Just six years ago, aged 38 I was at a crossroads in my life. My children were growing up fast and at school, we had just moved house and was getting to grips with living in a new and rather isolated rural community and having had an fulfilling career break taking me out of the working arena for most of these 7 years I was wondering how and when I should enter back into the world of work.

Previously I had enjoyed a successful career in various training and development roles in Blue Chip companies. I loved what I did, had worked my way up to a senior position with sizeable responsibilities and if I hadn’t decided to devote my time to my family no doubt I would have still been climbing the corporate ladder.

My first thought was to do some research – start understanding the current trends in training and development and start retraining myself to raise both my competence and confidence levels. It was at this point that coaching stood out. And the more I researched the more it stood out as a powerful intervention here to stay. I knew a little about coaching from the work I had done in other companies but felt I needed to know more so within a couple of weeks I enrolled on a programme and took my first step to becoming a certified coach.

Little did I know however where this first step would take me. Now six years on I have my own successful coaching company working with a wide range of amazing clients, (most of whom are business owners in their own right), I absolutely love the work I do, I regularly undertake public speaking engagements, and I have a work-life balance that is second to none. Added to this I am now working on an exciting project which I hope will enable me to make a difference to people’s lives worldwide.

Most people who know me would say that whilst my core values have never changed I am now a much more confident and fulfilled person who knows what they want from life.

So what has happened in these years? I have undertaken numerous programmes to develop myself as a coach. If you are to become a good coach you have to walk the talk and take your own personal development seriously. This isn’t only from a credibility point of view, if you don’t other coaches will and you will get left behind. But the great thing about training to be a coach with a good coaching school is that you not only develop your skills to coach professionally, you also get to experience your own personal development journey and come out stronger, braver and more confident as a result.

And of course I have my own coach. If you fully embrace the development you go through then anything is possible. I never cease to be amazed by some of the great work that great coaches get involved in.

So how else has coaching impacted upon my life? Apart from a total career transformation, as my children step into their teenage years I now feel better equipped to understand and guide them through this crucial stage of their life. I find that relationships are easier to manage and even after over 20 years together I am able to enjoy a great relationship with my husband. And crucially I now know what is important to me and have a clear set of values which act as my personal compass through life.

So if you too are at a crossroads and want a better life then just think whether a career in coaching could also be for you.

Author Bio: Louise Yates now runs her own performance coaching business. She also helps people understand what is coaching and how to go about choosing a coach.

Category: Self Help
Keywords: good coaching school,better life,coaching changed my life, what is coaching,