As an Executive Coach for many years, I’ve seen unbelievable transformations:

• A non-verbal, number-crunching accountant who became a widely respected author and thought leader in his field, called upon by Congress to provide expert testimony.
• A timid, conservative attorney who put his job on the line by standing up in a meeting to point out his superiors’ flawed strategy who has since become a highly respected COO in the finance area.
• A Christian counselor who touched people so profoundly that he became a minister and a thought leader in the church—deepening his marriage, growing his counseling business and writing powerfully to enhance the faith and personal growth of others…

And the list goes on…

Of all the aspects of my work, including speaking, writing, and directing programs, the most gratifying, satisfying and energizing is coaching. I love coaching. I love watching people transform and go way beyond their potential and perceived capacity for joy.

Now you may be wondering…

Do I need a life coach?
How do I find a life coach?
What exactly does a life coach do?

Life coaching is one of the most valuable tools offered here at The Wright Foundation. And for good reason—life coaches are powerful allies. An experienced life coach leads you to expand your emotional intelligence. A top-notch coach can help you harness your personal power and achieve more from life.

What do you want MORE of? Adventure? More happiness? A stronger connection in your relationships? A promotion at work?

A life coach will assist you in busting through the barriers and roadblocks to achieving your goals. Do you wonder what’s holding you back? Why you never feel like you’re “all in”? Do you feel like you’re believing your own B.S.—telling yourself, “this” is as good as it gets?

A life coach can work with you examine the different areas of your life: career, relationships, family, plus your emotional core beliefs. They will help you find the connections between areas and identify what’s limiting you. A life coach will give you the tools to take your life and capacity for satisfaction to the next level.

Timing: When to Find a Life Coach

Does everyone need a life coach? How do I know if it’s the right time?

While yes, a life coach is beneficial to almost everyone, the best time to find a life coach is when you’re ready for transformation. But of course, how do you know if you’re ready?

Transformation sounds like a lofty concept, right? Alumni of our program are PRO transformers (which is why many go on to work the coaching field themselves). They understand the power of transformation—why it’s the answer to getting what you want from life.

For those who haven’t been through our programs, transformation might sound frightening, even Kafkaesque. What’s wrong with changing slightly? What kind of disruption to my “comfort zone” am I about to undertake?!

Transformers know the importance of rocking your world. Yeah, many of us get comfortable in our norms. We’re not happy. In fact, some of us are downright miserable, but we’re comfortable, right? Well, to break out, you’ve got to shake things up.

Transformation is a metamorphosis from one state to another. It is not just doing things better. Despite popular belief, changing jobs or careers, going from being single to having a serious relationship or moving from unhappiness to contentment are all just incremental moves. Not to disparage any of those life changes, but transformation is broader and deeper—and it lasts.

When you transform, who you become is different from who you were—emotionally, cognitively and spiritually. Transformation impacts the quality of every area of your life in positive ways—your relationships, career, sense of yourself, service and spiritual life. We’re not talking about a cosmetic difference. You can’t measure transformation in pounds lost or money gained or goals achieved. Think of the caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. One is utterly, complexly and absolutely unlike the other.

Here is a litmus test for transformation: You do something that you could never have imagined yourself doing, become something you could never have imagined yourself becoming and ultimately live a life greater than you could have ever imagined yourself living.

Transformation is a bold step into the unknown. Yes, the unknown is frightening. That is a large part of why so few venture into the land of true transformation. But it’s also exhilarating and enlightening, leading to profound epiphanies. Even better, we are all capable of becoming butterflies no matter how long we’ve been dragging our bellies across the ground. We are not talking about some formula for how you should be but a process by which you unleash who you could be. This isn’t just talk. We’ve seen it with our eyes, facilitated it with our process, and studied it with our research.

–Transformed! The Science of Spectacular Living

If you’re ready for transformation, a life coach can help. If you’re ready to live with authenticity—to be true to what you can become—and if you’re ready to wake up to your potential, an excellent coach can help you focus your efforts.

Reasoning: Why Do You Need a Life Coach?

Think of your favorite athlete—LeBron James, Anthony Rizzo, Stephen Curry—where would they be in their sports careers without a coach?

A good coach pushes their client beyond their self-imposed limits. We all tell ourselves we can’t (or shouldn’t) do certain activities. We tell ourselves we aren’t capable of being the G.O.A.T. (That’s Greatest Of All Time.) But you know what? If you want to live an Olympic-quality life, you need to surround yourself with Olympic-quality people. You are your biggest invention.

Most people have a happiness setpoint. This is called the hedonic treadmill—the tendency amongst people to stay at a steady, stagnant level of happiness. Yes, it can go up when great things happens (we win $50!) and it can go down when something bad happens (our dog dies)…but human nature dictates after the initial bliss or bummer we return to our setpoint.

Life coaches can push you to shift your “treadmill speed.” Instead of operating in the middle, you expand your capacity. You move beyond your limits.

To become great at any passion, it requires deliberate practice. We must break down actions to smaller parts and dissect what’s working and what needs improvement, whether it’s a golf or tennis swing, a musical instrument or our capacity for happiness and transformation.

Renown master cellist, Pablo Casals famously practiced for five hours a day, every day. Now you might think, “Why would one of the all-time greatest musicians, a prodigy, need to practice so much?”

Casals once said, “If I don’t practice for a day, I notice it; if I don’t practice for two days, the critics notice it; if I don’t practice for three days, the public notices it.”

To become good at happiness, to transform and to evolve, we MUST practice. We must practice every day with intention. We must maximize our capacity. Who keeps us focused on our practice? Who calls us out on our (B.S.) excuses? A life coach.

A great life coach is trained in transformation, because they themselves are transformers and changers. A great life coach practices what they preach. Just as in sports, a great coach understands the nuances of the game and all the requirements. They’ve been there and know how to drive you and get you to increase your hedonic treadmill speed.

Our life coaches are also trained in the neuroscience of transformation. They study and understand how new neuropathways in your brain are formed to create change. Life coaches use this expertise to sharpen your brain, increase your response time, and focus on your goals and beyond.

A great life coach leads you to zero in on your goal. They will guide you through emotional connections, and understand and increase your emotional intelligence which is your hidden superpower and GPS on the road of transformation.

If you’re ready to identify your limits and bust through them, it’s time to find a life coach!

Here at The Wright Foundation, we offer you a team of executive, family, relationship and life coaches to help facilitate breakthroughs, and help you engage and transform above and beyond your current potential. Visit us at the Wright Foundation today to schedule a coaching session or to learn more about the services we offer.

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The Wright Foundation for the Realization of Human Potential is a leadership institute located in Chicago, Illinois. Wright Living performative learning programs are integrated into the curriculum at Wright Graduate University.