Personal life coaching can help you shape up key aspects of your life and help you deal with career changes and major life events. A personal coach is not a counselor or therapist, however. In many ways, personal coaching methods are similar to those used by business or executive coaches, but the concept has been expanded to cover more of your personal life-relationships, family matters, productivity, personal satisfaction and career to name a few.

A personal coach offers fresh perspectives on personal challenges and opportunities, as well as methods to hone thinking, decision-making and relational skills. A personal coach can help clients establish goals and objectives and then develop strategies for reaching those goals.

Many considerations go into a decision to pursue personal life coaching, including:

1. Methods for determining how a personal coach can help you.
2. Strategies for sifting through and narrowing the many personal life coaching choices available.
3. Career paths that lead to jobs in personal coaching.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Determine what you hope to achieve from personal coaching

The decision to hire a personal coach may center around the desire to have an accountability partner who will monitor your progress as you implement action plans to improve a specific area of your life. Before hiring a personal life coach, consider the many different and diverse reasons for seeking out personal coaching--such as climbing the career ladder faster, feeling more fulfilled at work, improving relationships with family and partners or learning parenting skills that benefit both the child and parent.

I recommend: Find a personal life coach through the Coach Referral Service of the International Coach Federation to help you achieve your goals relating to life planning, relationships, health and fitness, creativity, financial freedom, organization and more. You can also take advantage of a number of free assessments to quickly determine your goals through the Center for Creative Learning.

Choose a qualified personal coach

The personal coaching profession is growing rapidly due to its effectiveness. However, weeding through the vast number of personal coaching professionals on the market can be daunting. When choosing a personal coach, check for credentials and specialization in the area where you need help most.

I recommend: Several organizations accredit and certify personal coaching professionals, including the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the International Association of Coaches (IAC). The Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) provides a certification system for business or executive coaches. Each of these associations allows you to perform an online search for a credentialed personal life coach. Staffed primarily by volunteers, SCORE 'Counselors to America's Small Business' is America's premier source of free and confidential small business advice.

Choose a method for interacting with your personal coach

Personal coaching methods are not constrained to a standardized schedule or means of contact. Some people work best with coaches when they are face to face. Others may prefer the time benefits of working by telephone.

I recommend: For several reasons, personal coaching can be just as effective over the telephone as it is face-to-face. Advantages include convenience as well as the ability to choose a personal coach from anywhere in the world. LifeCoachGuide.com offers an accessible directory of personal coaching professionals, including life coaches, career coaches, business coaches and personal coaches. For face-to-face interaction, find a personal coach in your local area. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce for recommendations.

Consider a career as a personal coach

If you are interested in the benefits of personal coaching, consider whether you might be a good candidate for this type of career.

I recommend: The Coach Training Alliance is a valuable resource for people interested in becoming a personal coach and offers a free quiz to determine if personal coaching is right for you.  Information on becoming a personal coach can also be found through ICF's future members page.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider specific areas of your life you want to improve before choosing a personal coach.
• •  Determine the skills needed in your personal life coach and check for credentials.
• •  Personal life coaching requires a commitment on your part. Make sure you have the time to devote to it.