Now, before you swipe left, or close the window, or race on to the next flashy thing you're seeing out of the corner of your eye on the internet, let me be clear.  I am not brutal out of spite.  In fact it's quite the contrary I am brutally honest because I care about people who seek my counsel.  Whether they are friends, relatives, or clients I believe they trust me because they know I will always tell them the truth.  At least, the truth as I see it.  For I have no doubt that others may view things differently and in doing so find their own truth which varies greatly from mine - even in what appears to be the same situation.  However, I also believe, THAT is none of my business.  I can only stand in my shoes, with my experiences, my convictions and even my observations and deliver the truth as I see it.  

It is not up to me to determine whether or not or even how the recipient takes the truth.  Only that I do my best to tell it like it is whenever I am asked.  Again, I am not out brandishing my truth like a sword wielding mercenary.  Though, I admit there are times when I have to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out what seems an obvious truth about a given situation.  Littering, texting while driving, giving up your seat on mass transit to elderly, physically challenged, or mothers with small children... I mean the list could go on.  

The key thing is this... I will never (yes, I said never) deny my truth or the truth of others.  Even if I don't agree with it.  I believe that whatever is TRUE for you is true for you and only you.  I also believe that our truths help guide us to even bigger truths if we let them.

So, after an early childhood marred in lies and deceit I know I owe it to myself and the world to stand up when I believe the emperor is wearing no clothes. To speak my mind when asked my opinion.  To listen to my inner voice when making decisions. People who know me, and know me well, depend on that honesty.  Even if it stings its better to face the truth head on and make the adjustments necessary before things spiral out of control.  In my professional and personal experience many regrets could be avoided if we were just honest with ourselves and each other. 

Be honest, when was the last time you were brutal with your honesty?

That's the internal dialogue behind the question I get from new clients when they ask, "How long will this take?".  I can see it in their eyes, the sadness, unease, utter confusion and disillusionment.  They come into my office in a dither, or wringing their hands, or slump down into my (super comfy) couch and let out a deep sigh.  All signs pointing to a soul carrying too much on their shoulders.  As they unload their baggage, I listen, giving them the precious time they need to release and unwind and then I go to work.  With many just the opportunity to share their burden allows for a softening and they look instantly lighter for it.  For others its clear there is much deeper work to be done.  So, as the conversation shifts and our time winds down I smile gently as they look up and ask the question that's weighing on their mind, "how long will this take?".

It's not an easy or straight answer, though there are some general trends for my practice that I can apply.  

• For most single issues my clients often work with me between 4 to 6 times.  
  
• More complicated and deep seated issues can require an additional 4 to 6 weeks.
  
• In the end, I rarely see my clients more than 13 weeks in a row.
  
  

Once my clients have found success I am happy to see them head off on their own.  Though sometimes I have clients return to address new challenges or work on new goals years after our initial appointments.  Ultimately my goal is to hand off the tools they've learned so that they can utilize them throughout their lives.  

Now, it may seem amazing, even fantasy to think that most if not all of your current problems or goals can be addressed in as little as one month and unless you've walked in my shoes (or those of my successful clients) your doubt is understandable.  Still, I promise if you show up and do the work, anything is possible.

So, how can you be sure?  How can you know how long it will take, for you?  Maybe a better question is, how long has it been since you didn't have this sense of sadness, confusion, unease, and disillusionment?  What would it be like if every day you carried a little bit less of the world's problems on your shoulders?  How long would you be willing to give yourself to be free of that weight for good?

What is all this stuff?

So, last night I was looking for some tape and glue for a craft project with my son and I found myself digging around the junk drawer.  You know that drawer in the kitchen or office that is stuffed full of miscellaneous junk you may or may not need one day?  

As I rummaged around I find myself asking, what is all this stuff?  Ok, crap, I said crap.  Anyway, I picked each piece of plumbers tape, post it note, broken toy part, and even a handful of small wooden dowells (from a well known build-your-own furniture piece) and after marveling for a moment about it's necessity I dutifully put it back.  Because, afterall, what if one day we need it?  Wouldn't I be mad if I suddenly needed that plastic toy wheel to repair my sons favorite toy car?  Or be devestated if the pipes started leaking and all I needed was six inches of plumbers tape to stop that geyser flooding the kitchen?

Sometimes, I even fantasize about just taking the entire drawer (overburdened sorting bins and all) and tossing everything into the garbage can.  In fact, I can even feel a small smirk of satisfaction spreading across my face as I type that.  I mean, for the most part all this drawer does is collect junk we don't need NOW.  And make it harder to find the tools I actuall DO need NOW.

Our minds can be like that too, full of unwanted or outdated junk that is not serving any real purpose now.  Instead it's cluttering up our thinking, slowing our reaction time and even making us feel overwhelmed.  So, what do we do?  We can dig around looking for solutions, all the while replacing each bit of cluttered thinking back in it's place, or we can take the more rewarding path of clearing all the junk out.  If you're ready to clear out your mental junk drawer I'm here to help you sort the useless junk from the cherished treasures you'll want to keep.

As, the world famous, Austrian Governess turned singing legend would say,"it's a very good place to start".  You see it would be easy for me to assume that if you have made it here, to my site, to read this blog then you already know the answer to the question.  However, as the gentleman I just met on the street was bold enough to remind me... not everyone knows what a life coach is or what a life coach does.  

According to a quick Google search a Life Coach is, "a person who counsels and encourages clients on matters having to do with careers or personal challenges" which is a straight forward and legitimate answer.  Still, there are MANY people in the world today who consider themselves coaches.  So, what if anything makes me different?  

Well, while I don't pretend to know what every other coach does as part of their business, I can tell you what I do.  In my practice I strive to help individuals overcome excuses and get results.  I do this with a foundation of common sense, sincere empathy for the human experience, trust in my personal intuition and over 20 years of experience guiding people to professional and personal success.  My clients come to me with their secrets, desires, hopes, fears, and goals for the future and together we create a measured and proactive plan to get results.  

Most people I work with would agree, while I am not a warm fuzzy enabler, I am strong, fair and friendly.  I will use any tool in my arsenal of skills to help my clients see their goals through to fruition.  Sometimes that takes the preverbial swift kick in the rear, other times it just takes a little objective reasoning or fresh prespective, either way both are delivered with a balanced amount of empathy and humor.  After all, why shouldn't we lighten up and enjoy the process of change?  It is my experience that "a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down" and as long as we reach the optimal results that's just what the coach ordered.