A Fireside Chat with Dr. Patrick Williams

Retirement Coaching –The Next Niche is Here

Looking for your niche?
A frequently sought after question of professional coaches.

As I predicted in my first edition of, Therapist as Life Coach, the need for retirement coaching is imminent.

Well coaches, it’s here!

In January, the Baby Boomer Generation just cashed their first social security check with hundreds more to follow in the next 20 years. Wikipedia defines the Generation as a, “North American-English term used to describe a person who was born between 1946 and 1964,” a generation known for its innovativeness.  The Boomers have witnessed the coming of many major events in their formative years (Sputnik, Beatle Invasion and Martin’s Dream) that there is no doubt retirement will be a pioneering age for this group as well.

We are living longer, well into our golden years. Coaching is indeed a tool to help us transition into the second part of their lives. The coaching model is a perfect fit for busy, active Boomers and the generations to follow.

Let’s all try to share the gift of coaching with each other.

Loving With Intention

I am excited to tell you that my new workbook Loving with Intention: A Guide for Relationship Coaching is now available for purchase!

Cost - $24.95

Special introductory offer to ILCT Blog readers - purchase the book by Sept 1 and save on shipping and handling

Are you a life coach with a desire to assist couples in creating the relationship of their dreams?   Or, a psychotherapist looking to transition into professional coaching?  Relationship coaching is an emerging niche in the burgeoning field of professional coaching.  Loving with Intention: A Guide for Relationship Coaching is a practical, hands-on resource for working with couples. Whether you are an experienced coach or brand new to the profession, this book provides you with the tools necessary to establish successful coaching alliances with couples that will transform their relationships. 

For more information, go to: http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/Loving_with_Intention.pdf

To order, email lisa@livingwithintention.com

Loving with Intention

The Smart Marriages conference that Pat Williams mentioned was amazing!  If you're curious about relationship coaching with couples, read on....

Relationship coaching is a growing niche for life coaches who want to assist couples to have extraordinary relationships. 

As life coaches we engage in conversation with our clients about their purpose, their vision for a fulfilling life, their dreams and desires. Our work is focused on narrowing the gap between where they are and where they want to be. In relationship coaching with couples, there is another layer ---the relationship vision---in addition to each partner’s personal vision. The relationship vision is designed by both partners, and the process of co-creating it enables couples to consciously explore and then articulate what they want from the relationship and from each other.

According to Harville Hendrix’s Imago theory, in a committed partnership each individual carries the blueprint for the other’s psychological and spiritual growth. What this means is that the needs and desires of one partner are exactly what the other partner must satisfy in order to become whole themselves. In relationship coaching, the process of creating a shared vision and then developing and implementing a plan to achieve the vision is how this blueprint becomes real. From there the work focuses on narrowing the gap between where the couple is now and where they want to be. The power of the coaching relationship assists couples to create a conscious relationship---to love with intention.

Are you a coach looking to add relationship coaching to your practice?  Check out the Institute for Life Coaching training website (lifecoachtraining.com) for details about the next offering of Relationship Coaching with Couples beginning this fall. 

To learn more about Imago theory, go to: http://www.imagorelationships.org/

To read the full article on Loving with Intention, go to: http://www.livingwithintention.com/april05-1.htm

Look for details on the blog for Loving with Intention, a relationship coaching manual for coaches to be released in August!

Rule #6: Don't take yourself so seriously!

Coaching presence, one of the ICF core coaching competencies, requires us to 'dance in the moment' with our clients, trust our intuition and take risks without knowing what the outcome will be.

Coaching presence also involves the use of humor to create lightness and energy. One of my favorite coaching books is The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander. In it, the Zanders write about Rule #6: Don't take yourself so seriously. When we take ourselves less seriously, there is much more creative energy available to us and to our clients.

Recently, I had a coaching session with a client (I'll call her 'Jane') who felt stuck. What 'popped' for me was to ask her to get up and move around. I invited Jane to stand up and hop up and down on one foot and then the other. She laughed at this invitation, then did it. And she began to see possibilities for herself!

When we take ourselves less seriously, it is not only liberating for us, it also gives our clients permission to take themselves less seriously.

Imagine the possibilities in your coaching by practicing Rule #6!

For more information about Coaching Presence, go to: http://www.livingwithintention.com/march05-1.html

For more information about The Art of Possibility, go to: http://www.benjaminzander.com/book/

How have you practiced Rule #6 in your coaching? Share your stories!

A report from San Diego and the ACTO 2nd annual meeting

Hi everyone....I am posting this first report on my new blog from beautiful San Diego where I just finished attending the 2nd annual Association of Coach Training Organizations (ACTO    www.acto1.com) with 23 different accredited coach training programs represented. We shared collaborative ideas on improving our training, supporting the ICF in some modifications and clarifications to coach certification and credentialing, and created great visions for the future of coahcing. ONe of my passions is that masterful coaching and the coaching paradigm of communicating with a coach approach permeate the world in a powerful way.   I see the distinct possibility that a coaching initiative (not sure how yet) will receive a NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.!!! Now wouldn't that be a huge impact?  The prize of course would be reflective of a way that coaching increased the chance for peace in the world .  JOin me in creating coaching as a weapon of mass inspiration.

Dr. Pat

www.lifecoachtraining.com

www.acto1.com