By: Elizabeth Saigal, Ph.D. CLC

In my last post, I shared my seven favorite quotes for success around happiness. This post contains the ones that speak to me on dedication and how each of them describes what coaching can do to increase your ability to persevere.

1. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” - Jim Rohn
   Coaches aid in clarifying vision, but if no action is taken, it will remain a pipedream. A life coach supports coming up with a plan that chips away at the things clients need to do to reach their goal. This could mean breaking the goal down into its smallest steps: The increments that the client can embrace completing. It may also mean finding out what will keep each client motivated and moving forward.

2. “To follow, without halt, one aim: There’s the secret of success.” - Anna Pavlova
   Coaches frequently work with clients to identify the values that are critical to their enjoyment of life. Clarity around these priorities makes it easier to set boundaries and maintain a more direct path to the outcome they desire.

3. “The secret of success is constancy of purpose.” - Benjamin Franklin
   One way to illuminate client aims is to clarify life purpose. Coaches assist clients in piecing together all the things that have meaning for them and discovering the common thread. Understanding these reasons for doing what they are doing increases client commitment and focus.

4. “Commitment doesn’t guarantee success, but lack of commitment guarantees you’ll fall far short of your potential.” - Denis Waitley
   Coaches provide accountability in a number of ways. One is leveraging the power of declaration of intention. If you tell someone that you are going to do something, most people want to be seen in the positive light of keeping that pledge.
   
   Another is, if a client fails to keep the commitments they make, coaches ask questions to find out what held them back. Identifying what prevented them from completing their intentions brings the client insight on fundamental drives and limiting beliefs.
   
   When commitments align better with passion and contrary mindsets are addressed, clients are more likely to follow through.
   
5. “All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure to success.” - Dorothea Brande
   If a client has negative self talk, often framed as “I can’t because …”, coaches will draw attention to it. The coach might also invite the client to turn it around to an “I can” anything is possible statement or affirmation and ask them to give evidence that supports this alternate way of thinking. Increasing self belief in this way promotes effective action.
   
6. “The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.” - Robert J. McKain
   One tool that coaches may use is Dr. Stephen Covey’s priority matrix, which categorizes behaviors by urgency and importance. The items that we should make time for and attend to first are both urgent and important. Items that are neither urgent nor important should be minimized and items that are either important or urgent should be scheduled. This is one way to find out what must take precedence and where the client should focus dedication.
   
7. “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” - Winston Churchill
   Even if you win the lottery tomorrow, you still have to incorporate it into your life. In other words, you can have luck, but it is meaningless unless you do something with it. The gifts you have can be the foundation of your good fortune it you put them to use. Coaches support clients by opening their eyes to these choices and the ways in which they are in control of their own destiny.

Working with a coach is one way that a client can put themselves first. The time is dedicated to their aspirations and revealing exactly what it is about them that makes them a great fit. This focus on the reasons for doing increases client connection to the outcome so that they become more motivated and more likely to follow through to completion.

Next month’s post will cover quotes on courage and how coaching supports us in overcoming our fears.

Elizabeth Saigal is an ILCT Certified Life Coach. She offers Life Design Coaching for those intent on connecting with their inner truth and aligning with their intuition to live a life on purpose. You can connect with her and sign up to receive her Free Ten Step Life Design System at www.MySpireCoaching.com.