This topic may be way over people's heads who are on this forum who happen to read this post . . .wondering what the heck I'm talking about. Yet, if even just one person bumped into it who finds it useful and it assists them on their journey, that's cool.

It's a place you can get to in life coaching and working with others where you're making a whole other level of difference for people. . .essentially where they start to get out of their mind / head and live more from their heart.

The transition to being effective as this sort of coach for others has been a really tough one for me to wrap my head around. . .my mind wants to be an expert in a field. . .to have a "niche" to coach and to have to know the answers for someone when getting on a coaching call - but it's a huge burden having to hold that responsibility with big blowback as well because the client then isn't taking responsibility but becoming reliant on you to give them answers and it's kind of like you're putting your agenda on them as a coach versus letting them find the answers for themselves - even letting them and watching them fail and have to learn some lessons from going down that path.

For example, I had someone call me up last night I'd worked with as a health coach who had completely got rid of her colon cancer and ulcerative colitis avoiding chemo and major surgery to remove her large intestine completely and she is doing really well years later. Anyhow, she called me up asking me an insignificant question on the phone and then the real question came - "what do you think about the COVID vaccine?" I responded . . ."when people ask me that, they're usually looking to see if my opinion or what I've done fits into their worldview or they want to base what decision they want to make based on what I've done. . .is that accurate?" She said yes. . .keeping on asking me what I've done with the vaccine. I told her after many many months of deliberation and sleepness nights processing about it - feeling through all the anger and fear that was coming up in me until I was no longer triggered by any of it, I was able to get to a clear "yes" (not based on any reason or justification in my mind, but rather that's what my heart was telling me to do). . . I told her that I would not suggest she base her decision on what I had done . . .that she would have to do the same work if she really wanted to know for herself. . .in fact - she might do a lot of processing work and come up with the exact opposite answer and that would be perfectly reasonable as well. Most people however aren't doing the work of "having the myriad of feelings / emotions come up - allowing themselves to fully feel all their stuff to the point where there's no "emotional charge" whatsoever, and having the answer come from that place. . .instead, mostly, people are jammed with fear or anger, looking and listening to answers outside of themselves and making a decision out of fear or anger from their head / mind. . .not good or bad. . .just what's really going on. Now had I told her "get the vaccine" or "don't get the vaccine" - you can see the karmic burden I'd be putting on myself with this and having to walk around with that - totally brutal. . .that's the place I want to avoid - but most are just looking for me for answers . . .nothing wrong with that, but the type of coaching I do now isn't about that at all.

I don't think being an expert or giving answers is what really serves people . . .although people may get value out of it - which is great . . .and whom am I to judge if that's the case. . . but let's get real for a moment - this is more like "consultant coaching" - i.e. career coach with a formula for people to get a job, health coach with a formula for someone to lose weight or get better, business coach to provide answers for someone to get their business going better, how to make more money, ADHD coach to give someone strategies to focus. . .nothing wrong with this and perhaps most people want some sort of coach like this - I suspect that well over 90% of "coaches" fit in this category. . .maybe even over 99% are more "consultant coaching" roles in a sort of way. This type of coaching is more like helping people solve a particular problem they're facing - i.e. sorting out business, sorting out a relationship, sorting out a health problem, etc. which is all good . . .it's not really having people discover the answers from looking into their heart so much however.

I'm finding there's a stage or certain point in on'e career progression as a coach that is akin to going through the eye of the needle - and that's taking people on the journey to start living from their heart (listening to their deeper intuition, trusting and taking action on that). To coach someone in this does not require being an expert, having a niche or having to have the answers or look like you have it altogether as a coach . . .in fact. . .it's quite the opposite. The more I get into this, the more I realize I don't have the answers for anyone. . .but I am adept a different type of process which is helping them discover the answers for themselves.

From my experience, most coaches start off working more like some "consultant coaching" (having a niche / being an expert) and almost all coaches end up staying in this category (the ones that can survive financially) . . .even really big names like Tony Robbins or experts in certain fields are kind of like consultant coaches . . .I don't think nearly as many people would show up at Tony Robbins seminars if he promoted doing what you love even if it didn't make a lot of money but instead making "enough money" and being "unattached" to the journey of how it looked (which wouldn't be nearly as popular). So many who attend these seminars have the dream of making a lot of money, being really worldly successful, etc etc. . .and not so much to get further into their heart and live from that place.

An extremely tiny percentage of coaches might go on to doing more of this sort of "pure" life coaching work (and very few can make a go of it. . .I've met less than 10 people who were really able to pull it off - really having people live fully in their heart following their intuition even when it was massively inconvenient, wasn't about the money, etc, etc and I've met and worked with a ton of coaches. . .

When I say "pure" I don't mean "better". . .rather - the people who come to coaches like these are looking for something different (and I think everyone wants this but a much smaller percentage are at the point where they're ready to dive in on this journey in a much greater way). Essentially - they're looking to cultivate their relationship with their "higher self" (connection with God / Spirit / the Universe - not so much in a dogmatic religious or spiritual sense / following someone else's model to get there - i.e. through religion, or looking for answers in a certain spiritual practice like yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Landmark Education, PSI Seminars, etc etc or following how society or family says / expects you to live but rather to discover their own unique connection and trusting and following the dictates of their heart and learning to trust in the process / watching everything work out)

I've found the transition to moving to being this sort of coach for others to be one of the biggest and scariest transitions ever. . .brings up everything around my survival (wondering if anyone will want to work with me and pay for it), having to trust more and watching a wave of clients disappear (the ones who were just working with me looking for answers) while new ones show up looking for something different - and wanting to cultivate this piece within themselves. Interestingly enough, "enough" people have been consistently showing up - sometimes completely out of left field - wanting this exact thing and having no issue with paying for it.

It requires standing in the place of not knowing with clients / not having the answers and just creating a space for them to talk and be heard - which is where all the magic happens anyhow . . .but I know it isn't me who is producing the results for them, and it has nothing to do with any sort of wisdom or knowledge I have to impart at all or me having to be an expert in a niche or particular field. . .Absolutely brutal and crushing to the ego / mind . . .but something really really profound coming out of it at the same time.

Anyhow, hoping this may be useful for some. . .