My Life Coach Saved My Life

Coming from a lifetime of athletics, the idea of having a coach was quite familiar to me. The Saturday morning Pop Warner little league football games, the afternoon high school track meets, and the excitement of the college basketball games all assisted with my experiences with coaching. I even had the luxury of having my own personal in-house coach as my mother enthusiastically served as my little league baseball coach. But even with a lifetime of exposure to the field of coaching and its benefits, no experience prepared me for the one that I was to have with my own personal life coach.

Several years ago, my life seemed to take a turn for what was to be the most dreadful state since my birth in the late 1970's. My friendships were waning. My marriage was nearly non-existent as my wife and I battled each other in divorce court. The well of my financial resources had completely dried up. And to top it off, the stress of it all had landed me in a hospital emergency room with a near massive heart attack. At that point, I didn't know what the remainder of my life would entail, but if I were to escape the clutches of the serious health, financial, and relationship issues that plagued me, I would be determined to make a change. While I was very much aware of the fact that my life was in need of a serious jolt and a direction shift, I was also aware of a quote that an older friend once told me. When discussing the topic of introducing change in one's life, my friend once said, "No one wants to change. They simply want to be entertained while talking about it." Then he continued by stating, "If you truly want to change and take your life to another level, you will begin by associating yourself with individuals that can help you do so. You will never be able to change alone." In other words, what he successfully conveyed was the fact that I needed a coach. Not the kind of coach that I had grown accustomed to throughout my days of athletic conquest; but I needed someone that could help me through my various transition stages and to help move my life in the direction that I wanted to go. What I needed was a life coach.

After weeks of debating the perceived value and the many preconceived ideas that I had of life coaching, I made the decision to hire my own personal life coach. Contrary to what many people believe, my decision to move forward was less about the coach and more about a public and tangible declaration of commitment to taking my life to a greater level. Upon working with my coach (mentor), I not only began to become more organized, but I witnessed a more balanced life. I developed an understanding of my purpose and gained the confidence to pursue such goals. I gained a greater understanding of how to have productive professional and personal relationships. I learned how to consistently live a life absent of the many stresses that plagued me earlier. Simply put, my coach began to show me how to live at a time when I found myself struggling for my emotional, financial, spiritual, and physical life. While I have since authored books, spoken to thousands, and have also become a Certified Life Coach, I still subscribe to the assistance of a personal life coach. And as I seek to empower others the way that my coach empowered me, I am constantly reminded of the determining words of my friend, "No one wants to change. They simply want to be entertained while talking about it. If you truly want to change and take your life to another level, you will begin by associating yourself with individuals that can help you do so. You will never be able to change alone."