I’m now in week 5 of my 12-week coaching course with TSI. Initially, I’ll admit I was pretty sceptical, but my friends and I had talked about coaching a little, and I figured it was at least worth a try. Nothing to lose, right?

So, I signed up for a free coaching session with the founder, Cliff – he’d been highly recommended by a friend of the family.

That first 60 minute call was great. Really taught me a thing or two, and made me realise what excuses I was hiding behind in some areas of life. I was impressed, and so decided to sign up for the basic 101 coaching course that they offer.

There’s six of us taking the 101 course, 5 of whom are in the USA. Every week we log in to our group lesson, and work through a series of thought-provoking exercises centred on a particular theme. For example, one week we may focus upon listening. I mean, really listening. That’s been an interesting one, and our groups’ results have been pretty staggering, seeing developments in relationships that have long been in need of change.

Every week we come together on a group call, discuss the lesson, and discuss our results. It’s great to hear what’s been achieved, and I must say each week I’m pretty staggered by how far people are pushing themselves – and consequently what great results they are getting. It may be financial, it may be familial, it may be connected with a career. Whatever, there’s big changes for the better occurring left, right and centre.

Each week we’re teamed up with a different member of the group, to whom we make a couple of calls during the week to help support one another through the change. That’s been a real joy, getting to know these people, and being able to share experiences that may help others deal with their particular challenges.

One of the biggest motivators for me is being accountable. By making a commitment to “do X by such and such a date”, I’m prompted to do things that I would normally put off, or not do at all. This accountability basically acts to put change in 5th gear. I’m not spending a week thinking about doing something and then doing it the following month – knowing that my friends are behind me in my action I’m able to do it now. Having this supportive environment of people that you have made a commitment to makes a world of difference.

So, all in all, a third of the way through the course I’m very happy with what I’ve got out of working with TSI. There’s tonnes of coaching companies out there, and the thing is with no proper regulatory system you can never be sure what you’re getting unless you try it – anyone can call themselves a ‘life coach’. But this is a good one, so if you ever consider coaching, I’d add them to the list of people you’d try (I’d also recommend a call with this guy for comparison’s sake).