Life Coach, Business Coach, and Executive Coach are niche labels of “Personal Coach”
Personal Coaching Was The Original Name
It was called “Personal Coaching,” because life coaching is Very Personal. Thomas Leonard invented “Personal Coaching” and introduced this very unique, very effective and even more valuable new human improvement process around 1991. Because the process he invented Coached People! Not Subjects. The Personal Coaching Industry was born and exploded in size because his “Personal Coaching” process worked so well, so positively affected the lives of anyone being coached, and because he was a tireless advocate of “Personal Coaching.”
Yet, with such rapid growth and Thomas’ untimely death due to natural causes, complete confusion has evolved. The term “Life Coach” got pushed onto the scene in about 2003 by a Hollywood Staged “Reality” show called “Starting Over” that coined “Life Coach” to fit their scripts. Main stream media broadcast the “Life Coaching” label replacing the correct “Personal Coaching” name, opening the doors for people to create many other labels, and the name change game was on. Many thousands of people began calling themselves coaches, even though only a few actually conducted the real “Personal Coaching” process as designed by Thomas, and they generated new names for the coaching process to help market their services.
Do You Have To Worry About The Labels Of Coaching?
Normally No! There are exceptions like “worm coach” and “crazy coach.” The key is to be sure you are seeking a coach who will exclusively practice the real “Personal Coaching” process as it was originally designed by Thomas Leonard.
The types of coaching are frequently related to the types of “Coachable Goals” desired by the clients. For example business owners may seek a business coach. Leaders may seek a leadership coach. But real personal coaching is the core foundation of all coaching and can be used to achieve any real “Coachable Goal,” regardless of the type.
Why Are There So Many Types Of Personal Coaching?
1. Because people can create any coaching label they want. There are no rules or qualifications governing coaching labels and probably never will be.
2. Marketing! Google search practices practically require that coaches create different labels to get noticed. Coaching schools tell their coaching students to create their own niche and they do. Even though Personal Coaching is not a competitive sport, too many people create new coaching labels to stand out and compete with other coaches.
3. Attention! The media loves and promotes the ridiculous. Anyone who calls them self a “Worm Raising Coach” will undoubtedly get press attention, and probably already has.
4. Culture of specialization! Today people think service providers must specialize to be good enough to be of any value. Yet, the only real specialty you will want to find is a coach (using any label) who specializes in only focusing on you, the center of attention, by practicing the “Personal Coaching” Process invented by Thomas Leonard.
5. Media influence! The term “life coach” has replaced Leonard’s original name of “personal coach” due to strong TV influence by multiple TV shows to include the TV show “Starting Over” that created contrived drama conflicts for their actor “life coaches” to come in and solve. Advertisers are now using their fictional forms of life coaching to create skits to sell their products.
Yet, a personal coach and a life coach are one in the same.
Blog Author
Brought to you by Bill Dueease Founder/President of The Coach Connection who struggled through 27 coaches in 6 months to find the good life coach who was right for him. And find him he did. Bill is not a coach, but a thrilled coachee. Through the remarkable life coaching self-awareness process, he discovered his passion and talents were to create and operate his own business so that others would be able to find and select their ideal life coach with only one call and avoid all the pitfalls he encountered. He started TCC in 2001 to fulfill all his goals and personal requirements and never looked back. He shares his full story in his online book entitled “Go To Play Every Day and call it work” which he has been enjoying since 2001.
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