How One Woman Found Her Dream Job As a Life Coach

I started working with a couple of different life coaches and just really started trying to get clarity about what excites me. And I decided I love this life coaching stuff. I had been on a personal development quest for years. I started doing personal development classes in 1993 and reading different spiritual books and really trying to find the meaning of life and why I have had these different experiences and what do I know that I should share with people, how can I give back, all that kind of stuff. It really just led to life coaching. Now, I enjoy a life and I get to make my own hours and I get to work with incredible people and see transformations in their lives and it is just so gratifying.

CW: Did you go back to school? Is there some sort of certification program for life coaches?

Bailey: Yes, there is a school called Coaches Training Institute. What I like about this program is they are not just teaching you to coach—although obviously that is a big part of the curriculum—but they are also encouraging you to look inside yourself and see what drives you and what motivates you and why you want to do this coaching and get clear about what your boundaries are with clients so you are not projecting yourself onto them. I will finish my certification this year. It hasn’t been a big priority for me only because my business has just been so successful.

CW: Who is your typical client?

Bailey: The majority of my clients are female and they are normally late thirties to seventies and it seems like the common theme is: is this all there is? It is that middle-aged wakeup. Children are starting to go away. You may have gone through many types of life transitions, such as getting divorced. We are the first generation right now that is taking care of both our children and our parents and that puts stresses on us, and society is just changing so quickly. People wake up and they say: is this year already over? Am I forty-two years old? I thought it would be different than this. Those are the people who are drawn to what I do.