Newspaper:		Southtown
Date:		01/27/2004
Day of Week:		Tuesday
Section:		D
Page:		1
Headline:		Fitness : Mind makeover
Byline:		Vickie Snow

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Fitness : Mind makeover


    Life coaches are up for the challenge of helping you improve your 
life. Now, are you?

    By Vickie Snow

    Staff writer

    Crete resident Shari Clark decided to re-enter the work force after 16 
years as a stay-at-home mother.

    The person she turned to for guidance helped with much more than a 
career.

    "Before, I was in the back seat," Clark said. "I'm in the driver's 
seat now."

    A life coach was the key for opening doors and providing a safety belt 
for any bumps ahead.

    Maybe you caught a glimpse of life coaches on TV, helping a college 
student on "Gilmore Girls" or teaching women how to make better business 
decisions and re-enter the dating world with gusto on "Starting Over."

    Life coaches are a relatively new breed of fix-it-uppers.

    But unlike other specialists touted on reality TV, from "Extreme 
Makeover" to "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" to "Date Patrol," who do all 
the work, life coaches leave it up to the clients to make any changes to 
align actions with dreams.

    "The client has the answers," life coach Linda McCarrin of Tinley Park 
said. "It is the coach's job to create a safe, nurturing, trusting 
environment in order for the client to find balance and fulfillment in 
their life."

    Clark said: "The No. 1 thing coaching does is bring you so much in 
tune with your real self. I no longer see myself just as somebody's wife 
or somebody's mom. There's a 'me' that kind of got lost."

    "It's a freeing thing," she said, "to only focus on your own world and 
what matters to you."

    If your New Year's resolution centers around getting your life in 
order -- be it ending a pattern of dating bad boys or learning to say no 
to friends and relatives who take but never give -- there's a growing 
number of life coaches standing by, just a phone call away.

    And they are much less expensive than a team of gay men or plastic 
surgeons.

    How it works

    With New Age-named practices such as InVisionMore or Transitions for 
Life, life coaches charge $150 to $1,000 per month for three or more 
sessions, often by telephone and accompanied by endless e-mails.

    Coaches ask clients to set goals and give them weekly challenges to 
destroy what they call "gremlins," things that get in the way.

    "We establish the cost of letting that 'gremlin' run your life, from 
friends to money," said Elena Zanfei[0], Clark's life coach and a Lansing 
resident. "Coaching is all about what's holding somebody back from being 
great."

    Clark's roadblock was the inability to say no, ask questions or accept 
help.

    "Being the mom, I had the answers," Clark said. "I did all the chores 
because I didn't want anybody to think I couldn't."

    She only asked a fitness trainer at her longtime health club how to 
use a machine when Zanfei[0] made it a challenge.

    "She got me to ask what was for me an enormous question," Clark said, 
adding that by asking more questions she ruled out a career as a personal 
trainer and realized asking doesn't signal weakness.

    Instead of waiting for her kids to give computer tips, Clark took a 
computer class.

    Now she expects her three kids to help with chores and says no to 
projects that don't match her strengths.

    "What's next for you?" Zanfei[0] asked.

    "Enjoy life for a while," Clark said.

    "Like not having to do anything?" Zanfei[0] asked, eyes lighting up one 
afternoon in her living room. "Is this the same 'checklist person' I'm 
talking to?"

    The duration of coaching depends on the client's ability to open up, 
trust and change. It can last months or years.

    "I have fired clients who were not willing to do the work," Zanfei[0] 
said.

    Life coaches stress they are not best friends for hire, psychologists 
or counselors.

    "A best friend," McCarrin said, "may not tell you the total truth."

    With life-coaching, Zanfei[0] says, "You get to say what you think and 
feel with no one judging you."

    Who are these people?

    Life coaches come from all walks of life, from education and real 
estate to marketing and technology.

    Zanfei[0], a former business analyst and information technology manager, 
left behind a six-figure income. Charging $100 to $300 monthly and willing 
to barter, Zanfei[0] now draws on people skills and her own painful past, 
which she'll openly share with clients.

    "I know how gripping life can be," Zanfei[0] said. "Ten years ago, I 
would have given anything to have someone support me. There's no greater 
gift than to have someone say, 'I know you can do this.' "

    McCarrin, a former teacher in school districts 118 and 140, later was 
a real estate agent and broker who trained and mentored new recruits. When 
she had surgery to remove a cranial tumor, which left her temporarily 
paralyzed and partially deaf with shaky balance, McCarrin looked at life a 
bit differently. She decided to become a life coach to help others deal 
with pain, both physical and emotional.

    Training and certification

    McCarrin, who recently conducted a retreat at The Center in Palos 
Park, and Zanfei[0] studied with the California-based Coaches Training 
Institute. Its curriculum consists of five weekend courses and a six-month 
certification program under the guidance of a master coach to earn the 
title of certified professional co-active coach.

    CTI is one of a dozen schools accredited by the International Coach 
Federation, which is considered the governing body and sets standards.

    There is no law in place or license required to become or call oneself 
a coach.

    ICF levels of certification are: associate certified coach (250 hours 
of coaching, the next step for certified professional co-active coaches); 
professional certified coach (750 hours); and master certified coach (200 
hours of training and 2,500 hours of client coaching).

    Getting down to business

    In addition to looking into a coach's training and certification, 
potential clients should do a little homework on the various types of 
coaches.

    A scan on the Internet reveals relationship coaches and life 
strategists, personal coaches and business or executive coaches.

    "All coaching is life coaching," said business coach Tom Kelly of 
Woodridge, an associate certified coach. "It's just how you package 
yourself."

    Life issues, such as relationships and confidence, Kelly said, can 
affect careers, from levels of success and job satisfaction to repertoire 
with co-workers and time management.

    "You're coaching on life," Kelly said, "and business is just a part of 
that."

    Marketing oneself as a business coach can be more lucrative because 
companies may invest more than individuals.

    "At the executive level," said associate certified coach Karen Staib 
Duffy of Chicago, "(coaching) is seen as an investment in the development 
of leadership capabilities of top executives."

    Staib Duffy has been an executive coach for three years. Coaching was 
part of her role as a Bank One manager.

    "My definition is, I do coaching for people in executive roles," said 
professional certified coach Marian Baker of Chicago. "I coach life, 
livelihood and leadership."

    Like most full-time coaches, Baker averages 20 to 25 clients.

    Chicago Coaches, a local ICF chapter, reported in its 2003 survey that 
68 percent of its members are life coaches.

    It also revealed a 50 percent increase in the number of professional 
certified coaches and 33 percent more master certified coaches.

    Coaches overall, the survey said, are becoming more popular, with 53 
percent of coaches spending at least seven hours each week coaching 
someone, a 13 percent increase from 2002.

    ICF's membership doubled from 2000 to 2002 and now tops 6,000 coaches 
in 30 countries.

    "Back in '97, if you said you were a coach," Baker said, "people would 
assume you're a coach for Little League."

    Vickie Snow may be reached at vsnow@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 
633-5981.

    Want a life coach?

    ELENA ZANFEI[0]: (877) 418-1814 or InVisionMore@earthlink.net.

    LINDA McCARRIN: macaronir@hotmail.com; also available for workshops.

    TOM KELLY: (630) 541-3234 or tomkelly@potentialinmotion.com.

    MARIAN BAKER: (773) 509-9408 or anewpath4u@aol.com.

    KAREN STAIB DUFFY: (312) 664-6979 or kesduffy@hotmail.com.



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