Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life

By now most people have heard or read "The Secret". I have been preaching about the power of attraction ever since I first read about it and heard Thomas Lenard the father of coaching talk about at my Coach U classes back in 1995. Thomas had it all together. Lately Echart Tolle has been preaching about the ego and the fact that the ego controls everyone and that it is your thoughts and the ego that you need to get in check to make a difference in your life.

My wife has been a big believer about thinking and if you change your thoughts you change your life. Its really easy to get bogged down in negativity and as humans its kind a bonding thing to stand around the old water cooler and complain. Its harder to take the high road and make a concious effort to be positive and maintain positive thoughts.

As a coach my job is to get my clients to think about the future and what they can do. Its about getting clear and getting on with what the creator or the source or the power or god wants for you. You can have anything you want as long has you think positive thoughts. If you not sure where you are going then any road will get you there. In my book " The Ten Commitments to a Better Life" I talk about how you can confuse the universe by not having positive thoughts. Like attracts like. So if you are thinking negative thoughts then thats what you attract. Its that simple. Thats why a " vision board" or a journal works. It helps you define your thoughts and when you see something you have identified with you are attracted.

Remember change your thoughts --- you can change your life. As a coach, my job is to help you do that.

Kensel Tracy is a personal and business coach that helps individuals and companies grow and prosper.

Why a Person with a Coach is Successful

Coaching works for a number of reasons and most people that hire a coach are more productive, focused and dedicated on getting what it is they want. The bottom line is; coaching helps individuals get what it is they want. How it works is quite simple. A coach works with you to help develop a personal or business strategy and then helps you as a success partner to carry it out. For example, a few years ago I hired my own coach to give me guidance on what I should be coaching people in.

We worked over a 13 week period where we developed a strategy, a focus, skill level and an understanding of my personal skill sets and the areas where I thought I could be the most help. I ended up developing a profile that focused in on working with advertising, sales and marketing people and small and medium sized business executives. I was quite surprised how having my own coach gave me the confidence and understanding to move forward in developing my practice and the help he gave in facilitating what it was I wanted. He challenged me and guided me and at the end of 13 weeks I had done a whole lot of work in finding out who I was as a coach.

There are plenty of sites to find a coach and you can just about find a coach in any field. For example: sites like coachu, coachville and The International Coaching Federation can help you find a coach.

If you are thinking of hiring a coach it is also helpful to interview up to five different coaches to find one that fits your style. Coaches are quite open to the fact that a person needs to take the time to find a personal coach so just don't take the first person that comes along. Find one that fits you.

Shopping for a coach is quite simple. You develop a set of questions which you ask of the coach and then compare and find the one that fits. Questions can include, expertise, how does the coach work with clients, how do you think the coach can help in your area of need, ask for the coaches credentials, potential references ot clients that have been coached and special things that the coach would bring to you.

You can also ask the coach to outline his coaching style. Mine is firm but fair, creative, open, committed, want a lot for my clients and I am a motivator, teacher, communicator and a visionary. I also tell my clients I am a bit of reckless optimist so ... that anyone that coaches with me should be prepared to be optimistic and open about the future.

You can see how having a coach can help you move forward and that he or she will help you get what you want. Also a coach can help you get rid of what you don't want to it works both ways.

There are a lot of reasons to hire a coach and most people that have a coach can make decisions faster, are more open, help developed a lot of personal skills and are most likely living the best life they can have.

The Power of Commitment

One of the reasons many people fail in what they set out to do is that they have no commitment. A few years back I wrote my first book called "The Ten Commitments". It was all about commitment. One of the things a coach can help you with is getting fully committed to what it is you want out of life.

Most of the time we wander around wondering what it is we want. We think about it but we don't fully commit to getting what it is. A coach can work with you to get focused, to commit, to follow through and not give up. After a while you break through the rice paper and take matters into your own hands. A coach is your partner in commitment.

It is the joy within that creates a magnificent life on the outside.

How Coaching Works

Have you ever wanted to change a part of your life and were not sure where to start. Well, then that is where a coach comes in. A coach is your partner in change. As a partner, we take no ownership in the issue, only in helping you, achieve what it is you want.

Coaching works because it helps you to see the world differently. When you are living your life,you are caught up in the issues surrounding your problem issue. You are more concerned about how it is going to look and feel and making a change on your own is tough because you are uncertain about which way to proceed. A coach is trained in the areas of human response. In other words, we view life as getting into integrity and doing what is right for you, as we know, this time around you only have one life and why should you suffer.

The issue that humans suffer from, is this one simple thing. Getting to know yourself better. In doing this, there is always some work. A coach guides, promotes, helps, pushes and prods and lets you make the decisions about where it is you want to go.

Most of us already know. We are just too afraid to make a change because we already have too much invested either personally or with others to be honest and admit that we need help or we are not happy.

In order to get back to the place of pure happiness it is important to realize that everything you are doing right now is perfect. Yes the present is perfect. However the present has a few things that you want to change. So start here. Identify what it is you want to change and start thinking about how to do it.

Most issues as also self inflected. In other words, a person is doing something out of habit, guilt, past incompletions, fear, a feeling or a lack of something and most of the time we just ignore it until it all catches up with us.

Relationship problems for example are all about past guilt and past incompletions and the fear of change. One partner is usually stronger than the other and this creates a series of problems as there is always something missing from the communication. This is usually honesty. So - coaching helps you get your confidence back, points you in the right direction, helps you with past issues, setting new boundaries and developing the confidence you need for change. Want to change something give me a call.

Kensel Tracy is a personal and business coach and Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz. He also has a coaching company called The Marketing Coach and is located in Chelsea, Quebec. see Kensel's other blogs, http:themarketingcoach.blogspot.com and http:thetencommitments.blogspot.com

Introduction to Coaching

Hi everyone, this is the first of many posts in regards to introducing you to the world of personal coaching. I have been a coach since 1995. As a matter of fact I was the very first Canadian coach registered in the International Coaching Federation. Thomas Lenard the father of modern day coaching was really the guy that put coaching on the map. It was Thomas that made personal coaching a mainstream topic. I remember going to events and telling everyone I was a personal coach and creative counselor.

At that time there was a real lack of awareness about how coaching could help anyone to become better at who they are. In fact if I talked like that, most people thought that I was from another planet. Today however coaching is accepted by all major industries, government organizations and individuals. As a matter of fact, its almost become fashionable to have a coach.

What Is Coaching and How Can it Help?

Like a sports coach or a financial planner, a life coach can help you get your life in order by coaching you to become better at what you want to be.

What does that mean?

Well for someone without a strong concept of personal integrity, it means helping people to get rid of the things that clutter their life and that are not that meaningful and replacing them with more of what a person wants from life.

We all want something. More time, more money, more satisfaction, more understanding from a boss or a loved one. By working on what you want and not what you don't want you start to change your life and attract what it is you truly want.

How Can a Coach Help Me?

Well a coach is just that. The coach helps the client to develop a strong sense of self worth and commitment and as such helps the client to move in a direction of the clients choosing. Too often we are held back by our own personal fears and "can't",
" woulds" and " I could ifs". A coach gives you the confidence to view what it is you need or want and to go for it. Since a coach is paid a fee and takes no real ownership of the issue, the client then, is free to make choices based on their own views and on their own terms and in their own way, with the coach providing the moral support and a few specific coaching techniques that move the client forward.

How Much Does Coaching Cost?

Well a coach can run anywhere from $75-$250 per hour. I personally charge $150 per hour to assist clients. I charge a client for four sessions, one per week, for 3 months. This is an investment of $1800. It represents good value because if the problem is significant its a really low fee, considering what you are getting is your life back.

A coach can work on a number of things, if you send me an email I will send you a "free report " outlining 500 things that a coach can help change. I am sure that you find one or two things that you would like to change. As Bruce Cockburn said, " life short, call now".

Kensel Tracy is Senior Partner in the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. and is a personal, business and marketing coach. see his blog at www.marketingcoach.blogspot.com or his other blog www.tencommitments.blogspot.com