Your call to becoming a coachpar Steph Chreifi
“Your call to becoming a coach”: I remember discussing this topic with other aspiring coaches on the first day of our training to become coaches. We all had our different journeys that led us to be together that day in that same room.
For some like myself, and perhaps yourself, it took a year or two to make the decision to sign up for a certification program to become a coach. I was fascinated to hear one woman's story of determination and commitment to fly across Canada every weekend to attend the classes in Montreal. I remember how some shared their methodical approach to finding a coaching program they loved and that they had thoroughly researched the plenitude of coaching programs available out there. I mean some practically had a database of pros and cons on each program and a matrix for making a decision. It was quite admirable to witness how prepared some of them were and I thought "wow they really know what they want!". I, on the other hand, almost jumped into coaching not fully grasping what it meant and where it would lead me.
My story does not begin as one of resolute certainty or conviction. Perhaps like me, you too embarked on your journey because you were fed up with your career and the way you led your life. If so, you would be familiar with feeling like you have so much more to give and so much more potential to express. I know I needed to act on my unhappiness. Starting my coaching training was my ticket out of the life I had and into the start of my journey. It was my “yes” to starting new without having a bigger answer or plan as to what would happen next.
Fast forward to today, I know that any result I get in my coaching business and from being an authentic Entrepreneur is in direct link to that first step I took without knowing where it would lead me. I couldn't know this when I first started. When things get rough it's hard to make sense of what's happening. It's hard to reap the benefits when they are still unfolding. Most things that happened along the way I couldn't predict, no matter how hard I planned, and this is still true today. I don't believe in luck but rather in the power of opportunities. Most opportunities are moderately easy to take advantage of and anyone can learn to see them and act on them. However, the most beautiful ones are those that you don't purposefully grab. They are those that you are attracted to not because you perceive them to be opportunities but because they have touched your soul and resonated with you in such a way that you want to reach out or associate with them in one form or another. If you are like me, I think that to meet such opportunities in your entrepreneurial and life journey is to first give yourself the permission to be good to yourself and to get comfortable holding your fears. To keep love in your heart and begin to trust your inner voice however unfamiliar you are with it. You also need the liberty to wander off a result-oriented track from time to time in order to explore and discover other things that nourish your soul. Don't let the ticking clock determine your moves - shut the clock, shut the pressure, shut the chatter in your head that's pushing the panic button and don't let other people deter you from being yourself. Take the time to connect with your higher self and when you reap a benefit in your road, remember the feeling you get: write it down, take a picture, do whatever you can to record that moment and make sure you can access it the next time you find yourself in the dark.
My major shift is that I don't need to know before I take a leap. I now realize that I don't need to have the answers. I grasp that it is only when the plant starts to grow that I can fully recognize the seeds I've planted along the way and that I am able to backtrack and see how all the steps I took have led me exactly where I need to be in my journey. And if you asked me as early as yesterday, I didn't fully understand it. Like a puzzle that's been pieced together, it takes all the pieces to see the bigger picture and really understand.
