Coaching with NLP For Dummies®

Waking Up

Any process of growth or transformation is usually accompanied by an awakening; just as in spring when nature comes alive after the winter dormancy. NLP developer Robert Dilts talks about Coaching with a capital C, in which NLP coaches operate as awakeners, bringing people alive to their natural spirits and opening them to connections that go beyond their own identities.

Wake up clients from that disconnected zombie state by shifting focus from an individual's sense of personal identity in the here-and-now to thinking about the larger landscape of his life: invite him to ask himself what he really cares about, how does he want to connect with others, what's going to be most meaningful to him to lead life in a way that makes him happy?

As a coach, you need to be wide awake in order to awaken others. You can't expect to fire up others with passion and purpose unless you're clear about your own sense of direction. As a coach, you need to be working on your own development and not just fixing other people. In addition to the exercises in this book, Personal Development All-in-One For Dummies edited by Gillian Burn (Wiley) offers a wealth of ideas.