Tomorrow's Life Coach:
Volume 3 Issue 4 - April 2004

In This Issue: Coaching and the Pace of Modern Living

Upcoming Classes at ILCT
Pat’s Ponderings ~ Pat Williams
Editor’s Pen ~ Annette Miller
Coaching Slow in a Fast Moving World ~ Debra Valle
Living Mindfully ~ Jim Sobosan
Announcement: Christian Coaches Conference - Seattle, Washington, June 17-19
Learn Career Coaching In as Little as 3 Months Without Leaving Home!
Marketing Tips for a Fast Paced World ~ Debra Valle
The Natural Pace of Change ~ Carol McClelland
Proposed ICF R&D Initiatives and Leaders for 2004
The Falling Awake Cruise: Creating the Life of Your Dreams

Tomorrow's Life Coach is a professional monthly online journal of the Institute for Life Coach Training that nourishes the intellect, intuition and inspiration of the personal/business coaching community. TLC continues to gain in popularity among diverse coaches and is highly recommended by Peer Resources:

"One of the best free newsletters, Tomorrow's Life Coach consists of well-researched, informative articles on a variety of key topics for coaches. While a publication of the Institute for Life Coach Training, many of the articles are written by other well-known coaches."

Upcoming Classes at ILCT

Foundational Course

• Foundational Coach Training for Therapists - starts May 18 
• Foundational Coach Training for Christian Counselors  - in session; next class starts October 4 

Coaching Skills & Tools

• Coaching Skills Practicum - starts May 6: Do you want to take your coaching skills to a new level? Do you want to practice your coaching skills with a live client in a supportive small group environment? Would you like to have a notebook full of skills and aids on how and when to use them at your fingertips? The Coaching Skills Practicum offers all this and more.
• Group Coaching - starts May 6: This course is designed for people who would like to add group coaching to their practice. It has been expanded to six weeks in order to provide students additional opportunities to coach. Participants will learn: Benefits of Group Coaching; Skills; Developing a Group Niche; Topical Groups vs. Ongoing Groups; Group Coaching Systems; Marketing Group Coaching and more.
• Ethics, Risk Management and Professional Issues - starts May 3: All coaches face risks. Those who face the greatest risks are those who are the least informed and educated. The class includes case examples and will provide: (1) an understanding of ethics, (2) an overview of the legal issues of which coaches should be aware, and (3) information about risk management techniques.
• The Foundational Competency Practicum and Assessment - starts May 3: There are 3 components: a Practicum Class, peer coaching and observations, documentation of the peer coaching and observation, and successful completion of a role play assessment demonstrating coaching competencies.
• Computer Savvy/Cyberskills - starts May 6: Participants need to be able to be on their computer and access the web while they are also on another telephone line. The course is primarily practice in using the tools essential for the “virtual” coach.
• Overview: Using Assessments in Coaching - starts June 7: This teleclass is designed for new and experienced coaches who want to understand the uses of 8 basic assessment tools in their coaching practice including: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DISC, PIAV, Firo-B, PeopleMap, and Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI).

Coaching Application/Specialties

• Dreams and Coaching - starts June 2: The class will give: an in depth understanding of why we and our clients need to pay attention to dreams; what our dreams can tell us, how we can utilize the wisdom of our unconscious and help clients access their own inner coach. The class will provide proven, practical and hands on tools that can be applied to the coaching process.
• Relationship Coaching with Couples - starts June 7: This eight-week course will provide you with a coaching model and structure for working with couples who want to create more fulfilling relationships in their lives. The format for the course includes: discussion of course materials and assigned readings, and live coaching to demonstrate different ways to apply the learning with clients.
• The Theory and Practice of Coaching Women: Part 1 - starts April 20: Characteristics of Female Coaching Clients-A dynamic and useable course which will highlight the research about women and how we can use this knowledge to effectively coach women. Four critical dimensions will be discussed: psychological foundations; intellectual development and organization; how women think, express themselves, and process information; and a brief consideration of a popular spiritual/community consciousness which is utilized by many women.
• Life Purpose and Career Coach Training - starts June 22: Help people discover their Life Purpose and find the work they Love. 80% of people are not satisfied with their work. Most people are seeking more meaning, purpose and fulfillment in their lives. This is exactly why Life Purpose and Career Coaching is one of the most marketable niches in the coaching field today.

Practice Building

• Creating a Referral Based Business - in session
• Practice Made Perfect: Marketing Your Coaching Business For Maximum Success - in session

Courses Available Online 24/7

• Ethics & Dr. Phil's Approach
• Self Matters
• Life Strategies
• Relationship Rescue
• Ultimate Weight Solution

Additional classes, details and online registration at course section. Some schedules may change; check listing or contact Edwina Adams, Administration/Registration, at edwina@lifecoachtraining.com or Diane Menendez, Director of Faculty and Curriculum, at diane@lifecoachtraining.com.

Pat's Ponderings

Dear Fellow Coaches:

This month's topic is "Coaching and the Pace of Change", a focus that is really one of the biggest reasons coaching has evolved as a personal and professional development strategy in the last 15 years. Coaching is about change...purposeful change. We all know that life today is super fast. We see magazines like Real Simple and others to promote simplifying and balancing our lives. As coaches we assist our clients to be more "on purpose." If purpose drives one's decisions, then what you say "yes" to and what you say "no" to will be easier to justify. 

Coaches aid clients in adapting to change, creating change that is desired, and staying focused so that the changes one wants can occur. Coaching helps results become sustainable over time. There are two types of change in our lives: chosen change and unchosen change. When we build a new house, or decide to get married, or move to a new location...those are changes that we choose. On the other hand, when we have a death in the family, get diagnosed with an illness, lose a job, or any other unwanted event...those are changes we did not choose. Coaching is one strategy that can help clients create chosen change in their lives AND assist in turning the adjustment in unchosen changes to chosen change. Once you have accepted an unwanted event in your life, then you can choose to accept it, thereby making it a chosen change. Having a coach to partner with you helps!

Happy Coaching,

Pat
Patrick Williams Ed.D., MCC
Chief Energizing Officer, ILCT
Department Chair, Professional Coaching 
International University of Professional Studies: "Get a PhD in professional coaching from a reputable university without walls. Go to www.iups.edu...the quickest and least expensive way to achieve a PhD in professional coaching."

Editor's Pen

Dear Colleagues in Life Optimization:

"We live in digital time. Our pace is rushed, rapid-fire, and relentless..." This is from the inside cover of "The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal" by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. And how true it is. These authors provide a practical, scientific, holistic educational process, assessment and solutions to creating a sustaining lifestyle (www.corporateathlete.com.) Thanks to one of our contributors from January, Lisa Martin, for sharing this resource.

Enjoy this issue on "Coaching and the Pace of Change" where our authors have graciously shared their wisdom. Debra Valle gives us a moment to reflect on our own pace and authenticity in "Coaching Slow in a Fast Moving World." Jim Sobosan's "Living Mindfully" gently challenges us on the concept of intention. "The Natural Pace of Change" is beautifully described by Carol McClelland's usage of the seasons. And we have an exciting update from the ICF's Research and Development Committee. Our marketing focus is "Marketing Tips for a Fast Paced World." 

The mission of TLC is to "nourish the intellect, intuition and inspiration of the personal/business coaching community." We enjoyed hearing from readers last month; please continue to write to us! Next month's issue will be packed with powerful feature articles on "Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Coaching". June's topic is "Managing Your Coaching Office" and we are looking for more contributors on this topic. Read our editorial calendar and guidelines for submissions at http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/resources/newsletter/guidelines.shtml.

All the best,

Annette

Annette A. Miller, MBA, Executive Coach
Editor, Tomorrow's Life Coach
Graduate, ILCT
Member, ICF, CCN, IAC
Founder, LifeSync Coaching®
annette@lifesync.com
http://www.lifesync.com
Authorized Affiliate for Extended DISC Assessments - providing assessment services and certification training to coaches and HR trainers. Our most popular report, Personal Analysis, has been recently upgraded to include Worksheets and Reading Instructions to allow you to provide this report to clients without requiring certification. Discover the benefits of Extended DISC - the world's fastest growing assessment system!

Coaching Slow in a Fast Moving World

The pace of modern living can leave many of us with no time to spare in consideration of our "life goals" either personally or professionally. As a result of sustaining forward momentum in a fast moving world, many people experience their life as a "runaway train" and have lost their ability to stop and observe the direction there are going and its relationship to their long held dreams.

As coaches, I wonder do we truly serve our clients by matching the velocity of their lives? If we're coaching at breakneck speed, are we truly able to listen to the more subtle whispers of our clients' hearts? Are we better able to observe from a fast moving train the story of a life unfolding upon itself? 

I often wonder if, by keeping pace in a fast moving world, we then coach the wisp of our clients as they pass quickly by…the ghosts of what might have been…a hologram of who might show up if the train would only stop long enough.

As coaches, we must model the pace wherein the heart can be heard and encourage our clients to listen deeply to the life that's passing. 

As coaches we offer our clients space--the space to hear their life passing--the space to create what cannot be seen and the space to hear--sometimes for the first time--what it is they truly “hope.” We help them access their inner guidance and to learn to have faith in that voice. We remind them of what they already know and encourage them to “trust” in their own abilities, their creative spirit, intuition and knowledge as they seek a path deeper fulfillment. I struggle to know how this occurs between text messages, while driving, or between appointments on a tightly scheduled day.

To paraphrase the author Barbara Kingslover, as coaches we must help our clients figure out what it is they hope for, help them live inside that hope, right under its roof, and remain ready and open at every moment for that which is not yet born. 

Readiness for “what would be next" occurs in reflection and observation--and is rarely experienced out the window of a fast moving train.

Debra Valle (PCC), business strategist and president of Marketing U Inc., helps professionals master the art of self-promotion--through the science of branding, strategic planning and alliance development. Students of ILCT get 20% off Marketing U teleclasses with this promotional code--ILCT. Visit her website: www.marketingu.net.

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.  The wisdom of life lies in eliminating the non-essentials.

Chinese Proverb

Living Mindfully

OOPS! There I go again, tumbling down those basement steps. As I lay at the bottom of the stairs looking towards the top where I had begun in an upright position, I wondered. Why do I unintentionally keep doing things that hurt so much? After some pondering, I realized, the key word to my question was unintentional.

I fell because I wasn't focused on not falling. Neither my thought nor action was intentional. Rather than being mindful of what I was doing at that moment, I let my thoughts race toward the unmet tasks of the day. While the term mindful is ever so popular in our culture today, the concept, which has been a mainstay of Buddhist philosophy for hundreds of years, is simplistic, difficult to practice, underutilized and seldom maximized. How much more rewarding and satisfying would our lives be if we focused on the purpose of our thoughts, words and deeds and the outcomes desired?

I have learned the hard way that being mindful is not about having a full mind. The art of mindfulness is the act of slowing down and becoming aware of the internal and external processes inhabiting our space and mind and impacting our behavior, emotions and thoughts at any given moment in time. Mindfulness is a process of observation and heightened awareness that increases our potential for mastery over our behaviors, environment and our life's outcomes. So why don't we utilize this concept more consistently? I believe it is because we quickly become lost on the conveyor belt of life, which carries us so swiftly through our days, that most of the time we have little focus on what we are doing and why we are doing it. Life becomes a habit rather than a choice. The demands upon our time, attention and energy are tremendous and ever growing. We are moving faster and faster. This pace does not support an opportunity to observe and focus on what is going on inside and around us. It supports doing and reacting in the moment instead of being in the moment. 

To be mindful, I must slow the conveyor belt down, stop it or get off to reflect on what is happening and what I am responding to. Step off, take a break, relax, take deep breaths, and observe all that is going on around me and within me. I set aside time each day to become aware of my actions, thoughts, distractions and feelings. I ask myself, are they in sync with my goals, priorities and values? Mindful observation provides clarity and awareness and a greater opportunity for self-actualization, success and a life more in harmony with my personal values and beliefs. 

I often practice sitting quietly in a chair for 5-10 minutes and observe all that passes through my mind. I observe my bodily sensations going on within me. I observe sounds and sights in the room and become aware of how I respond to them rather than being distracted by them. I have to remember that I am not trying to create any particular sensation, action, thought or feeling. I am merely an observer. As I become aware of my distractions I bring myself back to the exercise. I strive for awareness and focus in the moment instead of mastery. 

Knowing what is driving my train gives me the ability to intentionally choose to go along for the ride or to get off. It allows me to understand where I am going and why. I am able to identify and master my distractions and increase my opportunity to choose behaviors that lead to successful outcomes, which are satisfying. The art of mindfulness is necessary in this busy age to release my best coaching and bring out the best in my clients.

Jim Sobosan is a certified personal coach and licensed therapist with 27 years of experience, working with people who desire more from their lives. Jim specializes in moving professionals towards focused and intentional behavior, which leads to a more effective and satisfying life. Jim can be reached at 708-447-4934 or coachsobosan@aol.com.

Learn Career Coaching in as Little as 3 Months Without Leaving Home!

One of the areas in life that involves increasing change is our careers. Most people actually make anywhere from 5 to 10 career changes in their lives today! Learning to coach people through these transitions, as well as enhance their work experience once they're in their new job, is one of the most stable, rewarding, and relatively recession-proof specialties there is. But it requires specialized knowledge! 

ILCT is pleased to recommend to you a self-paced career coach training program that will give you the knowledge and expertise you need to enter this fulfilling, yet lucrative, coaching niche. “The Complete Guide to Career Coaching” by Marcia Bench – a Master Certified Career Coach with over 18 years experience in career development – provides you the information you need to know about four key subject areas: 1) the practice of career coaching (including ethics) and how it differs from similar activities such as mentoring and career counseling, 2) a highly effective model to use with your clients in defining their ideal career entitled the Authentic Vocation™ model of career development, 3) the proprietary QuantumShift! Coaching model to assist you in accessing the client's assumptions and beliefs to facilitate their progress, and 4) Job Search Mechanics – including resume design, interviewing skills, how to help a client determine his/her marketing plan balancing published and unpublished openings appropriately, networking, negotiations, and much more.

When you enroll, you receive a boxed set of training materials including Career Coaching: An Insider's Guide, the only textbook on career coaching, as well as a study guide, 4-CD album of Audio Lectures by the author, and a 2-CD album of Coaching Demonstrations illustrating how to use the principles taught. But that's not all! You also receive a complimentary one-year subscription to the Career Coach Institute Virtual Learning Community (VLC) online. The VLC contains the online quizzes for each of the 26 modules of your training, as well as the final exam. But significant additional value is in the downloadable forms from the Career Coach's Toolbox, assessments and workbooks you can purchase at wholesale prices to use with your clients, Power Point slides to use in marketing career coaching, a member only newsletter, and much more. Certification as an Associate Certified Career Coach is available for a nominal additional fee upon completion of the course, which you can use to boost your credibility with your clients. And CCI even helps you market yourself by allowing you, as a student, to post a listing on their Career Coaches Directory at no charge!

To see details about this exciting career coach training kit, please click here:  

Want more information? We invite you to attend or listen to the recorded audio of a free one-hour preview teleclass, “Is Career Coaching for You” OR plan to attend an interview by Dr. Pat Williams with the Founder/Director of this program on Tuesday, May 11, from 8:00-9:00 pm Eastern. Email Edwina@lifecoachtraining.com for details. If you have questions about this program, please feel free to email Marcia Bench directly at coach@careercoachinstitute.com.

Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding  shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war.

Loren Eiseley

Marketing Tips for a Fast Paced World

• Return email and voice mail within 24 hours.

• Make it easy to find you and learn more about you (web presence.)

• Make it easy to call or email you (numbers and addresses everywhere.)

• Establish your brand...a singular concept that you want to be known for.

• Set time aside each day to follow up--think of it as new business development--planting seeds that you'll harvest in about 9 months time (one hour a day.)

• Write personal thank you notes that arrive by snail mail (one a day.)

• Add audio to your web site--let people hear what you believe in and how you can help.

• Let other people sell your services...don't try to build your business one client at time, that takes tooooooo long. Create alliances with partners that can put you in front of "thousands of your best clients."

• Have an inexpensive product (e-book, booklet, CD) that people can purchase that reflects your belief and style--think of it like a sampler.

• Don't do it alone, get a marketing/business coach to help you stay accountable to that business development side of your practice.

Debra Valle (PCC), business strategist and president of Marketing U Inc., helps professionals master the art of self-promotion--through the science of branding, strategic planning and alliance development. Students of ILCT get 20% off Marketing U teleclasses with this promotional code--ILCT. Visit her website: www.marketingu.net.

Accelerate your coaching skills and business growth
through ILCT's courses for professional coaches

The Natural Pace of Change

Our culture typically sees change as an event. Life is going merrily along, a change occurs, and life is different. Many assume they can just shift gears and continue their lives without skipping a beat. 

A life changes, however, launch a transition process that is likely to evolve over time. Nature's annual journey through the changing seasons provides us with a powerful model of this process. Not only does nature demonstrate that change is a series of incremental shifts, it shows us numerous ways to thrive through the process. 

The key to the journey is to focus on the task appropriate for the season at hand: 

As a culture, we strive to live in Summer where living is abundant and easy. 

When a change happens (whether it's self-initiated or forced upon us, anticipated or unexpected), we shift into Fall. At this point, clients try to make sense of the impending change and gather the information, support, and financial resources they need to weather the storms of change. Your role is to ask them questions to help them determine what is real and what support they need. 

From Fall, clients move into a period of Winter -- a time of deep inner reflection and refueling. Most clients are uncomfortable with the inherent confusion of this hibernation period. The key to turning toward Spring is to let go of "knowing" the answer, allowing each step to unfold. Your role is to honor your clients' journey, giving them permission to be right where they are while asking them questions that spark new insights about their past, who they are at their core, and their future. Once clients see a new direction (Late Winter) your role is to support them in creating a plan, a way to create what they've envisioned. 

With their plan in mind clients step tentatively or enthusiastically into Spring, implementing, trying new things, and creating their new persona. Your role is to provide a structure for accountability and to support them when they falter in the face of so many new opportunities. 

Over time clients gain the experience, confidence and clarity synonymous with Summer. They are on a roll. Some may be ready to go solo, others may continue the coaching relationship. In either case, follow up with your clients every three to six months because at some point an event will happen, internally or out in the world, that will have them questioning once again as they dip back into Fall.

A client's progress through The Seasons of Change will be unique to them and the transition they are facing. Although nature's seasons change every three months, the seasons of change lasts as long as they do. By focusing on the purpose of each season, clients are likely to move forward faster than if they try to avoid the transformation in progress. 

Teaching clients how to transition gracefully and effectively is a great gift--one they will use and remember for the rest of their lives. 

Carol McClelland, Ph.D., the author of The Seasons of Change and Nature's Wisdom Deck, coaches clients in transition. In addition, Carol trains coaches and other professionals to incorporate The Seasons of Change into their work. Carol distributes a free eNewsletter, "Coaching Clients in Transition", monthly. For details visit: www.seasonsofchange.com/coaches.

I have discovered that people are not really afraid of dying; they're afraid of not ever having lived, not ever having  deeply considered their life's higher purpose, and not ever having stepped into that purpose  and at least tried to make a difference in this world.

Joseph Jaworski

Proposed ICF R&D Initiatives and Leaders for 2004

“This past year has seen a groundswell of interest in coaching research and the birth of a community of coaching researchers. The International Coach Federation (ICF) Research & Development (R&D) Committee, consistent with the mission of the ICF, has focused on facilitating the dialogue among researchers and between practitioners and researchers, as well as conducting some basic research. There is plenty of opportunity to participate as a pioneer in this latest frontier of coaching. 

Come and play on one of our teams (contact Moira moira@moirabailey.com.) Be a part of our weekly telephone research Forum (contact Dianne dstober@mindspring.com ). And reserve November 3, 2004 on your calendars to join us at our second annual Coaching Research Symposium (register at www.coachfederation.org ).”

Coach Study 
Maria Lesetz (maria@marialesetz.com) leads the effort to complete reporting of the 2003 Coach Survey, extend the survey for other user groups and prepare for the 2004 version.

Client Study 
Richard Zackon (rzackon@pcncoaching.com) leads in planning and executing a first of its kind Client Survey measuring knowledge, attitudes and behavior of coaching clients and prospects.

Effectiveness 
Dianne Stober (dstober@mindspring.com) captains a team dedicated to identifying and collecting research literature on coaching efficacy

Symposium 
Irene Stein (irenestein@att.net) reprises her role as Symposium lead for our second event next year, along with co-lead Sheila Goldgrab (sheila@leadership-gold.com)

White paper 
Otto Laske (info@cdremsite.com ) is leading a team to produce a White paper addressing what transpired at the 2003 Coaching Research Symposium.

Repository 
The coaching research repository (http://coachfederation.org/coaching_research/index.asp ) is online but needs development to be truly useful to scholars and practitioners. Francine Campone (fcampone@rushmore.com) has stepped up to this responsibility.

Website
Our need to communicate online has grown beyond the limits of a single page on the ICF website. Kirsten Dierolf (kirsten@kirsten-dierolf.de) has agreed to lead the team to develop our web resources. 

Forum
Our second Tuesday of the month (3pm EST) Coaching Research Forum has been especially full and lively since the Symposium. Dianne Stober (dstober@mindspring.com) moderates.

Journal 
Coaching research deserves a scholarly journal, maybe more than one. Kelley Rainwater 
(rainwater94530@yahoo.com) and Barbara Walker (bmwalker@telus.net) are exploring what's involved. 

Foundation 
John Bennett (john@lawton-assoc.com) has declared the possibility of a foundation to
provide funding and support for coaching related research. 

Masterful Coach
Out of the Symposium came the idea to collect, evaluate and make available audio-video examples of excellent coaching to serve scholars, practitioners and students of coaching. Barbra White (Barbra@bwcoaching.com) has taken on this challenge.

Community 
As intended, the community of coaching researchers underwent a big expansion with our Symposium and looks to continue to grow. Kimm Vierbrock (nesterbrock@msn.com) will be leading a team to support and develop ourselves as a community. 

Outreach
A number of people are fostering the dialogue about coaching research with other communities across diverse sectors. 
Colleges and Universities, Linda Page, ljpage@adler.ca
Coach Training Schools, Alex Heath, alex@marianemeth.com
Coaching Organizations, Donna Steinhorn, donna@coachingtosuccess.com
ICF Conference Tracks, Marywayne Bush, marywayne.bush@lmco.com
ICF Committees, Katharine White, lighthousecoaching@cox.net
Practitioners, Peggy Marshall, edaneconsult@msn.com

The vitality and passion and wakefulness of God be mine
that I may be fully alive this day.

by J. Philip Newell, Thursday Prayer from Celtic Benediction

The Falling Awake Cruise: Creating the Life of Your Dreams
December 4-11, 2004
Cruise itinerary and online registration at www.lifecoachtraining.com
15 hours credit of coach training from ILCT 
This very special seminar at sea will be presented by Dr. Patrick Williams, Master Certified Coach, speaker, author, and psychologist. Patrick has been a life coach since 1990 and for the past 6 years has worked very closely with his friend and mentor Dave Ellis. Dave has published several books--his most recent, Falling Awake, is a powerful system to recreate your life and wake up to purposeful living. This seminar will leave you motivated, on course and with scheduled “Wake up calls” to make your goals sustainable over time. Come, enjoy this cruise to authentic and purposeful living and WAKE UP to the life you really want!

Tomorrow's Life Coach™
Patrick Williams, Ed.D., Publisher
Annette Miller, Editor, annette@lifesync.com
© 2004 Institute for Life Coach Training
www.lifecoachtraining.com
Phone: 888-267-1206
info@lifecoachtraining.com