someone that you bring on to your personal development team.
Finally, I would encourage you to look for someone who resonates with your values and your purpose. Don't get confused here with finding someone who thinks exactly like you do. That may not help you much. You do want someone who is going to be compatible with your core values and beliefs to the extent that they can work within that system to help you stretch and move to that next level of performance and enjoy the life that you create for yourself.
I hope that gave you some ideas. I told you earlier in the video, I'm not here to sell you on a coaching program but I am selling some. If you are serious, and want to explore some possibilities, let's get you scheduled for a breakthrough call with one of my certified coaches You can do that at drpauljenkins.com/breakthroughcall. We would be happy to be part of your team.