...And then there's coaching

I can't quite remember how I found coaching. I'm sure it had to do with my incessant magazine reading, and I must have found an article. Anyway, the concept hit me in one of those real visceral places, where I "got" it and understood its value and didn't need to be convinced. I was sure I was late to pick up on this trend (I am from the Midwest, and everyone thinks we're slow), but as the years have gone on and I've become more serious about coaching ONE DAY, I've found very few people know about coaching and even fewer get it right away.

There is value in having a guide on any unfamiliar journey- someone who has been there, done that, or at least, something like that. They can tell you where the sinkholes are, the lay of the land, the best food to eat, how long it might take. I have found in my life that parents don't count as valuable guides after 18. At least for me, I was hardwired to believe that my parents were only good as out-of-touch portable ATM machines ready to squash any ideas of fun in adulthood. Friends can be of some help, but really, have you ever shaken your head about what your best friend did/said/wore, AGAIN!? After realizing your friends are probably more radically co-dependent than you are, you stop listening to their advice with more than a grain of salt. And there's always the horoscope, but after the whole Ms. Cleo debacle...

A coach is so much better. I've heard a bunch of definitions of what a coach is, and what coaching is, usually all geared towards sounding either as touchy-feely to appeal to neo-hippies, or super-analytical to convince high-powered execs to open their wallets. I use my coach for whatever I need in the moment. If I need to address some crap in my past, we do that. If I need my butt kicked to do something today, I tell her. Simple. She's flexible; it's my dime. And I feel so much more in control of my progress than I ever could with a psychologist or best friend or even a bottle of Riesling (there will be many a Riesling story to come, let me tell you).

So one day I decided to become a coach. I didn't know how one went about that, so I started by surfing the web. Found http://www.coachville.com and started to explore, then made the mistake of googling " coaching." A year and a bit of work later, I've found my current identity as The Coffeehouse Coach. I'm a little bit orthodox, a lotta bit brilliant wackiness. Tune in as we all take this journey together, hmmm?

Be audacious!