BMW has the 3, 5, and 7 Series.

Baseball and Poker have the World Series.

Your favourite TV show is most likely a Series (mine is ‘The Office.’)

Well, friends… I think it’s time for a new Series.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all Ages. It is my pleasure to introduce… (drum roll please!)

The F-Series:

1. F1: What the F is Life Coaching?
2. F2: Why the F would I want Life Coaching?
3. F3: I don’t have the F-ing money or F-ing time for Life Coaching!
4. F4 Who the F is Andrew Parkes, anyway?

(Massive, Ear Shattering Applause)

Let’s start with F1.

F1: What the F is Life Coaching?

What I used to think a Coach did:

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being inspired, pumped up, or motivated.

But has that really gotten you anywhere? Have these kinds of speeches really motivated you to make long lasting, deep, life altering changes in your life?

I don’t think so.

No, another movie speech (or car, beer, drug, woman, job… you get my drift) will not help you move closer to achieving your dreams and living at 100% of your potential.

Why? Because all of these things are external. We reach for them because it’s easy. The real hard work needs to be done on the inside – where the answers you are looking for (and truth) reside.

Here’s what I now believe a Life Coach is:

1. A Key Holder
   • to unlock the learning (and subsequent action) that lives deep inside you.
2. A Peer
   • not someone wiser, cooler, god-like, or better looking than you with it ‘all together’ and all the answers you need.
3. A Confidant
   • creates a safe environment where honesty, accountability, and vulnerability reign supreme.
4. A Powerful Question Asker
   • possessing an intense curiosity… someone that asks questions you have never been asked before or have always avoided answering.
5. A Person Without an Agenda for You
   • everyone tries to create and maintain a certain image around other people (like your Boss, Girlfriend, Wife, Mom, or Dad.) What would it be like to be around someone that you can be your true self, not afraid of what that person thinks?

I am a trained Coach through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI.) Here is how CTI defines Coaching:

CTI coaching holds that people are naturally creative, resourceful and whole – completely capable of finding their own answers to whatever challenges they face. The job of a Co-Active Coach is to ask powerful questions, listen and empower to elicit the skills and creativity a client already possesses, rather than instruct or advise.

The Bottom Line…

You won’t find the answers you are looking for outside yourself. Life Coaching is about looking inside with a trusted, curious confidant. It is an exhilarating, life changing journey to the core of who you are… scary but also a whole lot of freaking fun.

Are you ready to find out more? Check out my Coaching website or contact me to set-up a free sample Coaching session. 

Tomorrow, F2: Why the F would I want Life Coaching?