Back to Article index To print this page, click on the Print icon in your browser.   Adding to Your Life to Make it Simpler   You have to be at work in thirty minutes. Your kids aren't even close to being ready to leave. The car needs gas and you don't have cash to fill the tank. You're thinking about what's waiting for you in the office: the two page to-do list on your desk, the proposal you promised your boss for this afternoon, the company party you are chairing, leaving the office to pick up the kids by 5:30, . . . .   Does any of this sound familiar? Do you have your own scenario of the same thing? Are you constantly busy and moving yet feeling you're only making backward progress? You are not alone, I promise! Too many people live in the rat race, bringing up the rear. What would happen if you stopped running? ...if you were to pay more attention to getting your needs met and even had some time to yourself?   It's possible AND the choice is yours.   Here are ten ways a coach can add to your life - to smooth the path, to simplify and to clarify:   1. Facts and Data. It's not always enough to rely on intuition and feelings. In an increasingly complex world you need information to make better decisions and keep your senses and intuition sharp. A coach can give you the information you need, drawing on their own body of knowledge and the wealth of information available through the professional coaching community.   2. Truth. Truth is not the same as facts. Truth is what is true for you at any given moment while facts are independently verifiable. Your personal truth may change day to day, even moment to moment, especially in times of intense personal development. A coach is able to bring your truth to the surface of your consciousness so you can more clearly see it and reorient your life around it.   3. Solutions. Often clients will want their coach to solve their problems. It is not the job of the coach to provide you with the solution. Coaches believe you already have the answers you need. On occasion, however, a coach will give you the solution by developing an action plan for you. The coach may simply request you stop a behavior or start doing something else.   4. Awareness. When you begin to feel, see, hear and experience yourself and your world, you become more successful - you have broader and deeper information for making decisions. Your coach can shift your perspectives and make you aware of the wealth of knowledge and wisdom you already possess AND introduce new concepts and ideas to increase your awareness of the world and your environment.   5. Support and Structure. You can excel (and find the process easier) when you add structure and support to your life. This may include people, a coach, plans, love, encouragement, accountability and access to key people or information. Contrary to popular belief, structure does bring freedom.   6. Language. Coaches are trained in saying what they mean and meaning what they say. This is a skill coaches share with their clients. You can become better able to speak your truth and be heard. It's all in the words you choose and how you deliver your message.   7. Vision. Vision means having a concept of what's possible in the world because of what you're doing. It's impossible to live your vision when basic foundational pieces are not in place. Your coach will be sure your personal foundation is solid and will support you to clarify your vision and live it.   8. A Willing Ear. One of the greatest qualities of a coach is their ability to listen. Your coach may be the only person in your life who is truly "with" you when you speak - emotionally, energetically and spiritually. Being "with" you in this way, your coach allows all your creative energies to flow.   9. Integrity. Integrity means living your truth. One of life's challenges is discovering your truth. With your coach you get to the core of who you are and move to living in integrity. Your coach is a model for this.   10. Money. One of the things often missing for a client is an understanding about money. This usually results in financial challenges. Your coach will work with you to change your attitudes, perspectives and beliefs about money.   Of course, it's possible for you to do all this by yourself. As a coach and fellow seeker, I know having a coach (or a totally objective, unconditional, always supportive person) on my team makes it possible for me to get where I want to be more quickly and with less struggle. That's why I continue to work with coaches of my own.   What's important for you to "get" is you can have anything you want, live your dream and do it effortlessly. Look at what you need more (or less) of in your life and take care of it. Whatever you need to do, just do it. You have the power. You have the knowledge. You have the wisdom. You have what you need to make it possible.   © Copyright March, 1997. Laura Hess, MCC 702.252.3657