Are you stuck on a life goal?

Then hire a coach. “But, but, but…” you whimper. “How? And why?”

Why? Because you’re stuck…

…and you know you’ve been stuck for a while. That’s a good enough reason to hire a coach. Just to get unstuck and to start moving forward on that important life goal. You will do this when your WHY is bigger than your fears. Like your fears of sharing your innermost dreams. And your fear of being criticized.

Grow up. Hire a coach. Get unstuck.

(1) – How do you get a coach?

Just ask someone, “Will you coach me?” I found someone who has good listening skills, tutors math students, and coaches soccer and basketball. He has similar life values. That’s what I wanted. Someone skilled in coaching. Who can give me candid input and help me to move forward.

(2) – Set a specific time to meet.

Not just whenever. Things that matter get scheduled. And things that get scheduled get done. My coach and I meet at 6:00 a.m. on Friday (yes, at Panera Bread). Non-negotiable. Once the time is set, no excuses. If I do not show, he can fire me as a client. If my coach does not show at our scheduled time, my coach is fired. Simple. Both parties are serious and committed.

(3) – Now about money.

“Now this gets tricky,” you moan. Not tricky at all. I am paying a friend to coach me. Yes, PAYING a friend with REAL money. Without this exchange of money, there is not enough commitment for me to reach my goals and to follow his suggestions.

If you have zero money, then exchange something of VALUE. Exchange professional services. For example, trade internet skills or web design skills for personal coaching. Trade babysitting time for coaching time. Run personal errands as a trade for personal coaching. Why not? That is something that has real monetary value.

(4) – Set written expectations…

…and a time frame to review the coaching process. My coach and I exchanged our written expectations via EVERnote. And we have a specific number of coaching sessions SCHEDULED and paid IN ADVANCE. At the end of a specific number of sessions, we have a plan to review our progress to see if and how we want to continue. A coaching (mentorship) relationship does NOT have to last forever to work.

Now you know the four critical steps to hiring a coach.

Are you stuck? Hire a coach.

I’m not suck anymore. How ‘bout you?