am a lifecoach – that means I act as a catalyst, partnering people as they transform their lives. I help people to bring out their personal best, to clarify where they are now, where they want to be and how to get there. As you read this book I will be your lifecoach and guide you through a tried and tested 10-step process to help you achieve real results. Whether you’re looking for more time, more balance, less stress, greater self-confidence, better relationships, financial security, career and business success or a more fulfilling life, I’ll encourage you to transform your life – on your terms.
You’re the expert on your life and like an effective coach I’ll be asking you great questions, challenging you and helping you to uncover your own wisdom. In this book you can explore your own thoughts, see yourself as you really are and draw up plans, monitor your progress and create the life you really want.
There are times when life can be a stimulating and invigorating experience and others when it can feel stagnant, even difficult. Sometimes it’s easy to settle for an okay job, a mediocre relationship or a semi-convenient lifestyle. We’re all so busy, it’s often easier to accept second best, to run few risks and achieve few real successes. As Henry Thoreau said, ‘The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation’. This is not what I want for you. I want you to feel inspired by your life and excited about your future.
As we work together, I’ll encourage you to open your mind to see yourself and your life in a new way. The more you transform yourself on the inside, the more benefits you’ll see on the outside. As you become more aware of how you learn and behave, you’ll find it easier to coach yourself! Lifecoaching is an action-orientated process and although it can often enhance your self-understanding, it’s not a substitute for counselling. Coaches don’t tend to work on ‘issues’ or focus on the past but rather on where you are now and the future you want to create for yourself. To a certain degree lifecoaching is very much based on common sense. Its tools and techniques do work – I see evidence of it almost every day.
Take a look at the following quiz and see how coaching can help you to transform your life.
Joan Baez
Quick Transformation Quiz
Answer the questions below by ticking the appropriate box and calculating your score as follows: 2 points = Yes/Agree/Not Applicable, 1 point = Agree sometimes, 0 point = No/Disagree
If you scored 0–20 points
You’re confident with some areas of your life, but could drastically improve in others. You stand to achieve the maximum benefit from lifecoaching in both your personal and your professional life. This book will help you to make the changes you want to transform your life, strengthen your support framework, establish your strengths and values, clarify your personal vision and tap into your true potential.
If you scored 21–30 points
Well done! Life is presumably pretty good for you. However, you probably suffer from the occasional stumbling block and suspect that you could achieve much more, both personally and professionally. This book will support you in clearing your way towards being more effective and achieving a balanced integration of your home and work life. Don’t wait too long – you’re almost there!
If you scored 31–40 points
Congratulations! You’re obviously close to reaching your full potential. You probably know what your vision and goals are and have a plan for achieving them. This book may inspire you to achieve the last 10 or 20 per cent. This could be just the kick-start you need to go the final distance.
Initial Score 
Final Score on Completion of Book
My Own Experience
People often ask me how I got involved in coaching and what qualifies me to be a coach. The answer is simple – lifecoaching is something I ‘evolved’ into over many years. I’ve been interested in people and what makes them tick for as long as I can remember. I enjoyed a successful career in marketing, learning to understand people’s needs and identifying new business opportunities. Business and personal development became a passion for me. In my spare time I attended many courses, devoured development books and studied counselling and various complementary therapies. I was extremely fortunate to work in the entertainment industry, where I met many successful people who had followed their hearts and had created very successful lives for themselves. They inspired me and I learned much from them.
However, as my career developed, my personal life started to suffer. I never had enough time to do the things I wanted to. I worked in London for many years and spent over three hours a day commuting. I was involved in floating a company on the stock exchange and I worked long hours and sacrificed my health and relationships in the process. Increasingly I started to think, ‘There has to be more to life than this.’
It was whilst working for a short period in the US that I first came across lifecoaching. An extremely successful advertising executive in New York told me how he’d been disillusioned, overworked, stressed out and ‘empty’ until his life had been transformed by working with a coach. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how much I’d lost sight of the important things in my own life.
Back in the UK, I began to work with a coach of my own and our sessions helped me to bring my life back into balance. I started to make my own well-being my number one priority and reconnect with what mattered most to me. It took a lot of work to gain a clear understanding of who I am and what I want in life – and I’m still learning. But my life was touched so deeply by coaching that I eventually decided to become a lifecoach myself. I studied with the world’s leading coach-training organization, CoachU, and was extremely lucky to be mentored by some of the best lifecoaches. Now I don’t live a perfect life, but I am aware of what that would be for me and am moving closer and closer towards it. I’m aware every day that the life I live is my own choice. The more choices I make, the freer I become and ultimately the more fulfilled I am. That’s what I want for myself – and that’s what I want for you, too.
Transforming your life can take as long as you want. If you have specific objectives you’d like to achieve quickly, let’s rise to the challenge! Equally, if you see transformation as a lifelong process, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy the steps along the path. It’s your life, so design it the way you want it to be! Acknowledge your dreams, take some simple steps to start yourself off and then keep going! As the saying goes, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step. Here’s to transforming your life! Enjoy it!
Carole Gaskell
For easy reference the 10-step process is in two parts: