I'm breaking this down super fast because it's super easy. Ready?

• Consultants tell you what to do based on their expert opinion.
• Therapists focus on behaviors or emotions that are creating dysfunction in your life.
• Coaches focus on your present life and your future, intently listening and asking questions, always believing that only you know what's best for you on the path to achieving your goals.

The End.

With the guidance of a good coach, you won't be given one-time-only advice that only applies to a specific situation. In fact, you won't be given any advice at all. Besides, who the heck am I to tell you what's right or wrong for you? I ain't your mother! When you hire me as your coach, you're enlisting the support and guidance of someone that can clarify your values, strengths, roadblock & goals so that you can make decisions that best support them. You'll be given homework to keep you moving forward - even if you don't have The Answer yet - & will be held accountable for what you say you want to achieve. I'll also force you to celebrate your achievements, & have fun along the way. I'm extremely mean like that. For other things I solemnly swear to do as your coach, skip down to the last question on this page.

12 sessions. Hey listen, we need to do some digging here & you need to commit to that digging. Hey listen (again), if everyone can change from a handful of sessions (or less!), then I'd have to charge $1,000 a session so I can turn that switch on and send you on your way. Also, anyone expecting to find The Answer in a handful of sessions usually pressures me to give them The Answer, and, quite simply, I don't have Your Answer.

You have to commit to this process.
You have to go easy and be nice to yourself along the journey.
You have to allow yourself to take time to find out what the pieces of the puzzle need to be, and how they all fit together.
You have The Answer, even if you don't know it yet. I promise.

So, any new client has to commit to 12 sessions. Group coaching, private coaching, email couching, ecourses - all 12 sessions. That's non-negotiable for me. The only ones that don't are the ones taking a Teleseminar, because that's meant to be a piece of the puzzle & not the whole puzzle itself. The good news is that any client who completes 12 sessions can then have one-off sessions for the rest of my friggin' life, because they've put in the work & have proven to both themselves & to me that they mean business. I mean business, too. Despite the use of the word "friggin'."

If I can't rely on any facial expressions or body language to convey any information, it leads to me asking questions that I might not have asked because I assumed you felt a certain way about something. And you know what happens when you assume (If you don't, just email me and I'll tell ya)! Also, sessions via phone or email have a tendency to be more truthful than those that aren't, since you don't have to show your face while talking about personal matters. This usually leads to more open and honest conversations in a shorter amount of time. Also, you can make faces at me if I give you scary homework & I won't even know.

Yeah, coaching's a new field. And yeah, some "coaches" take advantage of that & hang out their shingle because they think they're good at telling people what to do. Real coaches (ahem, ahem) have been certified by a program that has been accredited by the the International Coach Federation, like the International Coach Academy. Real coaches (ahem, ahem) are also said members of the International Coach Federation. If someone tries to tell you otherwise, then please offer them a knuckle sandwich.

I, Michelle Ward of When I Grow Up, do solemnly swear to coach you as follows:

• I solemnly swear to give you one (or more!) homework assignments after each session to keep you moving forward
• I solemnly swear to force you to celebrate your wins, big or small, because I'm very mean
• I solemnly swear to inform you as to when you're kicking ass & taking names until you can see it, too
• I solemnly swear to not judge you or talk about you behind your back
• I solemnly swear to brainstorm with you to help you uncover new thoughts or ideas
• I solemnly swear to listen to you as much as it's possible for any human being to listen to another
• I solemnly swear to challenge you to do somewhat scary things to help you slay your vampires
• I solemnly swear to steer you back to your path if you're venturing off it, or make sure that the venturing is with a new purpose (because goals can change!)
• I solemnly swear to ask you a boatload of questions to make sure we're both clear on what you want to achieve
• I solemnly swear to give you tools to increase your awareness, but won't be a hippy about it
• I solemnly swear to hold you accountable for your actions/promises, again because I'm mean
• I solemnly swear to encourage you to take baby steps, since that'll still get you where you want to go
• I solemnly swear to never put down my pom-poms so I can best support you
• Finally, I solemnly swear to make sure we're having a damn good time