Inner Firewalking

Never Enough

Posted by David Wood

The following is an excerpt of one of David’s coaching sessions in Top Coaching Techniques.

David: I guess it is and it seems you’re clear as to why I asked you that question.

Client: Well, you’re trying to find what it is that’s motivating me, I presume.

David: There seems to be a strong focus for you on what isn’t working, and the words are in here: Sherry, awesome weather, value time with my daughter. You’ve got your achievements and what you are grateful for, but I don’t get that you’re really present to it; that it’s not really there for you in each moment.

Client: No, it’s probably not. I’m trying to find my way out of it to change that. I guess it’s the thing that I most want than I am happiest with, because I haven’t got what I want to make me happy. That wasn’t very well put, was it?

David: That’s okay. What I am pretty clear on is what you want over the next 12 months that will make you happier. I think that when you get out of this job, it will make a big difference in your life. I understand that. What I really want to know is what could you do – what’s it going to take – over the next 7 days, for you to enjoy those?

Client: [laughing] I can’t chuck my job – that’s not a very useful thing.

David: That might be something I’d actually challenge on another occasion, about whether or not you can do that. But, I’m not going to do it for now. We’ll leave that for you. We’ve not just that to work on.

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David Wood on Training and Certification

Posted by David Wood

The following is taken from David’s interview in 10 Super Coaches.

Would you advise coaches to pursue certification?

Choose a school/training that you admire and respect. And do it to become a better coach. Or do it for the thrill of learning and the good of the profession. But don’t let the ‘piece of paper’ run you. It’s a common myth that a certification will get you more clients. In my experience, it’s simply not true. Try to get certified so you can feel confidend is not the smartest reason.

I got my formal PCC certificatin through the International Coach Federation and I found that it actually wasn’t important at all. I think I may have been asked once in the whole first three years of my coaching what qualification I had, and in that case it was by a magazine that wanted to do a story on me.

I would say to coaches starting out, don’t be panicked or worried by the fact that you may not have a formal certification. Build up your testimonials from clients and let that speak for you.

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Branding Basics

Posted by David Wood

The following is a transcription taken from Explode Your Practice.

David: OK, great. So let’s just go through a few simple steps then to sort out your brand. Or at least, get you going in this session. Firstly, who is your target market? Describe your ideal customer.

My ideal customer is somebody who is living a pretty good life and would like to have richer, fuller relationships. And also feel they have better skills around relating to their partner or potential partners.

David: OK, so that’s what they want – a fulfilled relationship and skills. Now what kind of demographics do these people have? Do you have a specific group in mind? Are we talking men or women to focus on? Who’s going to come and buy this service?

Well, what I have found so far, is it seems to be mostly couples in their early 30’s. I’ve found that people in their 20’s don’t seem to want to be worrying about it too much, whereas people in their 30’s have been through the ringer a few times and have gotten the idea that maybe with a little more information or skills they could do a better job.

David: Great, and I guess also there’s more pressure for the women who want to get married. They want to have a baby. The clock’s ticking. And it’s actually quite important for women to maybe spend money on having a relationship running smoothly.

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What Does a Life Coach Do?

Posted by David Wood

The following is an excerpt of an interview with David in Top Coaching Techniques.

Ingrid: Just tell us. Super stars are into these, and regular people too, but what does a life coach do?

David: Executives these days are also using life coaches. A ‘coach’; I mean the word is presumptuous. I’m saying life coach, but really, a life coach helps people to get clear on what they do want in life. Many people you know never tell you what they don’t want in life, and you might hear people around you complain. A coach’s job is to help someone actually clarify goals they’d love to achieve in their life. The second thing a coach does is work with them once a week – usually on the phone, sometimes face to face – to actually make sure those goals get achieved.

Ingrid: When you say, ‘work out what people want to do in their life’, I wouldn’t even know where to start half the time.

David: You know, that often happens where people say, ‘I don’t know what I want.’ so one of the things I do with a client, is to help them go through a goal-finding process. We might start with what you don’t want. So we’ll look at what you’re putting up with in your life – what you’re tolerating, what don’t you like. Then we can start looking at different areas like relationships, health, career, finance, and start setting some goals that would really feel good to you to achieve.

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Finding Direction

Posted by David Wood

The following is an excerpt of an actual transaction between David and a client in Top Coaching Techniques.

David: Yeah, we think of it as a black and white, and all it is, is a combination of doing a few different things and a few different skills that happen to draw an income. It happens to be rewarded with money in our society. So you get to play this game, and you get paid, and you tend to get paid ongoing. It’s not just for one week.

Client: Yeah, exactly.

David: That’s really all a job is. So you could play that kind of structure or you could step out of that structure and say, ‘You know, I want to create my own thing where I’m creating value, not for an organization, but for myself.’ People often call that a business.

Client: Yes. Okay.

David: Which you could do with a bunch of people or you could do on your own. To me, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you do a business or find an existing business that does what you want. It doesn’t really matter. All I care about is that what you’re doing expresses the values of truth, love, courage and fun/happiness.

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50 Sessions

Posted by David Wood

The following is a transcription taken from Explode Your Practice.

Now fortunately it’s not possible to do fifty sessions with people and help them by setting inspiring, exciting goals for their life and not come away with clients. It cannot be done.

There is almost like there are 3 levels. The first level is do the session.

The second level is at the end of a session, it they’re happy, if their interested in setting up a coaching structure, you can invite them to do that. You can check into that. Are you interesting in having a look at the coaching structure? I can tell you how that will look.

Third level is payment. So that is another conversation. Once they say they are interested in the coaching structure, they want to be a client for month or three months, I recommend, then what you’re looking for is a conversation about whatever is financially appropriate. Some people are happy to pay your full fee, others would like to pay half, and some people would like to pay a nominal fifty dollars to show they are serious. Like a token commitment, some people don’t want to pay anything but they would be happy to be a guinea pig.

See the 3 levels. The first one and most important one is do sessions; it doesn’t matter, and have some fun.

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Home

Never Enough

David Wood on Training and Certification

Branding Basics

What Does a Life Coach Do?

Finding Direction

50 Sessions