I often get asked the question, “What is a life coach?” or “What does a life coach do exactly?” Here is my answer.

A life coach is someone who helps you get clarity about where you are, where you want to be, and then helps you create an action plan to get there.

I like to describe life coaching like looking in a mirror. You can see your reflection, but it’s only YOUR perception. Sometimes it’s beneficial to have a second opinion, one that can help guide you through your limiting beliefs and make the impossible, possible.

Therapy is process oriented. You can sit on a couch for an hour once a week and talk about “how you feel about that” but where is that going to get you in life?

Life coaching is results oriented. It’s about creating goals and being accountable for following through. When most people meet obstacles in life, they tend to get frustrated or discouraged and want to give up. That’s when it’s the most important to have a life coach, so you can work through the problem and push forward to bring your personal and professional life to the next level of success and fulfillment.

I think people have preconceived notions about what they “should” be doing with their lives. Many people take the safe route and work to earn a steady paycheck doing something they don’t love, instead of building on their strengths and passions to create a career that never feels like work. It’s all about thinking outside the box. Once you figure out what you really want, you just do it and you don’t settle for anything less. It’s only then that there is never room for failure, just information to be analyzed to figure out what the next step is.

Many people believe that accomplishments make us happy, but it simply isn’t true. We might feel happy after we have achieved something we really want, but then what? There is always another level of achievement. Progress is what really makes us happy. It’s important to always be growing and improving as a human being: mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It’s only then that we can find true happiness and fulfillment.