Why choose C3?

As a life coach, I am also sole proprietor of C3 Life Coach. I work for myself, so I keep it simple so I can focus on life coaching. This also helps keep life coaching activities a natural part of what you need to be doing, with your efforts woven into what’s going on in your life.

• How do we start?

• What to expect at C3?

• How do I maximize success?

How do we start?

If you’re reading this, you’ve already begun.

You believe that partnering with a coach may help you. If not sure, please review What is a coach? and What is coaching? on the C3 Welcome page.

You believe that life coaching may provide what you need now. If not sure, please review Who benefits from life coaching? How life coaching works? and What makes C3 Life Coach special? on the About Life Coaching page.

You believe that Pat may be the right coach for you. If not sure, please review Pat’s Qualifications Who am I? and What do I offer? on the About Pat page.

Are you ready for an Initial Meeting with Pat to learn more?

Learning more

The purposes of the Initial Meeting are for you to share what’s happening and explore how C3 Life Coach may assist you. This includes coming to a mutual understanding whether coaching is appropriate now, life coaching can effectively provide what you need, and I am the best coach for you. There is nothing to prepare.

Please use the Contact Form on this website to schedule an Initial Meeting. I offer Initial Meetings on Friday mornings. If this time period doesn’t work for you, please suggest an alternative. The Contact Form is the best way to reach me. You are welcome to leave a voicemail message on my office phone. Please note: My office phone is a secure landline and does not accept text messages.

If interested

After our Initial Meeting if you are interested, I will send three client forms that you will need to complete and return.

The About Me form asks for basic information about you and your general objectives for life coaching.

The C3 Life Coaching Agreement summarizing the life coaching services we discussed and our commitments to each other. This is an ethical requirement to ensure we both understand our responsibilities, including confidentiality and limits of coaching. Either of us may end this agreement at any time.

The C3 Payment Agreement form lists the mutually agreed fee per session and method of payment. Fees are within established coaching standards and can be negotiated based on your circumstances. Your payment is due before your session.

Once I’ve reviewed the three completed forms, we will schedule your first session and consider how you may want to prepare.

What to expect at C3?

Clarity and transparency are crucial to ensuring you understand and trust the life coaching process.

At C3, each life coaching session is self-contained and creates a step forward in your path, at your pace and in your way. At the end of each session, you decide how you want to move forward, with or without the support of life coaching.

Depending on your coaching objective, you may expect life coaching to be brief (1 to 6 sessions over 1 to 3 months) or extended (6 to 10+ sessions over 3 to 12 months).

First session

To prepare for our first session, in general you can expect to commit at least 15 minutes most days in some way. You will also receive a First Session Prep form to complete so we can make the most of our time together.

The purpose of our first coaching session is to gain a clearer understanding of your situation, where you are in the underlying process, your current focus, your vision for the future, your perception of your personal challenges, and objectives for coaching. With this clearer understanding, you may decide to follow through on your own or schedule another life coaching session.

If you decide to schedule another life coaching sessions; if you wish I will send you a My Coaching folder for your personal use. Initially, its purpose is to establish objectives for life coaching, clarify the boundaries and expectations of both of us, as well as practical issues such as communications, availability, and between-session efforts. As you progress, your My Coaching folder provides a central framework and build-as-you-go record of how your life coaching process is taking shape.

At this stage, your between-session efforts may focus on self-awareness. You will also receive an Ongoing Session Prep form to complete so we can make the most of our next time together.

Ongoing sessions

To prepare for ongoing sessions, in general you can expect to reflect on your between-session efforts and consider your next step. Before each session, you complete an Ongoing Session Prep form so we can make the most of our time together.

Each ongoing session

Begins with checking-in on how you are, about the between-activities, updates about what’s been happening, and overall progress.

Shifts to your current focus described in Ongoing Session prep form, which may continue your previous efforts or shift to something else. You lead. There is no pre-set flow to this coaching conversation, only what’s useful to you now, your objective for the session. In general, this conversation may help you

• set general and specific goals

• understand the current reality

• explore to gain deeper understanding

• generate and consider options

• plan to implement next step(s).

Ends by summarizing the session and how you are choosing to move forward. This includes your next step for what’s happening in your life, as well as for your life coaching.

After the session, if you wish, I follow up with a brief summary and some tips for success. Tips may offer ways to expand knowledge and awareness or help build skills and capacities.

In between sessions, you follow through with your next steps.

You shape your own coaching process as you direct your own real-world progress and personal growth. You may choose to learn relevant strategies and related knowledge, skills, and ability to empower yourself, enhance your capacity, and gain momentum. You achieve your aim, and just maybe, possibilities you can’t yet imagine.

Closing session

At the close of our last session, we celebrate your progress and craft a path for your continued success. The closure experience of life coaching is energizing, validating, and not to be slighted.

How do I maximize success?

You maximize success by getting organized, staying engaged, progressing, and carrying forward.

Getting organized. You organize your efforts around possibilities to accomplish what brought you to coaching. This establishes momentum, generates inspiration, creates direction, while enhancing your quality of life. You benefit from working through complex issues to create concrete definitions and explanation of goals.

Staying engaged. Active engagement takes effort, including starting or changing habits, practices, and patterns — which benefits coaching as well as all aspects of life. You take small steps now, every day, in gratifying ways. You benefit from self-esteem and emotional support, practicing results-oriented self-changes, and using your own resources for success.

Progressing. Progress is critical to intrinsic motivation and to informing our next step. However, progress can come slowly and be hard to recognize — you need to look for it, recognize it, celebrate each bit. You benefit from practicing results-oriented self-reflection, self-evaluation, and activating re-experience and changing affect.

Carrying forward. Your efforts evolve, carried forward as you navigate the issue or situation that brought you to coaching. You keep track of where you are in the process, integrate your efforts as you progress and a desirable outcome co-emerges, dealing with issues that may arise. You benefit from practicing results-oriented self-development and problem solving and from support transferring your intended changes into practice.

Coaching’s great gift is that you focus on
learning and development
as well as on achieving desires.

You build your capacity and create greater capabilities
for the long term — for life.

What now?