What Is a Life Coach?

A Life Coach helps individuals navigate the complexities of modern life and find meaning and purpose in their lives.

I see life coaching as a role that arose at our time in history because people are swamped with information and bewildered by constant, accelerating change. Traditional institutions like religion and academia weren’t designed to deal with these conditions.

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines life coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires people to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

In my Wayfinder Life Coach Training, an ICF-accredited program, we define coaching as helping clients connect with their own hidden wisdom, which leads them to the meaning, purpose, and destiny that is theirs alone. Once clients find this inner guidance, we support them in creating lives that align with it.

What Does a Life Coach Do Exactly?

A good life coach will ask the right questions, rather than imposing answers. Depending on your needs at the moment, a coach may:

• Help you clarify your values and goals.
• Inspire you to shift your perspective and clarify your thinking.
• Support you in overcoming obstacles or limiting beliefs.
• Reinforce your courage as you embrace change and uncertainty.
• Encourage you as you take concrete steps to achieve your dreams.

Coaches begin by getting to know a client’s current situation, challenges, and aspirations. They may coach through one-on-one conversations, in group sessions, or some combination of the two. Coaching sessions are often held via video conferencing, although some clients and coaches may prefer in-person meetings.

Different life coach training programs teach various methods to equip aspiring coaches with the skills to help clients create significant change in their lives. Some programs teach coaches to push clients toward external ideas of success. Others prepare coaches to set goals and give specific directives to their clients.

In Wayfinder Life Coach Training, we teach our coaches how to guide their clients to follow their own inner wisdom or “North Star” to find the life that’s meant for them.

I believe that we all contain an instinctive pull toward our own best destiny. My job as a coach is to help you access what you already know at the deepest level and live according to your own sense of integrity.

As you set off to realize the ideals and dreams that are already within you, a coach’s role is to gently hold you accountable for sustaining your connection to your instincts, to help keep you motivated, and to give you a source of backup and encouragement as you make the changes necessary to create your ideal life.

Why Should I Work With a Life Coach?

A life coach can help you achieve a variety of personal and professional goals, as well as the inner goals of self-discovery, emotional well-being, and deep life satisfaction.

Here are some of the biggest reasons you might seek to work with a life coach:

• You feel stuck or unfulfilled in your personal or professional life.
• You’re struggling with a lack of confidence, imposter syndrome, or a pervasive sense of not being good enough.
• You’re trying to navigate a major life transition, such as a new job or relationship.
• You’d like accountability and a clear plan to complete a creative project.
• You’re facing challenges related to self-acceptance or body image.
• You want to live a joyful life in alignment with your true nature.

Remember, working with a life coach isn’t about fixing what’s “wrong” with you. It’s about helping you discover your true nature and live from that place of authenticity and purpose.

Ultimately, a life coach supports you in creating a life that is not only successful but also deeply satisfying and joyful, far beyond the expectations of most people in our society.

5 Differences Between Life Coaching and Therapy

Therapy is conducted by licensed mental health professionals to treat mental illness and/or to facilitate mental healing, whereas coaching addresses non-clinical issues like personal growth, financial well-being, and professional development.

Therapists and life coaches have different focuses and methodologies:

1. Approach: Therapeutic vs. Personal Development

   Therapy is to life coaching what a physician is to a personal trainer. A physician helps sick people get healthy. A personal trainer works with healthy people to reach higher levels of health and fitness. Similarly, life coaches support people who are basically stable and healthy so that they can maximize their enjoyment of life.

2. Focus: Trauma Healing vs. Self-Transformation

   While therapy primarily focuses on healing past trauma and managing mental health issues, coaching is generally more present- and future-oriented. It’s designed to serve people by enhancing, rather than restoring, their way of functioning.

3. Credentials: Therapists vs. Life Coaches

   Therapists must be licensed mental health professionals. While there are certifications for life coaches, the field is less regulated. That’s why it’s important to choose a coach with reputable training and experience, like our certified Wayfinder Life Coaches.

4. Timeline: Therapy vs. Coaching

   Therapy can be a long-term process, sometimes lasting years. While a relationship with a coach can be life-long, the immediate focus can be more short-term and action-oriented, with specific goals and timelines.

5. Relationship: Therapist-Client vs. Coach-Client

   The therapist-client relationship often maintains a distinct professional distance. The coaching relationship, while still professional, can be more collaborative and informal.

It’s important to note that life coaching is never a substitute for mental health treatment. If a client has unresolved emotional issues, unhealed trauma, or is experiencing difficulty with daily functioning, these are signs that they should be referred to a mental health professional.

7 Different Life Coaching Specialties

Just as there are many aspects of life, there are many types of life coaching. Seven of the most common areas of specialization include:

1. Life Transitions

   Helping clients navigate through major life changes, such as a marriage or divorce, becoming a first-time parent, embarking on a new career, caring for aging parents, moving to a new city, or transitioning to retirement.

2. Career and Business

   Assisting clients as they change careers, improve their job performance, or start their own businesses.

3. Relationships

   Helping people improve their personal and professional relationships. Unlike couples therapy, which examines past experiences and how they affect current behaviors, relationship coaching focuses on present-day issues, future goals, and personal growth.

4. Health and Wellness

   Supporting clients in achieving their physical health goals, managing stress, and improving their overall well-being.

5. Leadership

   Working with business executives to enhance their leadership skills and professional development.

6. Spiritual Guidance

   Supporting clients on their spiritual journeys and helping them discover and connect with their deeper purpose.

7. Creative

   Assisting artists, writers, and other creatives in overcoming blocks and fully expressing their talents.

In my own coaching practice, I focus on what I call “Wayfinding”—my process for helping you navigate through the chaos of our rapidly changing world by identifying your existing self-knowledge, then supporting you as you move toward your true desires.

You can find Wayfinder Life Coaches all over the world, representing more than 30 life coach specialties and over 25 languages.

How Do I Find a Life Coach?

Before searching for a coach, take some time to identify your needs and goals. Are you looking to improve your career, relationships, or personal growth? Understanding your goals will help you find a coach whose expertise aligns with your needs.

Research different life coaching styles to find one that resonates with you. When considering a coach to work with, evaluate their credentials and experience to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to guide you effectively. ICF-certified coaches are a great place to start.

Read more about how to find the perfect life coach here.

How Do I Become a Certified Life Coach?

Becoming a certified life coach is a journey that can profoundly transform your life and the lives of those you coach. You may want to become a certified Wayfinder life coach if any of these feel true for you:

• You feel called to help others.
• You believe traditional career paths and ways of working aren’t working for you.
• You want to make a living that feels connected.
• You want to bring Wayfinding skills to your current job and workplace.
• You want to connect with a community of like minds who want to make an impact in the world.
• You want to find your own compass and pave your own way.

We believe you’re here for a reason. You’re meant to go beyond the “shoulds” and begin to live in your true nature—so you can help others live in theirs.

To find out more about becoming a certified Wayfinder life coach, read my step-by-step guide.

What Is Wayfinder Life Coach Training?

My nine-month Wayfinder Life Coach Training program integrates principles from psychology, neuroscience, and even quantum mechanics to help you realize your full potential and uncover your true path.

Unlike other coaching programs, this program begins by teaching my transformational “Change Cycle” model to help you uncover obstacles that are holding you back so you can move toward your unique destiny.

This means we don’t simply forge ahead and set goals. Instead, we facilitate a process that helps you access your inner wisdom and take inspired action, rather than drive yourself externally—which is difficult, often tedious, and frankly, not all that effective.

I believe that the best way to truly understand the tools of life coaching is to practice on yourself and with others, and that’s why my training is centered around coach-the-coach classes, group mentoring sessions, and individual mentoring.

Many people go through the Wayfinder Life Coach Training program without any intention of setting up a coaching business themselves. The skills taught in this program will make you happier and more effective in your professional and personal life, whether or not you decide to choose coaching as a career.

Graduates have told us that this training enhanced their abilities to serve as creatives, as parents, as professionals, as leaders, and as friends. Whatever your personal mission, this training will help you fulfill it.

Wayfinding is about going to the edges of what you know and then going further—because the adventure and camaraderie of the journey is what lights us up and serves the world.

If you feel ready to take your first step on that journey, I invite you to discover more at Wayfinder Life Coach Training.