Now What Exactly DO You Do?

A MORE PERFECT UNION * Hope Mirlis
Life/Relationship Coach * Wedding Officiant * Yoga Teacher
www.PerfectUnionNY.com

I have to honestly say that I don't know what many of my friends do. The corporate culture has grown so much in the last decade that new job titles have too. This is probably due to specialization in a field or new tech jobs. However, I find it in finance, as well. Yes, I could just ask, but I don't want to risk looking stupid. After spending most of my career in non-profits, there's lots to learn - especially as I build my life coaching practice.

So, I ask you to take on this simple experiment. 
Ask THREE people you know to explain to you what you do. Listen to the words they use. Are they accurate? Are they complete? Does it sound fun? Is what they describe a good fit for YOU?

Nothing was so informative, as one of my mother's friends asking my mother what I did. I just happened to be standing there so I could have easily answered the question myself. I was just curious to know what someone else may say. Someone as close to me as my mother. Initially there was a look of dread in her eyes. She didn't want to do it. And I was equally apprehensive. However, she did just fine. Since my practice is rather young, my mother added in jobs that I recently let go. However, she clearly explained my main foci: officiating weddings, teaching yoga and coaching people on personal and professional issues.

The yoga one is easy, and once people understand what the word 'officiant' means, they clearly understand that I perform wedding ceremonies. However, there tend to be questions around the job description of 'life coach.' When I tell people I'm a coach, some get all bright eyed and excited, however most don't know exactly what I do as a coach.

Some people tend to use life coach interchangeably with therapist, mentor, adviser, and consultant. And while there may be some overlap in what a coach does, according to The Institute of Life Coach Training (where I got most of my training):

Coaching entails working with people who already have a measure of "success" in their lives, but who want to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be in their profession and their personal life.

So while some coaches specialize in parenting or career, health or life/work balance, we're all working in the PRESENT. Looking to analyze where you are and the feasibility and the path to get you where you want to be. With my personal coaching practice, it doesn't concern me what got you there or what happened in your past to give you your belief and value system. What matters to me is what YOU want. And I am going to do everything in my power to motivate you to get there. To cut through the censors and to break the habits. To ask you the tough questions and require clear answers that give you your nugget of truth.

So, getting back to your experiment, how did others do describing your job or career? If you had to explain what you do, could you so it makes sense to layperson?   

Feel free to share questions, comments and the RESULTS of your experiment in the COMMENT section below.