Volume 8 Issue 12 – December, 2009

In This Issue:

• Pat's Ponderings ~ Patrick Williams, Ed.D., MCC
• Monthly
  • Pat's Coaching Forum - Emerging Opportunities in Wellness Coaching - Exploring New Niches - December 8th
  • Introduction to Coaching Calls - December 9th & January 6th
  • Free Coach Referral Service for CLC's
• News & Features
  • Viewpoints on Transition
  • Coaching for Social Action Intro Call - December 21st
  • In case you missed it: Marketing and the Ethics of Advertising, Part 1
• Upcoming Classes at ILCT
• What Pat Recommends
  • Seasons of Change by Carol L. McClelland
  • Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes by William Bridges
  • Therapist as Life Coach: Rev. and Exp. Ed. by Dr. Patrick Williams MCC, Deborah C. Davis

Tomorrow's Life Coach (TLC) is a monthly online journal from the Institute for Life Coach Training (ILCT) that nourishes the intellect, intuition and inspiration of the personal and business coaching community.

Pat's Ponderings - Transitions

Life Coaching is all about transitions, which is really why people seek coaching. Transitioning to a new job, changing one's life style, relationship coaching, improving health, creating more meaning, or life purpose discovery. These all have transition as the key ingredient.

We are now transitioning to a new year and to a new decade. What do transitions do for us? Do they create frustrations, opportunity, or excitement. . .or dread and fear? Well, truthfully, transitions can create all of that and more.

I started my coaching business in 1990 working as an executive coach for The People Business in Fort Collins, Colorado. I worked 10-12 hours per week outside my psychology practice coaching executives for top firms in Colorado such as Hewlett Packard, Kodak, IBM, Waterpik, among others. The woman who created The People Business had trainings based on the book Transitions by William Bridges, a classic in the field. She trained me in her system that assisted executives and their teams become "change masters.” And we made a big distinction between chosen change and unchosen change. Chosen change is when you are moving into a new situation that you are actually seeking; such as a new relationship, a move to another city and new life, a promotion, or adding a new department due to a business merger.  Unchosen change is that which you did not seek — an unexpected illness, loss of a loved one, getting laid off from work, being transferred to a new city, and more.

The change that you choose can be a bit easier to deal with and adjust to, but it still leads you into new territory and unknown challenges. You might be more prepared mentally and emotionally for change that you have chosen, but it is still a stressful time. And the change that you have NOT chosen — change that was thrust upon you — still needs to be dealt with and eventually it, too, must become chosen change. That is the only healthy way to adapt.

What changes are you in the midst of in your life, career, and relationship? Which ones have you chosen? Which ones seem to choose you? Aren’t these human experiences perfect for life coaching? This is why clients can use your service, and how you market the power of coaching. EVERYONE IS in some phase of transition!!!

ILCT and I and my staff are going through a transition that I chose, but they did not. ILCT has merged with LifeOptions Group, Inc. and is now a subsidiary of this company. Yet we still teach the same courses and have the same staff and faculty. There are some unknowns ahead, even for me. There are also new opportunities that will arise, changes to existing procedures, and new faces will show up in the future. Things will be different and new, but at the same time very familiar.  This is a change I chose. I am transitioning my vision of ILCT back in 1998, crafted with the help of my great faculty and supporters. Yet, I am not going away. My legacy creation is now in the hands of a larger company that fits my values. So stay tuned. . .I may need some coaching!

Enjoy the ride of your transition(s). Read William Bridges book, Transitions, and try to make any "unchosen change" in your life, "change" that you embrace and choose to be purposeful about as soon as you can – with help from your family, friends and your coach.

Dr. Pat

Patrick Williams Ed.D., MCC
Chief Energizing Officer, ILCT
Executive Vice President, Life Options
Department Chair, Professional Coaching, International University of Professional Studies
Author: Becoming a Professional Life Coach. Therapist as Life Coach, Total Life Coaching,
Law and Ethics in Coaching
Recipient of Global Visionary Fellowship for Non Profit www.CoachingTheGlobalVillage.org
Biography

Monthly

Pat's Coaching Forum: Emerging Opportunities in Wellness Coaching - Exploring New Niches

Join Dr. Patrick Williams and Jim Strohecker, CEO and Co-founder of HealthWorld Online (www.healthy.net) for a forum on Emerging Opportunities in Wellness Coaching - Exploring New Niches.

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern

Fee: No charge (some long distance charges may apply).

REGISTER NOW

Introduction to Coaching Calls:

Join us for a one-hour call that will introduce you to the wonderful career of Life Coaching and the ILCT program. We want to share our excitement with you and give you information to help you decide if life coaching is for you! This class will also offer you the opportunity to experience a "‘teleclass," the training format used in our program.

Topics to be discussed include:

• What coaching is.
• What is unique about the ILCT program.
• The journey to becoming a coach.
• ILCT’s Foundational Coach Training Program.
• Avenues to certification.

You will have the opportunity to have your questions about life coach training answered.

Fee: No charge. (Long distance charges may apply).

Wednesday, December 9th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern: REGISTER

Wednesday, January 6th, 12:00 Noon Eastern: REGISTER

Wednesday, January 6th, 7:00 p.m. Eastern: REGISTER

Free Coach Referral Service for CLCs
ILCT provides a listing of Certified Life Coaches and graduates of our Accredited Coach Training Program. These are coaches who have completed at least 60 to 130 hours of coach training. This is a value-added service for those ILCT students who have reached this high level of excellence!

This list is being offered as a free service to assist individuals in identifying and selecting coaches best suited for their particular need.

If you have your Certified Life Coach credential, and have not registered — Sign up now

News & Features

Viewpoints on Transition

The interval between the decay of the old and the formation and establishment of the new constitutes a period of transition which must always necessarily be one of uncertainty, confusion, error, and wild and fierce fanaticism. —John C. Calhoun

Ultimately, your state of mind determines your circumstances. To realize the outcomes you want, it is critical to recognize and experience the transition from our present thoughts, habits, and actions to new thoughts, habits, and actions. —Darren L. Johnson

"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable." —William Pollard

"The unexamined life is not worth living." —Socrates

"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." —Bernard Berenson

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. —Andy Warhol

It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not. —James Gordon

"Not in his goals but in his transitions is man great." —Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." —Isaac Asimov

"Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights. —Pauline R. Kezer

Coaching for Social Action Intro Call
with Dr. Patrick Williams, Sangita Kumar and Elisabeth Garrett

Coaching for Social Action is a new class being offered by ILCT beginning February 1, 2010. Please join Dr. Patrick Williams Sangita Kumar and Elisabeth Garrett for an introduction to this exciting 12 session course!

The Coaching for Social Action course is ideal for coaches working with clients in the non-profit sector, or clients involved in social action. Non-profit organizations and change agents often face unique challenges of leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and individual growth as they organize themselves, groups and organizations to create social change. This course is designed for coaching over the phone or in-person and will provide coaches with a diverse set of tools, practices and systems to support clients to become empowered to make social change, address issues of culture and power in the workplace, and bring attention to self-care along the way.

Date: Monday, December 21, 2009
Time: 4:00 p.m. Eastern/New York/Toronto time

REGISTER NOW

In Case You Missed It - Marketing and the Ethics of Advertising, Part 1

On November 17th Dr. Patrick Williams, President and CEO of the Institute for Life Coach Training, and author of Law and Ethics in Coaching, and Sara Oberg, Marketing Manager of CPH & Associates held a discussion of Marketing and the Ethics of Advertising, Part 1.

During this call they discussed:

• Ethical ways to increase awareness of your counseling and/or coaching business.
• What is the fuss about social media?
• How to use social networks to your advantage and avoid risks that may increase your liability.

LISTEN NOW

This call proved to be another hot topic, so Pat & Sara will continue the discussion during their call in January, which will be announced later this month! (There will be no December call).

Expand Your Business! Deepen Your Coaching Skills! Register For Upcoming Classes at ILCT
NOTE: Flexible payment plans are available. For details call 972-861-1915.

REVIEW OUR FULL CURRENT CLASS LIST

What Pat Recommends

	Seasons of Change : Using Nature's Wisdom to Grow Through Life's Inevitable Ups and Downs by Carol L. McClelland Change is a constant, and we often feel overwhelmed by it, yet our culture provides us with very little information about how to deal with transitions in a graceful, healing way. Designed as a practical tool to help readers negotiate the seas of change, The Seasons of Change describes how important it is to view change as a naturally occurring process that is a catalyst, rather than a threat, to success. Dr. Carol McClelland, a transition consultant specializing in guiding people through periods of transition, describes our lives as following nature's pattern of the seasons. By following Dr. McClelland's model, we can become conscious of our own cycles, learn to trust our feelings, and benefit from the gifts that nature offers.
	Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, Revised 25th Anniversary Edition by William Bridges An appropriate and enticing new format, and with a striking new jacket--a spectacular hardcover reissue of one of the most beloved books of our time. Since it was first published in 1955, Gift from the Sea has enlightened and offered solace to readers on subjects from love and marriage to peace and contentment.
	Therapist as Life Coach: An Introduction for Counselors and Other Helping Professionals, Revised and Expanded Edition by Dr. Patrick Williams MCC, Deborah C. Davis A book for mental health professionals considering a transition into the new and dynamic field of life coaching! Therapist as Life Coach explores life coaching as a profession, examines the relationship between life coaching and therapy, and details the variety of options for professionals considering either a transition into coaching or expanding their practices to include coaching. This book is one-stop-shopping for the therapist wishing to explore the coaching field. Every chapter in this second edition has been revised, reflecting the growth of the coaching field and its increasing appeal to therapists and all helping professionals. New material includes an overview of recent coaching developments, updated liability concerns, new business opportunities, and a new section on the research about coaching.

Tomorrow's Life Coach™

Patrick Williams, Ed.D., Publisher
© 2009 Institute for Life Coach Training
www.lifecoachtraining.com
Phone: 888-267-1206
info@lifecoachtraining.com