By Lisa Moore

Last October, Chris Golle dreaded going to his job each day at a large financial institution in New York City. He felt unfulfilled and very out of place in his work environment. Although he longed for a career change, he stayed because he didn’t want to disappoint his family who always bragged about how important and secure his job was.

Today, Golle is on a six-month spiritual journey to get back in touch with himself and discover what he truly wants to do. He has traveled across Russia and China and is currently teaching English to kids in Mongolia and loving every minute of it.

So how did Golle make such a giant leap? He hired a Life Coach to help him break through the barriers that were keeping him from being fulfilled. His coach, Jackie Burleson of Charlotte, offered techniques to help Chris shift energetically in a positive direction.

“With encouragement and support, Chris began to have new insights about himself and feel more confident and optimistic about his future,” says Burleson, who spent 26 years in the corporate world before launching Energy Connect Coaching.

For many, life coaching helps to overcome self-imposed obstacles and fears and break negative patterns of thought. “I learned through working with Jackie that the biggest step I needed to take was to give myself permission to live the life I want. I am the most interested in my life I have ever been,” Golle says.

Life Coaches are part of a growing profession worldwide. By developing goals, values and strategies, they assist people who want to improve their lives in specific ways: changing careers, finding healthy relationships, taking their business to a new level, losing weight or deepening self-understanding. Clients learn to accomplish solutions that better reflect personal values and priorities.

While traditional therapy focuses on healing internal pain and wounds from the past, life coaches work from the present to the future with clients who are emotionally sound, but stuck. They use intuitive listening, powerful questions and thought-provoking exercises to create external solutions and implement effective choices. Depending on how quickly people move through the coaching process, some clients may achieve a desired goal in two or three months. Others seeking massive changes may require more time.

Though there are numerous coach training programs across the country, there is no one national standard for certification. Associations like the International Coach Federation have their own credentialing programs, but there is no requirement for anyone who wants to practice life coaching to take part. Those interested in finding a coach should ask questions, get references and be comfortable with the person’s communication style and personality.

Oftentimes people become coaches as a natural extension of their life experiences and passion to help others. Devon Crowel and Jennifer Gage of Quantum Empowerment call upon their extensive skill sets to help clients reach their peak performance. Crowel has a distinguished background in real estate, sports marketing and spiritual training, while Gage has three masters degrees and a Ph.D. Like many coaches, they incorporate holistic therapies to further enhance their practice.

Gage is a hypnotherapist and both are certified in Neuro Linguistic Programming, a modality that teaches clients that the words they use reflect an inner, subconscious perception of their problems. Burleson uses EFT – a form of psychological acupressure that releases and redirects blocked energy patterns in the body/mind.

“By employing advanced technologies and techniques, our clients can see where disempowering beliefs started and how they continually sabotage their efforts to get the fulfillment in life they desire,” says Crowel. “They are achieving remarkable breakthroughs.”

It would seem that one could easily take a personal inventory and employ the necessary steps to improve his or her life. Faith Glasgow, a life coach who utilizes hypnotherapy, says it is not that simple. “Most people feel stuck or unable to pull themselves up from the quicksand. Sometimes we are so rooted in the problem that we cannot see or find our own answers,” says the owner of Inner Purpose who spent 12 years in corporate America,

A coach provides life options, new perspectives, encouragement, and concentrated attention to give the insight and confidence to take life-improving actions. “Life Coaching can be the catalyst to help someone bridge where they are now to where they want to be,” concludes Glasgow.

For more info visit www.eccoaching.com, www.QuantumEmpowerment.com or www.InnerPurpose.com.