Loree Bischoff had always been intrigued with what causes people to think a certain way, what makes them tick and what motivates them to do the things they do. “I’ve also always loved helping others so in 2007 I, along with my sister, developed a special event called ‘Motherhood Redefined’, a weekend seminar for mothers that ended up being very successful. My sister and I noticed that most of the mothers we knew were really struggling on some level with the balance – or lack of it – in their lives. We saw this great need for moms to have access to new tools and strategies for having a more balanced and fulfilling life.” The weekend event consisted of speakers, interactive workshops, and fun. At the time, Loree wasn’t familiar with life coaching as a profession, yet one of the speakers she had hired for the Motherhood Redefined event happened to be a life coach who specialized in working with mothers. It was then she knew that she really wanted to begin her own private coaching practice. So she picked the brain of the life coach she’d hired, looking for recommendations for training. One of the places she suggested Loree check out was the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA).
“I had begun studying spirituality in the early eighties (thanks to my mother) and being an important aspect of my life, it was a priority to me to find a life coach training program where spirituality wouldn’t be excluded. You can imagine my delight when I explored SWIHA! There couldn’t have been a more perfect fit. In the spring of 2008, I enrolled in SWIHA’s Transformational Life Coaching program and within a few months had begun my professional practice.”
Loree does not have one particular tool or worksheet that she values above other because she sees coaching as not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ process. Every person coming to her for coaching brings their own set of beliefs, is on their own path, and has a unique set of circumstances. “I listen to what the client is telling me (and what they’re not), and then the right exploration or exercise for that particular client, at that particular time, reveals itself. I will say that it’s not unusual, at some point in the client’s process, that I invite them to do an exercise designed to help them understand more fully, their patterned ways of fulfilling their needs.” This reveals a lot about what they believe has to happen for them in order to experience life the way they want to. Clients are often surprised to discover the conflicting beliefs and values they’ve been living by. Once they are in their awareness, they are more likely to create successful, effective, and lasting change.
Some coaches start working with a specific niche, yet Loree has never felt compelled to lock herself into one. “I think it’s a fantastic idea for those who feel a strong pull in a specific area or type of client. It just hasn’t played out that way for me thus far. I’ve worked with women, men, couples, families, and teenagers, and I enjoy them all.” Generally it’s women who find themselves wanting to re-create their lives either personally, professionally or both that tend to be the largest percentage of clients who Loree attracts.
While Loree was doing her life coach training, she began writing her book, Common Sense Happiness. One of her favorite quotes is actually one of her own from the book; “Life is both too long and too short to be anything less than you want it to be.” Whether a person is destined for a long life or a short one, she hopes it is filled with more good than bad, more joy than sadness, and with more enlightenment than misunderstanding.
With all of the resources available to people to improve or enhance their lives, Loree believes anyone who has a sincere desire to do so can and will find a way. As she has learned through her life coaching experiences, a true seeker, not just someone who wishes, yet a person who has a burning desire to up-level some aspect of their life will find a way. An earnest seeker sets a standard for what they’re willing to settle for and will find a way to rise to and maintain that standard because they’ve decided they will no longer tolerate anything less. “The quote is about not settling for less than you deserve in life. I believe everyone deserves to be happy. Fortunately happiness can be experienced in infinite ways!”
Loree says that she tells anyone who is considering becoming a life coach that it’s one of the best things they could ever do for themselves. “Frankly, I think there are many aspects of the life coaching program that should be mandatory courses throughout high school!” Going through the program helps you figure out yourself. Do that, and you’ll be able to have better relationships. Life is all about relationships, so even if a person doesn’t end up moving forward as a professional life coach, they can look forward to being able to more successfully manage the relationship they have with their self as well as their personal and professional relationships.
In the words of Loree’s long-time favorite spiritual author, Emmet Fox, “tall-minded thinking” and joy are what keep me passionate about coaching. Tall-minded thinking is when we stretch our thoughts upward in an effort to think the highest thought we possibly can in every situation and about every person. It’s the kind of thinking that puts us in the state of being miracle-minded. If we’re not miracle-minded we can’t recognize all the miracles happening before our eyes every day. “Each time a client has an “aha!” moment, succeeds at achieving one of their goals, has a flash of insight, reaches a new level of awareness and becomes more empowered - those are the things that make me love what I do. Each incremental, upward step a client experiences and each new level of tall-minded thinking they achieve brings me as much joy as it brings them, and to me joy is spiritual fuel. I believe it’s just about the highest vibration one can experience and it’s positively addicting.”
Since 2008 Loree has acquired more certifications, two of them being again from SWIHA. She went through the Holistic Nutrition courses as well as Advanced Life Coaching with Richard Seaman. She has an office that she loves, located near her home in Cave Creek where she meets with clients, has occasional workshops, and holds spiritual salons.
“I have so much appreciation for Richard who has been instrumental in my evolution as a life coach by also training me to become one of the life coaching instructors here at SWIHA. How’s that for coming full circle!?! I cannot express how grateful I am to have come from being a student to having the opportunity to be part of the amazing institution where I began my life coaching career!”
