Top Coaching Resources: How to Find Coaches That Will Help You Grow

In the last post, we covered the importance of holistic self-coaching. In summary, taking part in holistic self-coaching means that you will have to get committed to the process of growing in all areas of your life, as well as working on your body, mind and spirit in order to create fulfilment and happiness. Achieving your goals is utterly important, but if there is no meaning behind what you do and no fulfilment, you won’t feel happy. This is why I underline the importance of a holistic approach – all systems must go – body, mind and spirit. In order to keep growing and improving myself, I always look for coaches, mentors and role models who have visible results in the very specific areas that I am interested in learning and improving. This is the number one rule for me and I would like to share some of my strategies and resources with you.

 

The Truth about Coaching – Find a Coach that Can Actually Help You

The concept of self-coaching does not mean that you will never need a coach or a mentor. Quite on the contrary! We all need role models with visible results and proven steps to success so that we can re-model what they did and learn from them.

 

When looking for a coach (whether it’s one-to-one, group coaching, seminars, books, eBooks, a course or an information product and whether it’s free or not) there are certain important steps to keep in mind. If you skip those steps, you may end up wasting your time or feeling frustrated.

 

STEP 1: Ask yourself the important questions.

What area of your life needs most attention right now? Health, finances, relationships, work, career goals, fitness, etc? Be specific.

For example, if you feel like you lack energy and really need to restore your health, you should ask yourself – Is it my diet? Do I need more exercise? Or maybe both?

 

There are two kinds of coaching (just my way, yours may be different): general life coaching as well as specific coaching. Life coaching (I call it general life coaching) can be helpful for those who don’t know where to start. I have nothing against general life coaching, it can be very uplifting and help you re-define and re-discover your path in life. It can also be very motivating and a life coach will share some motivational tools you may never heard about.

 

Sometimes through life coaching a coach can see certain things hold you back, ones that you may not have realized or fully accepted. However, I usually prefer a more specific coaching style. I choose a certain area of my life and then go even deeper (for example, health, diets, alkaline diet, and how to quit caffeine). I then find an expert or a coach that follows what he or she teaches and learn from them. I want optimal results. I want to learn from the best.

 

I also want to learn from those who have been through the process of improving themselves, for example, a person who is a weight loss coach, and used to be overweight, but managed to transform his or her body and is now helping other people achieve their weight loss goals, and is passionate about it with a real mission- will be an excellent coach for you. This is because they have gotten there themselves- from scratch. They have been through the pain, the sacrifice and the pain. They have made mistakes that you can learn from. They have embarked on a path of self-improvement and self-growth.

 

This model guarantees my success! Now, add to it, the process of self-coaching (as mentioned in the previous blog post)– this is how you can achieve your goals even faster! For example, I ask myself questions (self-coaching, I coach myself every day, it’s my commitment), set goals and look for role models.

 

STEP 2: Ask yourself – What am I looking for?

 

Examples

• Information
• Inspiration
• Motivation
• All of the above?

 

Imagine that you want to start your own business. You have all the information, you consulted lawyers, did research, talked to other successful entrepreneurs from your niche, yet. For some reason, you lack the motivation and inspiration. There is something that holds you back.

 

In this case, there is no point of going through the process of gaining information again- you know it, you only need a push, some powerful motivational coaching to get you started. Looking for inspiration? Find a coach, mentor or role model that is already running a successful business, re-model their mindset and the process they went through, step-by-step, you will find your success. This may also happen the other way round.

 

Coaching: How to Get the Best Results

Let me share my own experience. A few years ago, I wanted to start my own business, specifically an online global business as I have always enjoyed working in international environments, languages, and interacting with different cultures and people. I live in Spain, and the local economy is not at its best at the moment, so I knew that I had to expand my services and go global.

 

A local business was not an option for me (unless combined with a job, that is was also not an option for me, especially here in Spain as it goes against my financial wellness to put it mildly) Otherwise I would have ended up as a massage therapist, with a local business that is going “so-so” or not going at all,  two clients away from being broke. This is a sad reality of many professions here in Spain. Low demand, but many professionals. Besides, I wanted to combine all my skills. As much as I enjoy healing sore bodies with my little hands, I knew that there was much, much more I could do to help people create their healthy lifestyles. Wellness is not only about spas and massages; Wellness is learning more about your body, mind and holistic self-care.

 

I have also learned that it is very important to keep the external factors in mind and research the market before actually planning your business. Passion is not enough (I really like what author MJ DeMarco says about the concept of passion in his book The Millionare Fastlane, and to be honest, now, looking back at how naïve I was- I agree with him to certain extent- I personally believe that passion is also important, but again, mere passion is not enough).

 

So there I was, fully motivated and ready to take action. My first idea was to release a product, an eBook on Natural Therapies to combat cellulite. I was writing the book and I felt so motivated, but needed some kind of information to get me started on the process of self-publishing I knew nothing about.

 

I had motivation and determination, both internal and external, but I had no clue how to go about really moving forward. My internal motivation was my mission, and my external motivation was simple – I was almost broke and working only locally was not a solution.  I needed some legal information as well as some practical steps that would teach me the ins-and-outs of a successful online business.

 

I have never been a tech-person and I had no idea how to reach readers (globally) after releasing my book. I was lost. I needed guidance. I felt a bit anxious, but I knew that once I found specific solutions, I would be in charge again. An interesting fact – although I was committed to easing my anxiety with yoga, meditation and natural remedies (and I did feel slightly better on a physical level), holistically speaking I was still anxious.

 

My mind was anxious – you see, no amount of yoga will add more money to your bank account. Health is important but so is survival and financial wellness. I know that very few wellness, health and personal development people discuss finances (as if money was taboo) but it is important.

 

The feelings of “Am I gonna be able to pay my bills?”, “I need at least X clients this week in order to pay for…” etc. are feelings I never want to experience again to be honest. Even though I was following my passion (“do what you love”, “be your own boss”) I was on such a small budget that I am still surprised to this day that I made through it. Good experience though – you’re forced to learn the minimalist lifestyle! There is always something to learn, right?

 

My soul was also anxious: I was not using my full potential 100%. Most of my time would be spent looking for clients or going from place to place offering treatments. I did not have time to take care of myself which was going against my rule that a massage therapist or a health professional needs to be a master of self-care, and apply it every day.

 

Anyway, I don’t want to bore you. Let’s learn the end of the story! I saw an ad in a local online community posted by a life coach offering her services. She claimed she had success helping people create their own businesses, even stressing that point specifically, and that most of her clients were from the health and wellness sector. This sounded awesome! Moreover, she said that she can swap her rather expensive services for my services (I could not afford life coaching services then). I went for it and we arranged a session.

 

After the session, I was confused, perplexed, puzzled and severely criticized for my ideas (like for example writing a book!). I felt like I was not making any progress. You see, I knew exactly what my problem was and I knew what I wanted to do, but I was looking for practical solutions. I assumed that this woman, a certified life coach would have her own business.

 

Well, she did not. She had a cozy 9-5 job and then would coach clients in her free time. OK, great hobby. At the same time, she was preaching to me, criticizing me and giving me certain strategies that I knew would not work. She was not an entrepreneur herself. So why was she talking about becoming a leader and entrepreneur? Empty talk. No action. Not for Marta!

 

Disclaimer- I am not criticizing this coach. You see, my new empowering belief is that you will always learn something. Everyone has something to offer. I also feel that she was doing her best to help but she just did not know anything about this specific business model that I was about to take on. Since she did not know about it, she assumed that it was not possible. Had she met a successful person with this particular business model, she would have believed it. O well, hopefully I can catch up with her at some point as again- certain things she said were motivating (general motivational coaching that you can apply to whatever it is that you want to do). She also pointed to a few limiting beliefs that I had. Good job.

 

But for me- coaching is life, real life experiences and ACTION. Of course, it’s just my belief, if you don’t agree with me, that’s fine. It’s not that I am right and you are wrong, personal beliefs are not about being right or wrong. You see, some people are looking for a coach, a life coach to have a nice conversation about happiness. I call it “I will hold your hand and guide you through so that you feel good”- That’s absolutely fine. Everyone is different.

 

But let’s wait 5 years and ask them, how they are doing with their goals and how their lives have changed. In most cases, they will still be doing the same thing- talking to a certified life coach to feel good. It’s not about “feeling good” as a coachee. Sometimes you need to feel bad and hit the ground so that you finally say- ENOUGH. I have had enough of my mediocre life. Now, I wanna do something!

 

Coaching is ACTION; ACTION; ACTION! I am like a broken record with it.

 

In other words, if you are looking for a coach, make sure that they can help solve your problems. Make sure that they have visible results in whatever it is that you are pursuing. Otherwise it will be just like a friends’ chat. Now, I don’t want to offend or criticize anyone. I have nothing against certified life coaches – REAL life coaches of course!

Here’s the bottom-line:

• A good coach will not accept all clients who knock on their door. They will first analyze if they themselves are competent and experienced enough to help them solve the person’s particular problem. Otherwise he or she will be wasting their client’s time.

 

• Even though the lady I mentioned above was not able to help me, I admire her passion for helping other people. In other words, her general life coaching (like doing drawings and exercises and drawing a life wheel and stuff – sounds a bit like school to me but some people like it- I like writing my goals and I always do it, but there is no need to go overboard) may be helpful for other people, people who are totally lost and need to redefine their goals and mission. Again I have nothing against general life coaching. I myself am also a big fan of general motivational coaching as it can be applied to all areas of life.

 

• When looking for a coach, make sure they are successful in the area you are pursuing. Would you ever take any nutrition advice from a person who is overweight? Would you hire a personal trainer who is in poorer shape than you are? Would you hire a business coach who is broke, or is not an entrepreneur (however a person that used to be broke and is now successful would be a good coach as they can teach you the process)? I am always surprised when I see business coaches here in Spain claiming to teach people how to start their own businesses, but they have never had one themselves. They work for companies and repeat the same empty definitions they have been taught in “coaching schools” (not offending anyone here, there are exceptions of course, I don’t want to appear as a hater, lol)

 

• Define what you need most: information, motivation or inspiration…? or all of them?

 

How did my story end?

All’s well that ends well. You can check how many books I have actually published to see that I have managed to accomplish my goals. Many of my books hit US bestsellers lists.  My mind is at peace and so is my spirit. I keep writing and creating. I do things locally (massage, coaching, workshops), but only because I want to, not  because I have to. I live my mission and I share it globally. I grow constantly and I live a holistic wellness lifestyle myself. I have balance.

 

The coach I had gone to, which I mentioned in my story above, actually told me that my business model would never succeed (even though she had no clue what she was talking about). She would tell me to keep organizing local events (“a massage therapist or a coach 2 clients away from broke” model). She said I could never publish a book on Amazon. Pretty negative attitude, right?

 

Well, there are many “coaches” like that and they should be avoided. In my personal book “Holistic Fitness” I refer to those individuals as “couches” – instead of helping you take action, they do it the other way around.

 

However, I took her words and used them to my advantage. You see, if someone tells you that you cannot do it, it is also a type of coaching – just get on fire and show them that you can do it!

 

This is what I did. This was the final straw for me when she said I could not do it.

 

Real Coaching that Helps Straight Away!

I found a successful author and publisher online, Steve Scott, and followed through with the steps he said. Most information I got from him was from his blog and books. You see, Steve Scott is a real self-publishing guru with over 30 books published and many years’ experience as an online entrepreneur. I also acquired some other materials and programs that were not 100% what I was looking for, but contained some interesting information and was able to connect with other authors, bloggers and coaches from my niche. Again, there is always something to learn and be grateful for.

 

Coaching is not only about one-to-one coaching as my example shows.

 

A good coach, mentor, expert, and role model will also have books, articles, audios, podcasts and blogs that you can benefit from. Really, in this day and age, many things can be delivered online. Of course, you need the right attitude and must be willing to change. So, in my case, my specific questions and problems were solved thanks to a successful self-publisher whom I never met personally, but was able solve my problems through his written materials and podcasts.

 

P.S. Steve Scott rocks!

 

Now, here comes the best part. I will show you how I keep growing and improving other areas of my life and my favorite coaching materials. If you are like me, a big fan of personal growth, you will love them!

 

MOTIVATION AND SELF-GROWTH (LEARN FROM THE BEST)

Tony is a master of NLP. If you keep watching his videos (just go to YouTube), listening to his audio programs or reading his books- you will be amazed at the results. I would love to attend one of his life events- all people I know that have been to his seminars are kicking ass! Hopefully, we can meet at his seminar at some point, somewhere in the world! This would be my absolute dream come truth!

• http://www.tonyrobbins.com/

 

ALKALINE DIET

When it comes to dieting, I have tried everything – vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic, 100% raw, gluten free, Paleo, you name it – but I found my REAL success and energy the Alkaline Diet(actually combining all the above mentioned diets in a smart way!). It really makes sense to me – the nutritional part of dieting is not enough, you need to learn how to rebalance your pH level.

 

Ross Bridgeford from Energise (spelled with “s”) for Life makes it all super easy. His passion for the topic is clear. He does not only provide information – he provides motivation. He is a big follower of Tony Robbins and has great motivational tools.  His charts are easy to follow and are based on Doctor Young’s research. Ross has plenty of recipes and guides and is my number one source of reliable information. Besides, the British accent is so sexy, lol!

• http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/

 

Talking about the alkaline diet, I must mention the pioneer, Doctor Young the author of “pH Miracle Series“

• http://www.phmiracleliving.com/

 

PERSONAL GROWTH, SELF-DEVELOPMENT

Steve Pavlina: “Personal Development for Smart People”. He tackles all areas of life, from health, relationships to passive income, finances and even spirituality.

• http://www.stevepavlina.com/

 

Michal Pasterski is a certified Life Coach, a real one and really powerful. and a NLP practitioner from Poland. He does plenty of workshops and seminars and I hope to attend one of them soon. Now this blog is in Polish, but last time I talked to him, he said he was in the process of translating it, so hopefully soon! (because learning Polish can be quite a mission lol!)

• http://michalpasterski.pl/

 

MY NUMBER 1 MENTOR FOR EVERYTHING (LIFE, HEALTH, WEALTH, GOALS)

Tai Lopez (He is a self-made billionaire). I really recommend his youtube channel as well!

• www.tailopez.com

 

LIFE COACHING AND BUSINESS COACHING- MARK BOWNESS FROM LIFE CHANGE REVOLUTION (I call him the King of Coaches- as he is the King of Coaches!)

This is really powerful stuff!

• http://lifechangetherevolution.com/

 

ON-LINE BUSINESS, BLOGGING,  AND KINDLE PUBLISHING

Steve Scott is a real guru, it’s enough to check out his books on Amazon and see their rankings. While the internet is full of “kindle coaches” who tell you how much money they make but you never get a chance to see their books (scams!) Steve follows through what he preaches. Great advice and he is always quick to return e-mails!

• http://www.stevescottsite.com/

 

Pat Flynn is also an author of a bestselling book and a really successful blogger and on-line entrepreneur: http://patflynn.com/

Again- visible results learn from the best!

 

SPIRITUAL COACHING

I like Corona Brady as she is really open, transparent and natural. She motivates me for meditation and a soulful living:

• http://www.nurturepod.com/
• http://coronabrady.com/

 

YOGA

Sadie Nardini does what I call “freestyle yoga”. I am always really inspired by her, plus I wonder who does her hair?

I love her style and personality!

• http://sadienardini.com/

 

What are your resources for health, wellness, wealth and relationships…? Please post in the comments below. Let’s make it huge and help one another! It’s our coaching time (mutual coaching!). I can learn from you and you can learn from me, right?

 

To learn more about me and my personal story, grab my book “Holistic Fitness” from Amazon Kindle (you don’t need a kindle device to read it, you can get a free app from Amazon and read it on your PC, mobile or tablet). It’s only $2.99 and a couple of hours of really powerful stuff mostly based on real life stories that can help you especially if you feel stuck in a rut, you feel that there is no way, or that others have it easier than you because they were born rich.

 

I want to show you, that you can create something out of nothing. In this book, I use a really direct writing style. My main mission is not to please readers with my writing, my mission is to set them on their inner motivation fire. This is not a nice style “I will hold your hand” , “how to be happy- rainbow life coaching! book. This is REAL stuff.  I want you to take action and get results. I want you to say: Enough! I want to be in charge! Enough of being like everyone else. I don’t want to be a mommy / daddy’s boy / girl. I want my life to be happening for me, not to me.

 

Why am I telling you this? Well, you see, some people may even hate me for writing this book. But I know, that they will eventually thank me. This is what worked for me and many other people I know that are now kicking ass. Now it’s your turn. Do you wanna toughen up? If so- you have just found your book.

 

Exclamation marks are not editing errors. Plus, my editor wanted to maintain some of my original, direct, simple, non-native, European-English style. I can’t change my roots. I take pride of being one of very few Amazon authors who publish a book after book, even though English is their second language. I am committed, I grow, I take action and I want to show you that you can do it to. To your holistic success!

 

Until next time!

 

PS. Don’t forget to share your fave coaching resources in the comments below. Let’s ROCK !!!!

 

Much love,

 

Link to this post: Coaching: How to Find REAL Coaches and Mentors