Came across this great article that speaks to the field of professional coaching, by Tori DeAngelis.  These are a few of the excerpts.

I love Ben's story, it is on point. 

"...Ben Dean, PhD, struggled to finish his dissertation. He sought help from a cognitive-behavioral psychologist, but when that didn’t work, he enlisted the aid of a former fellow student. Through supportive coaching, she had him commit to six goals a week, and if he didn’t meet them, she asked probing questions to get to the heart of his problem. (DeAngelis, 2014)"

“Coaching has allowed me to help people transform their lives, to build a flourishing practice, and to do all kinds of other interesting things like writing and speaking here and abroad,” he says. “It’s done that for other people, too.(DeAngelis, 2014)”

"...The field is as unregulated as it is mushrooming: Its main trade group, the International Coach Federation (ICF), boasts of 17,000 members and counting. The lack of regulation means that anyone — including those without any training in behavioral science — can become a life coach, says psychologist Vicki Vandaveer, PhD, an executive coach based in Houston (DeAngelis, 2014)."

Read the entire Article HERE

When your life journey leads you to becoming a coach, you must realize the responsibility you have to the coachee.  That is that you keep yourself abreast of what is going on in your own life.   Really, if being a life coach is a part of your journey you will need to be okay with a lifestyle that promotes life-long learning, self-discovery, and self-exploration; because that’s what coaching is all about.  You see, as much as coaching is about the coachee; in the beginning it must be about you. As you work through the curriculumn you will be working on your personal development in order to be the catalyst for change that the coachee needs. Many coach training institutions have you pay for a mentor coach simply becasue the best way to learn to coach is to be coached.  Coaching requires that your practice proper self-care; caring for your own life, career, and relationships; practicing proper balance and inner peace of your own can in sure that you can stand as an unbais sounding board for your clients. Your chief aim is to help the coachee find out what they really want, why they want it, and where they want to be in reference to any given facet of their life.  Then the coach supports the coachee's ingenuity in creating  the roadmap that will get them there. Primarily coaching involves using the art of questioning to spark the client to un-thought of solutions.  

Many people seek out a coach because they desire to see change in their life, career, and relationships.  Many times the potential coachee will have an important goal to reach or simply want to improve their quality of life.   Other times people are seeking motivation to achieve a life dream, for instance; to write a book, have a healthier body, or launch a new idea or business.  In many cases people want to experience more joy in their personal and professional lives. They want to experience more peace, balance, and life fulfillment.

The coach is a tool that the coachee utilizes as a catalyst to dig deeper, go broader, and stretch higher in different areas of life. Coaches believe that individuals are naturally resourceful and from time to time need assistance in digging deep to surface the resources with in.   Coaches believe that individuals are naturally creative and at times need a catalyst to help them re-imagine for themselves the original blueprint and purpose for their lives, coaches also believe that people when given the appropriate support and proper motivation combined with inspiration can achieve any goal they desire.