A lot of coaches are trying to figure out how to get more coaching clients.

Here’s a free special report by Christian Mickelsen called How to get a rush of New, High Paying Clients To Hire You.

I’ve been implementing Christian’s 3-step approach and it’s actually working.

Check it out here: How to get a rush of New, High Paying Clients To Hire You.

As a coach, you knew I was going to bring this one up sooner or later! You guessed it, today’s anti-procrastination tip is all about accountability.

The one thing I found to be the most effective Anti-Procrastination Weapon is ACCOUNTABILITY! Having a coach or accountability partner has been the master key for me and people I coach to evict procrastination out of their life for good.

My mentor often tells me “Procrastination is a thief and you must get that thief out of your life before it becomes a murderer”. Failing to get it out of your life will result in dead relationships, dreams, goals, bank accounts and all of life’s unfavorable situations. We all need help and being accountable to someone who will stay on you case will help you accomplish more and rid yourself of procrastination. — Chris Gloss “The Possibilitarian”

Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. — Tony Robbins

How do you really want to live? What gets you most excited? When do you feel stuck? What kind of person will you have to become in order to achieve all that you want? These are some of the questions Robbins suggests you ask yourself and answer honestly.

Every night before going to sleep, Robbins suggests asking yourself the following three questions:

• What have I learned today?
• What have I enjoyed today?
• What have I improved or contributed today?

In asking yourself the above three questions, you can work on improving yourself each and every day.

July 22nd: Zach is so proud! Katya is not too sure what to think.

Last Tuesday, July 22, in the wee hours while you were probably sleeping soundly in your bed, I was in my room, pushing out our 3rd kid. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I will tell you this — being in labor for a total of 2h55m is nothing short of intense, violent and primal.

Being that it was such a speedy delivery (and my 3rd child in under 3 years), my body took a huge hit. The following 4-5 days were quite unbearable. Afterpains were fierce and I could physically feel my bones shifting back into place. Thankfully I didn’t have stitches to content with (but that DOESN’T mean no pain).

Fast forward to today. Jasmine is now one week old and she is an absolute angel. She’s so calm and easy-going, and very cuddly. She latched on like a pro as soon as she was born, so breastfeeding has been a breeze — which I am eternally grateful for. My body and emotions are starting to even out and I’m beginning to feel somewhat normal — although I still don’t quite recognize myself when I look in the mirror and I still have crying bouts. We’re slowly getting into a little routine. (Those that know me well, know that the “slowly” part is driving me nuts!)

My 2 older kids (it feels weird to say that about an almost 3 year old and a 16 month old) are slowly accepting that this little thing is going to be a permanent feature of the household.

Katya is finding it difficult (she’s still my baby), so we’re trying to give her as much extra time, love and attention as possible. Zachary is proud to be a big brother again and often asks to hold “my baby Jasmine.”

My mother-in-law stayed for 4 days and my husband is home until September 2nd, so I’m getting plenty of help and rest.

Of course, things will still be a little quiet around here for a while. But I won’t ignore you completely.

Want to keep tabs on me? Follow my updates on Twitter, Facebook and/or Plurk.

Thanks to all for your kind words so far, and I look forward to being up and about soon!!

Thanks to Don H. Morris who passed this link on to members of the NewCoachConnection Yahoo Group this morning.

Those of you who know me, know I love words (I’ve recently been labeled as word anal by a close friend) and, I’m ashamed to admit, I love using lingo and jargon (I’m working on it, really, I am!).

If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy this BBC News article: 50 office-speak phrases you love to hate.

In my past life, I worked in a Corporate America setting. So I can relate to pointy-haired bosses (and anyone in upper management) freely throwing these expressions around, how often they are used in corporations and how totally meaningless they are.

Think about industry-speak in your own business and area of expertise.

Here are a few I could come up with for coaching:

• designed alliance: describing the coach-client relationship.
• stuck (I use this one a lot): you know where you want to be, but just can’t seem to move forward.
• gap: a little like stuck, signifies the space between where you are now and where you want to be
• solution- or result-oriented, goal-driven: how coaching is different from therapy, consulting and mentoring.
• safe environment: the relationship with your coach is confidential.
• rediscover yourself: getting back in touch with parts of your personality you’ve either ignored, forgot or never knew were there (in fact, this entire sentence is coach-speak!).
• you hold the answers, the answers are inside you, etc.: a coach won’t tell you what to do, they’ll ask questions to help you come up with solutions.
• ecology check: achieving your goals won’t harm or cause problems for others.
• live your success: this can mean different things for different coaches. Basically, if you think you can do/achieve something, act like it even though you haven’t done/achieved it yet.

There are many more, but you get the idea. I’m sure you’ve heard some pretty good ones too, so please share!

What phrases and expressions do you use (or hear) regularly that amount to industry-speak (as opposed to street-speak)? What are you really trying to say?

Fellow coaching colleague and Montrealer, Julie Cusmariu, Intuitive Consultant, Life Coach, Speaker and Writer, was fortunate enough to get some press coverage a few weeks ago in our largest local newspaper, The Gazette.

I love Julie’s analogy, differentiating coaching from therapy:

“Therapy is more like archaeology – you’re digging things up, you’re excavating, you’re looking back on wounds that might be affecting your behaviours. … And coaching is more like architecture, so you’re moving from the present and creating for the future.“

Read the entire story, She coaches the answers out of you, written by Dominique Jarry-Shore and read about her personal coaching experience with Julie.

It’s an insightful article, showing how coaching can make a difference in all aspects of life.

Check out Julie’s blog, where she shows you how to use your intuition to live an inspired life.

Congrats on the press coverage, Julie!

The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but to reveal theirs. — Zig Ziglar

Q: How does someone know if he or she is ready to work with a coach?

A: To get the most from a coaching relationship, clients need to be willing to learn new ways of doing things and make changes in their attitudes and behavior. Anyone who is open to hearing new perspectives, willing to question how they are currently acting, and ready to take on new challenges in their life or career can benefit from a working with a coach.

Today is the last day of International Coaching Week 2008. I hope you enjoyed the daily installments in answering the most commonly asked questions about coaching. If you still have questions about coaching, or if you’re still not sure if coaching is for you, feel free to contact me and I’ll happily provide you with more information.

Q: What kinds of people use coaches?

A: A typical coaching client is someone who wants to make changes in his or her life, and is ready to take action. You might hire a coach for yourself when you are looking for a new job, needing to improve your management skills, wanting to increase profits in your business, launching an ambitious new project, planning your retirement, or dissatisfied with some of the conditions in your life and seeking a new direction. You might hire a coach for your organization when you want to improve productivity, increase teamwork, implement new ways of working, or adjust to changing conditions.

Coaching clients are men, women, and young people, of all ages, professions, and income brackets. What they have in common is a desire for partnership, support, and strategic guidance in solving problems and achieving goals that are personally important to them.

Q: Where does someone find a qualified coach?

A: Determine what you want to accomplish. Then ask friends and colleagues if they have worked with a coach to achieve goals similar to your own. While coaching does not require a professional license, there are a number of organizations that train or certify coaches.

To locate a coach with the specialty you’re seeking, use one of the many coaching referral services by training schools and associations. You can also easily search for a coach by using your favorite search engine, by using appropriate keywords such as “career transition coach”.

There are literally millions of coaching sites available (for example, when I searched the term “marketing coach” in Google, it generated a total of about 203,000 English pages). You have tons of coaches to choose from, so choose carefully (but don’t procrastinate). Interview two or three possible coaches for comparison. Ask about their background and the type of results they typically help clients achieve. The personal fit between client and coach is an important factor. In your initial conversation, assess not only the coach’s ability to assist you in reaching your goals but how comfortable you feel interacting with him or her. Some coaches also offer complimentary coaching sessions for prospective clients so you can experience what it would be like to work with them.