[Note #1: So I’m thinking about giving away a free product for you . . . IF you’re potentially interested in mastering your life. It’s going to take some significant time to put together. But before I go crazy making this thing, I want to make sure you actually want it (so I don't feel like an idiot). More details near the bottom of the article.]
[Note #2: In case you’re wondering, this post is a FOLLOW UP TO THIS POST which received more comments and emails than ever before from South Africa to Australia to Canada and more. As far as I know, I responded to every comment, BTW]
The Story of How I Became a Life Coach
As most of you know from reading my newsletters, I have 3 teenagers: a son and two daughters..
I had a plan for my life and theirs!
First of all, I was going to be a stay at home Mom – and I did that. My husband and I prepared for this from the day we got married – by never spending my salary! We saved it every month, so that when the firstborn arrived, I could stop working and we wouldn’t ‘miss’ my salary. We followed this plan – and it worked too.
The next part of the plan was to get a teaching diploma so that I could teach at a private school and have my kids with me (with a discount for their fees too, of course!) Studying, and having babies at the same time was quite a night-mare. (BTW my husband was studying too) Somehow, miraculously, we survived those upside-down years. Sometimes, when I look at the videos we took in those days (3 kids under the age of four, studying, gardening, cooking, socializing and living life to the full) I wonder how on earth I DID all that. Teenagers are MUCH easier to my mind!
Where was I? Oh yes, I followed that part of the plan too. Found a job at a small private school in the country-side, took my kids with me every day, and got on with life. After a few years, I was head-hunted by a prestigious private school near where we lived, so the four of us (me and the 3 kids) moved school. Stressful, yes! But my kids now all agree that they have had the best school years possible. Hearing them say that makes my heart happy.
What I didn’t plan for, and think about was how it would be once my kids moved up into the senior grades of school (where I taught). Suddenly – it was not as much fun. Because the school was small, there was a strong possibility that I would teach my own kids. I definitely didn’t want that. I would never allow others to think that my kids got away with murder because MOM was the teacher, so I would probably be unreasonably hard on them. I realised, it wasn’t fair on them (or me) to stay teaching at school once they were seniors.
Now – I didn’t have a plan!
I knew what I didn’t want. I always tell my clients that this is a VERY GOOD starting point! I didn’t want to go and teach at another school. I was good at teaching, my students did really well, but there were things I did NOT ENJOY: the lack of flexibility as far as my time was concerned, and the politics in the staff room.
Time to get out, I decided.
Something else was going on in my life at about the same time – for a few years I had been having a little internal identity crisis of my own ( and maybe not that LITTLE!)
Kirsten was lost and needed to be found.
I responded to this mayhem by attending as many personal development courses that I could find or afford. This was a whirlwind of personal exploration and growth. I’m not sure it was that much fun for my family either…
Where I ended up was on a year long course on how to become a Life Coach. All the chaos in my life brought me to Life Coaching. The truth is, I didn’t even know what a Life Coach was!!
When I began coaching there weren’t very many of us in South Africa. No-one knew what a Life Coach was! I felt like a pioneer, always explaining passionately to people about this new-found career. I loved every minute of it.
My practice grew slowly and steadily. I realised that my years of experience (which is a polite way of saying that I have reached a mature age!), my personal journey and my thirst for knowledge were invaluable as I worked with clients, helping them to master their own lives.
Of course, today coaching is a well-established career. I get calls and mails every day, EVERY DAY, asking me how to become a coach. I get calls and emails every week, EVERY WEEK asking me to write articles, go on radio interviews and even on TV. I say YES to everything (almost) because I am driven to helping others to transform their lives – just as I have!
When I started I wasn’t sure how to structure my business or how to get more clients. I’m often amazed at how my practice grew and flourished because of the demand for this type of work.
I knew I wanted people to be motivated and happy and creating lives worth living. My passion for helping others and the rewards of acknowledgement from people out there is what kept me going.
In The End, And After Hard Work . . . All My Passion and Drive Has Paid Off
Back when I began doing all of this (by following my instincts a lot of the time) I never would have dreamed that . . .
- I would have been a regular expert in Glamour Magazine SA, Kids News and Destiny
- I would have my name in print in many other well-established magazines.
- I would be interviewed by The Financial Mail
- I would have coached a TV news anchor
- Or that I would have clients who have transformed like caterpillars into butterflies
But In Addition To Being Humbled By The Impact I’ve had, I’ve Also Been Blessed to Have Created a Life for Myself that I Don’t Ever Want to Change
For example, I get to work FROM HOME – no traffic, no hassles.
I’m here when the kids (well now there is oinly one!) come home.
I love knowing that I’m making real and meaningful connections with people (and that those connections and can create dramatic changes for the better).
I never would have dreamed that I’d get to make my own choices about my time (so I could be more available for my children, especially after school now that they are teens).
And I never would have imagined that I would NOT have to do much traditional marketing . . . I just had to be excellent at what I did and that clients and friends would tell all their friends and my business and name would grow….
So Here’s What I’m Coming To . . . Here’s What’s Being Demanded Of Me . . . And Here’s What I Feel Compelled To Do . . . Here’s the deal.
People want better lives. People know there’s more to life; they just don’t know how to get it. Mostly, people want to feel that their lives are meaningful too.
I get emails, tweets and calls from people every day looking for guidance and advice. I was even called doctor the other day! Which I absolutely am not – but it made me smile…
Answering these pleas takes up lots of time, as does writing articles – but I do it. I can’t NOT reply.
So how do I make my thoughts, ideas, exercises, insights, experience and inspirations available to more people? How can I help many more people to master their lives without limiting my work to one person at a time?
And with each passing day, I’m finding over and over again that the need for transformation is great, but one-on-one coaching is not the answer for everyone.
There are often time issues, location issues and money issues. I’ve been toying with how to make coaching more accessible to more people, so that life mastery is not for the elite few who make it into my coaching room.
- There are people all over the world who want more for their lives
- There may be plenty of coaches out there, but many of them have only done a weekend course (sadly there are coaches out there who call themselves a coach but who have not even studied coaching at all!!) and have little experience
So I feel that I am being compelled to step up to the plate, to create a program on mastering life.
As one commenter in the last blog post wrote “it would do honor to your service to Humanity and would actually honor us all who’ve been helped directly by you.”
Another commenter points out that “Even when you only change the lives of a few, you change the lives of many.”
The time has come for a formal Life Mastery Program.
In my heart of hearts, I want you, and others, to lead meaningful lives; to have it all and to take the necessary steps to become masters of your own lives….
But the huge task of reaching the millions that need to be reached CAN NOT be done alone.
For Starters, I’m Thinking About Making A Free Resource Kit For You, If You’re Interested in Mastering your Life.
I’ve been really humbled by the buzz surrounding my last blog post. There has been A LOT of interest in the life mastery training program that I’m POTENTIALLY developing.
But to test the waters . . . I’m thinking about making a value packed, 100% free “Master the Art of Confidence” Resource Kit for you. IF you’re serious about transforming your life…
Here is what the free “Master the art of confidence” will include:
- A never-before released to the public talk on the power of loving yourself and the three simple steps to change your life
- Stories of real people (names withheld for obvious confidential reasons!!!) and case studies about how they have grown their confidence
- A questionnaire I’ve honed with clients over the past 7 years to help you pinpoint the exact changes to make a lasting difference in your life
- A list of some of my favourite recommended reading on building confidence
But Here’s The Catch. Because I hate wasting time and because I feel so passionate and will inevitably blog this thing way out of proportion and make it into a much bigger package than it needs to be (or you even want) . . . . . . I want to get a list of everyone who is interested in mastering their lives and having this free “Master the Art of Confidence” Resource Kit.
So Here’s What I Want You To Do
I’m making a list of everyone potentially interested in getting my free resource kit AND getting in at the start of all this.
Anyway, if you’re interested, then:
(1) enter your email address below, and if I end up making it I’ll send it to you at the email address you list below (leaving a comment with any suggestions on what you’d like get from the kit would also help).
If enough people get on this “interest list” (I’m thinking 100 or more) then I’ll make this free thing and send it to EVERYONE on the interest list. If no one wants the free “Master the Art of Confidence” Resource Kit, then no worries.
Exciting dreams always,
Kirsten
