I just had a 30-minute conversation with a life coach based in Thailand, worth $100, or $1000 depending on which literature you check. I paid $1 via Paypal.

He’s published a couple of books, he runs workshops in various countries (including Japan), and has that vital appalling childhood story to start off with (it is pretty bad).

I think he’s a student of the Anthony Robbins school, as much of what he said sounded quite familiar. Nice guy, I did like him. He’s got really good communication skills too, making sure he’s on the same level as you, and prepared to listen. Budgies twirping in the background.

It sounds like the crux of his coaching technique is basically helping you set goals, and then making you accountable to him for reaching those goals through some kind of software and phone calls / emails. Of course, he provides guidance along the way (in the form of daily/weekly/monthly coaching sessions), but I realise that at the end of the day, the change will not come from him – it has to come from within.

I can see the value of this system for someone like myself who has a real problem with procrastination. I feel that I’ve come a long way in the last year in that I have discovered my foundations,  come to appreciate that fundamentally I am no more or no less than anyone else on the planet, be they majorly ‘successful’ or living on a bench in the park. I appreciate that I, just like anyone else, have tremendous potential. However, I do still get a bit stuck with acting on that potential. I’m thinking that the main reason why hiring a coach does work is that one has paid a substantial sum of money in order that one can ‘improve’. If money means something to you, you will make sure you get something out of it. (This is one reason why I am happy to pay for copy-protected Audiobooks, it makes me appreciate them all the more!).

So, why not just pay $300, $2000, or $3000 to your local animal rescue centre, and link that to a step-by-step plan for ‘success’. Chances are, it would probably have quite an impact. But the dogs won’t phone you if you haven’t done what you’ve committed to doing, and they probably don’t know all that much about procrastination-busting techniques. “Shall I go to sleep for a while? Naaa, I’ll do that later after I’ve had a lie-down”.

I’m really glad that I had that conversation though. Whilst the final 15 minutes were basically his sales pitch, the call as a whole served to reinforce the confidence that I have in my own potential. Whilst I won’t be signing up for any of his courses right now, I can see the value of at least attending one of his seminars in Tokyo later in the year.

I’ve deliberately omitted his name here as his web site is truly appalling, an embarrassment to the industry, and very much at odds with the image of the person that I gained through talking with him.

Ho hum. On with homework.

xxx