James Patrick’s Fire Within: A Life Coach’s Guide to Helping Others

Life-Coach-James-Patrick-Helps-Others-Succeed

“I always say SWIHA chose me. I went to lunch from one of my random jobs one afternoon, and came across a SWIHA course calendar at the table I sat. As I read through, I discovered more about the Life Coaching program and it was an instant connection to what I had been seeking yet did not know existed. Once I came to visit the campus, the rest was history. The feeling of belongingness, the community, the environment, the course content, and the immersive experiences I would get sold itself. This was a school that taught true understanding and not just memorization.”

And the rest is history! Before James Patrick became the person he is today, he was working odd unfulfilling jobs that were paying the bills, yet gave him no real sense of purpose. James explains it like, “I knew what I wanted to do yet did not have an awareness or understanding of what that was. It felt like I had multiple callings and I did not know how to bring them all together.” James Patrick has now successfully completed a multitude of programs at SWIHA, including the Associate Degree in Holistic Health Care with a concentration in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology, Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Yoga Teacher Training, and the Health and Wellness Coach program.

“Coaching as a whole is all about creating clarity, focus, a plan of action, and partnered accountability for the clients. Additionally, coaching creates better communication skills and establishes the importance of boundaries which support all aspects of someone's personal and professional life. It doesn't matter if it's Life, Health & Wellness, or Intuitive coaching...the structure and the process are the same.” Being in the role of the coach, and studying different types of coaching, James understands the broad range of focus that a coach can practice. James expands, “I would say that Life Coaching is about supporting clarity, defining, planning, and acting on someone's life vision, goals, and purpose. Health & Wellness Coaching is about supporting change in lifestyle behaviors to prevent or minimize the risk of greater illness or disease. Intuitive Coaching is about trusting our gut, connecting to our higher power, angels, guides, etc. to being open to receiving divine messages or seeing the signs that will guide us along our destined path. In many ways, these various approaches do connect, and yet...every coach has their focus.”

James Patrick currently has his own private practice, James Patrick Lifestyle Training, combining Life and Health & Wellness Coaching to fuel passion and expose purpose and motivation within his clients. James provides an inspiring interactive coaching program and personal training program that helps clients reach their goals from the inside out. “I believe in supporting others to attain their next best physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual self. I do this by supporting individuals with poor organization and time investment skills to create structures, systems, disciplines, and routines so that they can be more efficient and productive in all areas of their personal and professional lives” James continues, “My style is more aggressive in the sense that I believe in a very straightforward, tough love no-nonsense, ‘get to the point’ approach to ‘make shift happen’. This style is not for everyone and that's okay. Fire is my element and I embrace every bit of it to practice what I preach so that I ensure that I lead by example for those who I'm called to serve. I never invite anyone to do anything that I would not do myself.”

James has a powerful mindset and confidence in himself and what he does in this industry. What it comes down to with clients is whether or not they are ready to invest in themselves. James explains, “You cannot force change or make anyone do something they aren't ready to do. I love that you don't have to sell coaching for this reason. So, whenever I meet new people, I ask them if there is one area of their life they wish they could improve upon and almost everyone has an answer to that.” James will then follow up with, “What is the cost and what do you stand to gain by investing in yourself NOW versus the cost and what you stand to lose if you don't?" Their answer will usually indicate whether or not they are ready to be coached. James also expresses the importance of bringing people back to their ‘WHY’ - Why they begin their coaching process to begin with.

“Being a coach has allowed me to thrive in my own personal and professional life by embracing everything as an experience and something to explore. It doesn't matter what ‘life happenings’ occur, there is always something to gain. So, supporting individuals to shift their perspectives, so that they may change their narratives and create some structures in their lives to keep them grounded as they experience and explore their potential is what lights my fire every day. Counselors and therapists focus on the past to get their clients to the present. Coaches honor the past and focus on the present to bring clients into a future of their own design.”

James Patrick 3 Tips for someone interested in becoming a coach:

Coaching is NOT therapy. No one likes to be told what to do. Be willing to create a safe space, be fully present, mouth shut, and actively listen to those you are called to serve. When you do speak, it is always from a space of curiosity and with a powerful question that will allow your client to step into brave spaces on their own.
Always remember, that it's NOT about YOU.
You must release expectations and attachments to the outcomes of those you are called to serve. Everyone has the answers within and only they know what they want. Only they can be the ones to create their reality. You simply hold the space for them to imagine it, express it, and go after it.