By Anne Morgenthal
What challenges are you facing in your life right now? Are you stuck in an unfulfilling relationship or career? Do you lack a sense of self-identity? Are you having difficulty balancing your life? Is there something you would like to do, but don’t know how to get there? Do you keep making the same mistakes over and over again?
In today’s fast paced society it is very easy to take a quick detour or simply stumble and when you look up to get your bearings suddenly everything has changed. Nothing looks familiar and you find that you have lost your way. To most of us this has happened quite a few times in our life and usually we are able to find that path that will take us home again or lead us to our heart’s desire. But sometimes we become so confused, so unbalanced that we need a navigator to guide and assist us in finding that passage that will open up the possibilities that will steer us in the direction of the best possible outcome. This is where the life coach comes in.
It is easy to look at the lives of successful celebrities, business men/women and others in the spotlight and believe that their lives are perfect, but the truth is that they suffer from the same problems that the rest of us do. The difference is that when they suffer from these issues, many of them avail themselves of a life coach to assist them in finding the best solution for them.
Charlotte Salafia fulfilled her dream of moving to Florida from Arizona and we are so fortunate that she brought her Life Coaching experience and skills to Orlando. She is passionate about the transformational possibilities that her chosen profession has brought to her clients and the many ways it can be used to increase the realized potential of their desires, goals and dreams.
I wanted to find out more about the profession of a Life Coach and caught up with Charlotte at Eastside Bistro where we discussed her chosen profession over lunch.
What exactly is a Life Coach?
A Life Coach is a practitioner who will assist their client with navigating through a transitional period in their life by supporting personal growth issues in their personal or professional lives. The coach forms a partnership with their client to achieve the desired goal and ultimately improve their quality of life.
What are some qualities that one should look for in choosing a life coach?
Someone who is non-judgemental and will ask questions that most people will not ask you because they will not be connected or emotionally attached to your history. They will be able to make an assessment of where you are, where you want to go and how to get there. They also should have completed hundreds of hours of training. I have accrued over 750 hours as well as ongoing training to become proficient in this field and be able to utilize the most recent research in my practice.
Why did you decide to become a life coach?
I always was a life coach and just didn’t know it. It’s an innate skill that I have that through extensive training I have developed further in my profession. From an early age I was always that person that friends and acquaintances would seek out for advice, and I had a natural ability to connect with the heart of the matter and discuss various solutions to assist them in overcoming their challenges.
I know that you have had a lot of success in this field, please give us an example of an instance where you were able to transform the life of one of your clients.
One of my very first clients who is a professional intuitive from California was attempting to build up her practice, but she was in a remote area and felt stuck because she didn’t have access to transportation. I mentioned that she had access to the entire world through the internet. Within a day, she created her own website and started attracting more clients and is archiving even greater success.
What is the most common issue that drives your clients to seek your services as a life coach?
I attract two types of people, those who know what they want and don’t know how to get it and those who aren’t sure what they want and are looking for direction.
What is your ultimate goal for your clients?
My ultimate goal for my clients is to help them discover and achieve what they want, to be happy with their lives and to love their lives. If I can assist them along this path of their life’s journey, then I will be happy with that.
My own personal development journey brought me to Orlando. Once I started on my journey, I realized I wasn’t living where I wanted to live. All of my adult life I wanted to live in Florida and so to get my husband on board, I introduced him to personal development. Desiring to increase our knowledge and skills in this profession, we traveled to Hawaii to train with Bob Proctor, recognized throughout the world as a personal development author and speaker. One aspect of our training clarified my dream of living in Florida and reinforced that we needed to make this change in our lives. Once we left Hawaii we started creating a vision and a plan to move to Florida. So we focused on my husband getting a job here and within 2 months after creating the vision we achieved our goal and are now very happily living in Florida.
Charlotte is available for motivational speaking engagements and workshops. She is also accepting new clients and is offering a complimentary consultation and assessment. Go ahead and give her a call now at 480-278-5024.
Anne Morgenthal is a retired teacher from Brevard Public Schools where she taught classes in the area of Food and Nutrition. She obtained a B.S in Family and Consumer Sciences from the University of Cincinnati and an M.A. in Career and Technical Education from the University of South Florida. A resident of Avalon Park, Anne is writing her first novel when she is not walking her doodle Sam around the neighborhood.