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3. Message from the Publisher, Viki Winterton:
Message from the Publisher, Viki Winterton:
Insights Magazine brings you leading experts in
coaching and empowerment,
sharing their wisdom, vision, secrets of success and
personal defining moments of inspiration.
We hope you will enjoy your new Insights.
In this Issue:
Marianna Lead, Ph.D., PCC, Author,
Founder of the Goal Imagery® Institute
Discover how a holistic approach better meets the needs of both coaches and clients. Page 4
Jodi Orshan, Marriage and Family Therapist, Life Coach, Creator of The Parenting Pyramid
Understand the process and benefits of proactive parenting. Page 10
Jean M. DiGiovanna, Founder of ThinkPeople® and Workshop University®
Find out what it means—and what it takes—to “have it all.” Page 14
Ben Croft, Leading Business and Executive Coach Marketer
Consider how strategic alliances can benefit your business. Page 20
Ginger London, Ordained Christian Minister, Author, Speaker, Life Coach
Discover how life coaching and Christian ministry can be bridged and
what makes a great Christian life coach. Page 26
Janet Leathem, Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Learn to live a balanced life and promote optimum H.E.A.L.T.H. Page 35
Azzah, Psychological Counselor, Intrinsic Observation Specialist
Explore who you are not in order to reveal who you are. Page 42
Bill Cumming, Executive Director of The Boothby Institute, The Coach‟s Coach
How can loving kindness change the world? How can it change you? Page 48
Insights Expert Directory, Events and Resources Pages 56-59
Celebrating All the Experts Who Have Graced 2010 Insights Pages! Page 60
A special “thank you” to media personality, Stacey Chadwell.

4. Marianna Lead,
Ph.D.
is a PCC as well as the Founder and
Executive Director of the Goal
Imagery® Institute.
A Transformational Coach and Clinical
Hypnotherapist, she is a pioneer in
tapping the subconscious power of
emotions and imagination for achieving
individual and organizational goals. Dr.
Lead was the creator and host of Life
Coach TV, a popular primetime cable
TV show in New York City, has lectured
at the Smithsonian Institution, and has
also designed and taught numerous
courses at New York University.
I: In 2006, you were the first expert invited
to introduce coaching at the world-
renowned Smithsonian Institution. How has
the coaching industry changed since that
time?
ML: Overall, coaching has increased greatly
in awareness and acceptance by the
general public. It grew tremendously in its
popularity and use by individuals and
organizations. Internally, there is an
evolution towards becoming more
comfortable with dealing with our clients‟
feelings and accepting those feelings as
part of their coaching experience.
Until recently, in our zeal to separate
ourselves from psychology, we often drew a
line when a client would even mention a
negative feeling. It would raise the red flag
of crossing over into therapy, and as crazy
as it seems now, we weren‟t supposed to
ask our clients how they felt about
something. But that has gradually changed
over the last few years.
I: We do talk about how people feel now,
because it‟s relevant, as long as we‟re not
diving into the past, right?
ML: That‟s another conversation, but my
argument was, if you can talk about your
feelings to your barber or your hairdresser,
why wouldn‟t you mention that to your
coach? It‟s a significant part of the coaching
experience now.
I: As the popularity of coaching has
-4-
Photo by Beatrice Sniper

5. increased, so have the number of coaching schools. With so many coaching training programs
available, what lead you to create your own?
ML: Because I‟m such an advocate of dealing with feelings in the coaching relationship, I came up
with the concept of Emotionally Charged Coaching™. I actually felt it was necessary to take a much
broader, more holistic view of what needs to be taught in coaching school.
I felt that no one was answering the question of how to deal with emotions in the coaching
experience, and as a hypnotherapist, I was very comfortable dealing with emotions. I understood
their relationship to the subconscious.
There were a lot of schools of thought that developed in an attempt to integrate emotions into
coaching, including brain-based coaching, ontological coaching, and NLP coaching. Some of these
schools focused on the importance of thoughts, some focused on the importance of feelings, and
some focused on your sense of being and self-awareness.
I felt that all of these aspects were equally important and needed to be integrated to create a truly
well-rounded foundation that united mind, body, and soul—to create a program that was truly
holistic.
I: With coaching becoming more and more popular, why are so many coaches still struggling to find
clients? Is coaching still an attractive career choice?
ML: I definitely think it‟s still an extremely attractive career choice, and yes, it‟s possible to make
good money being a coach. What coaches need to understand is the concept of authentic marketing.
Regardless of what school of thought you are following or what training you have, there is something
very unique about you as a person and in terms of your interests, your professional experiences, and
your skills. All of that tied in with your coach training experience is what makes you unique.
As a coach, you need to take time—as much time as you need to take—to really understand who you
are in terms of your professional self-awareness, so that you don‟t sound like everyone else.
I: I agree. You want to have your authentic voice speaking.
ML: What‟s interesting here is that when you develop that authenticity, even people who are shy
about offering their services don‟t feel so shy anymore. When you become fully aware of your gifts,
you are able to naturally and authentically present yourself and what you are offering—instead of
“selling yourself,” which is a negative concept.
I: Do you also teach branding and marketing skills in your coach training program?
ML: Yes, and I teach it throughout the course from the very beginning. Most other schools that I
know of teach one class at the end of their training that is devoted to marketing. Usually it‟s a short
class, and that‟s that. Then, their coaches are basically on their own.
To really have an integrated sense of who you are that ties in with your training, your personality,
your interests, your professional skills—all of you—is a process that cannot be taught in three or four
hours at the end of your training.
That's why I start teaching authentic marketing from the very first lesson, and it‟s woven into all of
our coach training. Throughout the seven-month training, our students are also learning to evaluate
and re-evaluate who they are professionally and personally, so that when the course is over, they‟re
completely ready. They have no fear of offering their services and marketing themselves, and they
are ready to stand out from the crowd.
I: What is your coaching philosophy, and what is Goal Imagery?
-5- (Continued next page.)

6. Marianna Lead, Ph.D. continued . . .
“Goal Imagery® is a unique model that helps to synergize our conscious
goals, our subconscious needs, and our true authentic core of being . . .
We believe that the process of reaching a goal may be just as personally
fulfilling and meaningful as actually attaining the goal itself.”
ML: Goal Imagery is a way of helping organizations and individuals achieve their goals quicker
and easier by tapping the subconscious power of emotions and imagination in combination with
proven goal-setting strategy and project-management techniques.
Goal Imagery is a unique model that helps to synergize our conscious goals, our subconscious needs,
and our true authentic core of being. Essentially, Goal Imagery coaching combines traditional
coaching skills with subconscious and holistic techniques. As a result, Goal Imagery coaching helps
clients to set goals, make decisions, and take actions that are completely congruent with who they
truly are at the core and essence of their being.
We help people use their natural strengths, skills, resources, and creativity in order to achieve the life
they desire. We believe that the process of reaching a goal may be just as personally fulfilling and
meaningful as actually attaining the goal itself.
While traditional coaching tends to deal only with the present and the future, Goal Imagery coaching
takes into account the fact that most of our present and future challenges are based on our past
experiences, on our culture, and on the way we were brought up. Goal Imagery provides the tools to
re-evaluate, to readjust, and to reframe past experiences, to make achieving success and happiness
easier in the future.
I: Since your training deals with the subconscious and emotion, does that mean you cross over a
little bit into therapy?
ML: I hear that question a lot, because we, as coaches, are still not 100% confident and positive of
how we are different from psychology, per se. Having said that, I always tell my clients and explain to
my new students that you can be therapeutic without doing therapy.
I‟ll give you an example. Whether you take an acting class, a drawing class, or a dance class, it‟s
creative, it expands you, and it‟s extremely therapeutic—but it‟s not therapy. You can use therapeutic
techniques and create a therapeutic experience without going into actual therapy.
I: As someone who has played a major role in the development of an award-winning New York City
chapter of the International Coach Federation—and you served twice as the President—and as
someone who is very active on a global level, how important is it to be part of the coaching
community?
ML: I think it‟s extremely important. Coaching is a constantly evolving profession—we never stand
still. If you aren‟t involved in your coaching community, you‟re out of the loop.
For those people who have difficulty getting out of the house—you can utilize the Internet. You can
get on your computer, and if you belong to a large organization, you can constantly be a part of that
evolving community. For instance, I‟m very active with the International Coach Federation, and there
are newsletters, articles, research—there are constantly new resource materials available.
In addition, it‟s also very important to stay connected to the coaching community for the purpose of
networking and referring clients to one another, because there so many different slices of the market,
and every coach has their own niche, and more and more niches are surfacing every day.
For instance, as a transformational coach I deal mostly with life and career challenges. When
someone needs to understand their finances better, I would probably refer them to a coach with a
-6-

7. financial background. When you belong to a professional group, it‟s always easier to get clients, to
learn more, and to grow professionally, and even personally.
I: You donate your time to the ICF as a Credentialing Examination Assessor. What is the general
attitude now toward ICF accreditation, both for coaches and for people who are looking to hire one?
ML: That‟s a very good question. Since coaching is not a licensed profession, unfortunately, virtually
anyone can call themselves a coach; however, the public is becoming more educated and more
discriminating about who they‟re going to choose as their coach.
Things like training, past experiences, credentialing, and certifications become the guide for a new
client when they‟re choosing a coach. As a matter of fact, that question and that answer feeds into
marketing for coaching: What are your credentials? What do you have to offer? How are you going to
help your clients? Do you have a specific message that can relate your talents and skills?
I: Does being an ICF assessor help you in mentoring your students to gain their credentials?
ML: Of course. I have an insider‟s view, and since I‟ve been doing this for a few years now, I know
exactly how to train my students for the oral exam. It‟s not a secret that the exam is based on ICF
coaching core competencies. However, just to read them is one thing, but to live them as a coach
within a session is a very different thing. Again, it‟s a process, and this process is not taught
overnight.
I: For about five years you were the creator and executive producer of Life Coach TV, a popular
primetime cable show that helped the ICF in New York City greatly increase its membership along
with public awareness of coaching. It also served as a model for other ICF chapters in the United
States to create their own local shows. Where did you get the fantastic idea to create the show?
ML: When I initially joined the New York City ICF Board of
Directors—which was in 2003—there was very little
awareness of coaching outside of skill sets such as sports
coaching, acting coaching, and so on. There was a need to
introduce the idea of life coaching to the general public.
As a board director, I felt it was my responsibility to bring
all of my resources to the table. One of those resources was
my acting background. As a Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
professional actress and theater director, I knew about
production, how to conduct an effective interview, and how
to create an interesting and informative show that could
benefit not only the chapter, but the coaching industry as a
whole. The show dramatically helped in almost doubling our
ICF-NYC membership—and it provided an opportunity for
our coaches to connect with the general public and share
what they knew, how they coached, about their coaching
style, and about their coaching niche.
All of this really increased the awareness of coaching by the
general public, and specifically in New York City. When I left
the board, I trained some of the board directors to take Photo by Beatrice Sniper
over, and it‟s still alive and kicking under a new name.
I: What a great testament to your work. What advice can you give someone trying to decide which
coaching school to choose, and what are some key questions to ask when interviewing a school?
ML: It‟s a very important decision, because it‟s anywhere from a six month to a two year
commitment. Deciding where you‟re going to be for that period of time and who you‟re going to learn
from is critical.
-7- (Continued next page.)

8. Marianna Lead, Ph.D. continued . . .
Key Issues to Consider When Selecting a Coaching School
Coaching Philosophy: Every school has its own approach and a
specific coaching philosophy. You need to be in sync with that
coaching philosophy if you want to become part of it. Usually this
information is clearly defined on the school‟s Web site.
Method of Training: Next you have to decide for yourself if you
want to be trained on the phone or in person, or using a
combination of these two methods. Questions to ask yourself
include, “What is my learning style?” “How do I learn?” and “What
makes learning easier?”
Budget vs. Costs: What is your budget for your training? When
Photo by Beatrice Sniper you interview a school, you must ask what is included in their
quoted price, because I notice that many schools charge extra for
things like exams, certification, and learning materials. All of that adds up. Also, if you have to travel
somewhere, that also adds to your cost. There may even be an extra charge for some courses when
you want to get their full training and become certified. These costs are often not included in the
advertised price you see on the Web site. Your cost may sometimes even double from what you think
it will be. It‟s extremely important for you to understand what your complete and total cost is going
to be, and if that fits into your budget.
Instructors and Class Sizes: Consider who your teacher will be and how many people are going to
be in each class. In coach training, small classes are critical. Needless to say, the teacher‟s expertise
and even their teaching style is even more important. If possible, I would recommend that you
arrange a time to have a conversation with the actual person who teaches the course, not just with
the receptionist or with someone who handles sales for the training. If the school is large, this may
not be possible, but it‟s worth a try.
How the Size of the School Affects What You Receive: Nowadays, bigger is not necessarily
better. In fact the opposite may be true depending on a number of factors. Find out what the school
actually offers in terms of how big or how small the classes are, who is teaching each class, etc. Don‟t
look at the size of the school, but look at what you are going to get as a result of your training and
how you are going to be trained.
Alumni Support: What does a school offer in terms of follow up and support? Is there any marketing
help for their coaches? Are they going to consistently support you when you are done with your
training? I think these are important questions to keep in mind and to ask.
I: These are all very good points—especially about costs.
ML: When I opened up my coaching training course, of course, like every other business person, I
wanted to be competitive with other schools that offered similar services, so I was trying to
understand the pricing for a similar amount of hours and training. It was the most confusing research
because of that problem.
I would see someone advertising themselves for $3,500, but when I dug deeper, I found that if I
actually paid for the whole thing, it would cost me $8,000, which is a huge difference. It was very
difficult to understand who‟s charging what and why, and to discern what the bottom line is—what I
am going to spend at the end of this.
I decided to make it very easy to understand in my program and to make sure that all of my
marketing materials clarify that it‟s all inclusive, so people don‟t have to get a headache trying to
figure out how much it‟s going to cost them.
I: What made you choose this arena for your life‟s great work?
-8-

9. ML: Every friend, every colleague I had told me I was crazy. They were
telling me there were so many coaching schools, why would I want to add
“I want to know
one more? that [my students]
graduate as capable
I wasn‟t really sure in the very beginning, but what I always knew was that coaches, that they
I am a teacher at heart. Anything I know and am excited about, I want to can do what I do,
share with others and teach them how to do it even better than I can. That
was my initial impulse—just to teach what I learned and to share what I‟m
that they feel good
excited about. Then I said to myself, “Everybody is trying to tell me that about offering their
this is not a good idea, that there are so many coaching schools, and that services, and they
new coaching schools come along every day. Why would I want to have my feel confident they
own? Maybe we don‟t need one more.” can produce results
But as I was looking around and saw that everyone had so many different
in their clients.
ideas about what a new coach should know, I really felt that we desperately That’s the true
needed a more well-rounded education where you wouldn‟t have to chose measure of
between the importance of thoughts versus feelings, or the importance of success . . .
being versus the importance of doing. I wanted to create a truly holistic My students
school that would unite all of the above—plus, things that I‟ve learned and
taught at NYU and other educational institutions, such as Positive
define my
Psychology, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), and Emotional Intelligence. success.”
I think when you finish any training, you are going to be attracted to some techniques more than
others, and you‟re going to want to learn more about this or that, and that‟s great. But I think that
you have to have an overview of all the tools that are effective.
I: What is your definition of success as it pertains to coaching schools or the coaching industry?
ML: I teach my own classes, which separates me from directors and founders of many schools. What
I think is important for any teacher is knowing that your students really get it by the end of the
course—I want to know that they graduate as capable coaches, that they can do what I do, that they
feel good about offering their services, and they feel confident they can produce results in their
clients. That‟s the true measure of success—seeing the results from your students. My students
define my success.
And, to answer the second half of your question about success in the coaching industry—it‟s all about
us helping our clients to reach their goals and dreams. Actually, that‟s how I came up with the name
for my institute. Goals represent consciousness since we consciously choose what we want to
accomplish. Imagery represents our feelings, the subconscious, and imagination. Therefore, Goal
Imagery represents the unity between conscious and subconscious—a truly holistic approach to
success.
In closing, I want to offer your readers a $500 scholarship to my Goal Imagery Coach Training
course. All they have to do is mention this interview. My Web site is www.goalimageryinstitute.com.
-9-

10. Jodi Orshan
is the creator of The Parenting Pyramid, a
practically perfect plan for successful parenting.
Through her program, The Parenting Plan,
parents can create a happy, successful, loving
family following three simple steps. Jodi is a
trained marriage and family therapist, life coach,
and parenting expert with over thirty years of
experience.
I: I have two little girls, so I‟m just dying to know,
what does a parenting coach do?
JO: A parenting coach works with parents, either
individually or as a group, to educate, mentor, and
support the parents to better their parenting skills and
the level of enjoyment associated with parenting. It
takes parents from where they are to where they really
want to be.
I: Why did you become a parenting coach?
JO: I‟ve worked with parents as an educator,
counselor, and therapist for a long time. I realized what
I ended up doing the most of was this incredible joint
venture between me and the parent to help them be
proud of what they were doing as a parent. With all of
my experience and talents it was really a perfect fit to
become a parent coach.
It is my passion to educate and mentor people as they
are molding the lives of their children.
I: What is The Parenting Plan?
JO: It is a plan I developed for successful parenting.
It‟s a model based on and very similar to a successful
business model really.
The Parenting Plan
Step 1: Develop a Vision Statement
Together we determine the parents‟ vision statement.
Each parent needs to understand and state the values
and goals that are most important to them for their
family. This is the foundation of the individualized
parenting plan.
Step 2: Assess Strengths and Weaknesses
Each parent has to understand their own parenting
style. We work with parents to determine what their
needs and talents are along with the needs and talents
of all of the individuals in the family. Just as with any
business, families need to assess everyone‟s strengths
and everyone‟s weaknesses so that they can create an
action plan accordingly.
-10-

11. Step 3: Create an Action Plan
Within an action plan, we develop with parents the tools and strategies needed for success. Parents
get to learn and practice these strategies with coaching support.
I: Why is The Parenting Plan so successful?
JO: It‟s so successful because it is a plan. Most parents enter into parenthood with a limited set of
skills and knowledge and, truthfully, no real plan. A lot of parents say, “I love my kids with all my
heart, I never want to hurt them, and I want to protect them from harm.” That‟s it—there is no other
plan.
Most parents are reacting as they are faced with various parenting situations instead of being
proactive in their approach to parenting. Often the parents are going against their better judgment,
giving in, and indulging their children with stuff in an effort to keep them happy and to avoid conflict.
Sadly, this is all too common; the kids are running the family, and the family is running out of
control.
“Most parents are reacting as they are faced with various parenting
situations instead of being proactive in their approach to parenting . . . the
kids are running the family, and the family is running out of control.”
I: What is the Parenting Pyramid?
JO: The Parenting Pyramid is the shape and form of the action for your parenting plan. The Pyramid
clarifies the family values. It empowers parents to set rules and limits, and it gives the parent credit
for all the special extras that are within the foundation of the Pyramid, which is that bottom base that
everything is built on; it clarifies the rules for actions and behaviors—all the rules for safety.
The next level of the pyramid focuses on
behavior. It‟s built upon the first level. The rule
for this level states that you must be respectful of
others along with all other living things and the
land that we share with the world.
Finally, the top level involves the things we like to
have and do in life that result in happiness and
contentment—all of our joys and all of our
passions. These things are all placed in that little
upper box, and each level builds on the level
below it. So, all the activities and gifts and
possessions a child may want that are placed in
that top category must still all be safe for them
and for their age, must be safe for others, and
must be respectful to the people and things
around them.
I: What are the most common mistakes parents make when raising their families?
JO: One of the most common mistakes parents make is they slip their “parent‟s say” down and rely
on a philosophy that lets their kids say, “Give me, take me, buy me,” and hope that the children will
then appreciate their efforts and then learn to be loving, respectful, unselfish human beings.
Let‟s face it, in reality, the “Give me, take me, buy me” philosophy just reinforces raising immature,
selfish children. It is not a successful plan for parenting.
I: Not everyone is able to have a two-parent home, so is this plan also successful for a single parent?
-11- (Continued next page.)

12. Name continued . . .
“It is best to
start early. That
way parents get
to be proactive in
their parenting.
It is always
harder to change
behavior patterns
midstream, but
it is never
impossible.”
Jodi Orshan continued . . .
JO: This is gold for a single parent, because to have a plan really gives meat and a backbone to the
structure of the household. The Parenting Plan gives that extra needed support and strength to
parents who are doing this tough job all on their own.
I: Are there any other places you can apply the principles of The Parenting Plan?
JO: That‟s a very interesting question because, in reality, the principles of The Parenting Plan can be
applied throughout your whole life: at home, at work, or within a community organization.
It‟s always the most beneficial, in any situation, to follow these three steps:
1) Define your goals and values.
2) Determine people‟s strengths and weaknesses.
3) Develop a specific plan of action to accomplish your goals and to do so with integrity.
I: How long does it take to learn The Parenting Plan?
JO: It really all depends on your starting point. Some families are very clear on their goals and others
have never really given it any serious thought. Some families have a solid plan, but it may need some
tweaking, especially when a child enters a new stage in life or a new area of development. Other
families, have—let‟s be honest—less solid parenting skills. It always varies. Each family has its own
unique needs and its own unique set of skills.
-12-

13. I‟ll tell you this: the plan is an active, fast-paced, participatory process. In between weekly phone
sessions, there are homework assignments for the parents to work on. Your personal coach is always
available through e-mail for additional support.
I: Who can benefit from The Parenting Plan?
JO: I have worked with parents across the spectrum, from those with babies still in utero to those
with adult children. To be honest, it‟s best to start early. That way parents get to be proactive in their
parenting. They have a plan and they can go with it. It is always harder to change behavior patterns
midstream, but it‟s never impossible.
I: How do parents meet with you?
JO: We meet through phone contacts. Anyone can contact me through my Web site,
www.theparentingplan.com, or they can call the phone number that is on the Web site.
I actually have an introductory offer that allows parents the opportunity to speak with me or with one
of my coaches by phone or using Skype for twenty minutes for just $25. We offer this option so that
parents can see if they‟re comfortable with this whole setup and want to learn more about The
Parenting Plan.
I: What would be your definition of success in regards to parenting?
JO: Success in parenting is defined in two ways. First, you are successful if you‟re proud of the way
your children have turned out. That‟s a long-term goal, but you can live it in your day-to-day life.
The second way to determine parenting success is to assess the level of peace in your household. The
fact is, whenever you have a group of people living together, there are ups and downs, happiness and
clashes. But if the general feel in your home is respectful and peaceful, it adds a true love in your
coexistence—that‟s success by any definition.
I: What are three fundamental key ideas that you could share with our readers to help them today?
JO: First, define your goal. Know what kind of family you want to have and the values that will help
you reach that goal. Also, learn some good, solid parenting skills. Know how to set a limit and keep
that limit. Finally, remember that you are in this is for the long haul. Parenting is not a true/false
test, it‟s not multiple choice, it‟s not even a single-essay exam. It is a long novel, so just pace
yourself and enjoy the ride.
I: In what ways do you implement this in your life?
JO: I am very proud and happy to say that I‟ve raised four beautiful, brilliant, talented children on
my own. They were fun and adorable children, but as the challenges went on, it just kept getting
better and better. Even the teenage years—while I feel gray hair appeared on my head during that
time—were actually quite a fun ride, and I am reaping the rewards of my efforts because, with these
children now as adults and myself now as a new grandma, life is just beautiful.
www.coachjodiorshan.com
-13-

14. Jean M. DiGiovanna
is the founder of Workshop University®. Jean is
a powerful facilitator, speaker, and certified
coach with a unique gift for helping people find
their voice, speak their truth, and achieve
beyond what they thought was possible. She
has over twenty years of experience in training,
consulting, and instructional design, and has
delivered hundreds of workshops and seminars
in business and life strategies to Fortune 500
companies, nonprofits and academia.
Jean launched ThinkPeople®, a corporate
coaching and training business in 1998. Years
later, she began running public workshops and
seminars and colleagues began requesting her
help with their own seminars. As a result,
Workshop University® was born in 2004.
Prior to founding ThinkPeople®, Jean served as
a Business Operations Manager for Cambridge
Technology Partners, Nordic Region of Europe.
She contributed to the company’s growth from
ninety to over four thousand employees in nine
years, and from one location to over thirty
worldwide.
Jean is a member of the National Speakers
Association and International Coach Federation,
has spoken both nationally and internationally
and has been published in Boston Magazine,
Mass High Tech, Trainers Warehouse and the
Boston Globe. She was named one of the Top 10
Coaches of Boston by Women's Business Boston
in 2007 and is a published co-author of Success
is a State of Mind alongside Mark Victor Hansen,
Les Brown, and Deepak Chopra. Outside of
work, Jean enjoys art, travel, and the outdoors.
She is an abstract artist, jewelry designer, and
an avid Latino dancer.
I: I want to start off by asking one of my favorite
questions: what is your definition of success?
JD: That‟s a great question. Many years ago I
thought of success as achievement—acquiring things,
achieving things—but I‟ve come to recognize over the
past decade that success isn't always about acquiring
things and achieving things; success is about making
a difference in the world—figuring out where your
talents and gifts match what the world needs and
following that.
I: What is the biggest misconception about success?
JD: I think the biggest misconception is that success
is a place to get to. We think of success and we think,
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15. As soon as I get that beautiful home, then I’ll be successful, or As soon as I get that promotion at
work, then I'll be happy and successful.
The reality is, success isn't a place to get to. Success is a way of being. To me, it‟s a state of mind.
It's about thinking about success as being possible in every single moment—we just have to look for
it.
It‟s about examining how we relate to success; it‟s not so much about what success is, but how we
relate to it. It‟s about asking ourselves, “Do I relate to success as something that I believe is far out
there, and when I accomplish this, that, and the other thing, then I‟ll get it? Or do I look at my life
and my daily actions and consider what I have been successful in today?” That‟s really, I believe, a
more powerful way to think about success.
“Success isn't a place to get to. Success is a way of being . . . It's about
thinking about success as being possible in every single moment—
we just have to look for it.”
I: What are some of the biggest challenges you‟ve experienced in achieving success?
JD: There are many, and I continue to be challenged with maintaining success. One thing I didn‟t
mention before is that success is really about how you measure it, not about how others measure it.
What do you deem as successful, and how are you achieving results according to that measurement?
There are three main challenges I have faced:
Challenge #1: Thinking that I have to do it all in my own. Being an entrepreneur, it's not
uncommon that we as solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and small business owners feel the need to do it
ourselves.
Challenge #2: Trusting that there are plenty of resources to go around. It can be difficult to
trust that there are plenty of people to go around, plenty of business to be had, and plenty of money
and wealth and abundance to attract. So often we think from a place of scarcity, and that can stop us
in our tracks.
Challenge #3: Staying motivated and focused. As a solopreneur, it can be difficult to stay
motivated when we‟re sitting in our offices, working remotely, and feeling isolated. I think it‟s so
important to continue to stay connected to our colleagues, mentors, and those in the community so
that we don't feel that lack of motivation and action that is needed to really move things forward.
I: I agree with you. I liked the second challenge you mentioned especially, because a lot of people,
will be attracted to you and your business simply because it‟s who you are. It‟s not just about the
message, because our messages will likely be the same, especially if we‟re in the same field; it‟s who
you are that draws people to you.
I can't compete with you, because you and I are going to say it and do it differently, and people are
going to like you over me or vice versa for different reasons. Like you said, there are tons of people
out there you can help. It‟s not just one person that you and I need to fight over.
When we take on that scarcity mind-set, we lose out on opportunities to work together, to collaborate
with people in our field.
How did you overcome the challenges you were facing?
JD: A couple of different ways actually. It‟s kind of funny to me when I say, “I‟ve overcome that
challenge,” because I continue to face it every day or every month, and it‟s more about remembering
how to handle it.
-15- (Continued next page.)

16. Jean M. DiGiovanna continued . . .
One of the ways I‟ve overcome the first challenge, the tendency to try to do it all on my own, is by
recognizing how much more fun and less stressful it is to actually work with other people—not only to
hire people to work with you, but also to seek out mentors.
The other thing that helped me overcome that challenge was learning
to let go. We‟re attached to our business ideas, our passions, and
sometimes we feel the need to control things. It's really when we stop
and allow ourselves to let go of that control that we can bring other
people in to help us. That‟s so critical to building a business, because I
don‟t believe it‟s possible to do it all on our own.
I: I agree. Not only that, but you get to brainstorm together and come
up with even better ideas.
JD: Exactly. You come up with things that you wouldn't have ever
thought of on your own. Looking at the second challenge—trusting that
there‟s plenty to go around—again, it‟s something I continue to
practice. There are always things that come into my field of influence
that trigger me, but it‟s in that moment when I actually say, “You know
what? I just have to reconnect with the premise and perspective that
there‟s plenty to go around,” that I can start to overcome this
challenge.
Coming from abundance also requires focusing on recognizing and
letting go of past beliefs about scarcity. Sometimes those beliefs are so
ingrained that we‟re not conscious of them. I‟ve done and continue to
do work on my own self-growth and development. I‟ve always had my
own coach, even though I'm a coach as well, and I continue to grow in
that area.
When it comes to the third challenge—staying motivated and focused—
a couple of things have really helped me. One is that there was one
year when I just felt like I was feeling too isolated, so I literally ended
up creating a mastermind group because that‟s what I wanted.
“If there’s something The reason I bring that up is because, if there‟s something you need in
you need in your your business that you‟re not getting, sometimes you have to just go
business that you’re not out and generate it yourself. Create mastermind groups. Find coaching
getting . . . go out and buddies that you can talk to every couple of weeks for the purpose of
helping each other move through challenges. Work within an
generate it yourself.”
accountability partner whether it be a colleague, a friend, or a mentor.
Another thing that has always helped me to stay motivated and focused is to actually work outside of
my home office. I‟ll go to a cafe for several hours. I‟ll take two- to three-hour chunks of time because
what I find is—and again, it depends on if you‟re an extrovert or an introvert, and I am an extrovert—
so often I am more energized when I'm around other people. Even though I may not be talking to
someone at the café, it‟s still helping me to get my creative juices flowing by just being surrounded
by that energy.
I: Those are great suggestions. Once you‟ve achieved success, how do you keep your momentum
going and sustain it?
Three Tips for Maintaining Your Momentum
#1: Evaluate Your Inner Thought Processes
As soon as I become aware of something—for example, I may notice I‟m not focused, or my energy is
low—I have a choice in that moment. I can choose to focus on what I‟m not doing or what I haven't
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17. done yet, or I can choose to focus on what I have succeeded in today and on what I have
accomplished. What happens is that as soon as I move toward that place of acknowledging what‟s
working, I suddenly have more energy.
#2: Pay Attention to Your Level of Energy
I call this my Alive-O-Meter. How alive do I feel about taking something on, and if I‟m not actually
feeling that energized, what‟s in the way? What is it about that thing or maybe the person I‟m
supposed to work with? I really start to dig into that and get curious about it.
#3: Learn to Love Your Mistakes
I know it sounds kind of funny, but we have to acknowledge that we‟re human beings, we make
mistakes, and we fail. Those with the real power—and I would say these are the people who
succeed—are those who are able to look at themselves and their circumstances and ask, “How can I
grow? What did I learn? What am I going to do differently next time?”
I: How can you still be successful in the face of everything that‟s happening in the world?
JD: It is tough. There‟s so much negativity, there are so many tragedies, especially with so many
natural disasters occurring, and we, even as business owners, can't help but obviously wonder, What
can I do to help?
The way that I handle it is by continuing to send what I can send; whether it‟s giving my time or my
money towards something, I can send love and compassion to those areas of the world that are not
doing well.
When things don't go right for me, I begin to start noticing my
resistance. I have to ask myself, “What am I resisting here?” I have to
get curious about it. Again, if we can actually start to work with our
resistance or our energy that‟s low, we can actually move through it
faster.
It also helps me to remind myself, “This too shall pass.” I have to
remember that this—whatever it is—is not the end-all, be-all. Yes, the
economy may be challenging at times, but I need to assess how I can
continue to tap into my gifts and talents and provide the world with
what I‟m really meant to be doing.
I: Is it truly possible to have it all?
JD: I love that question. I get that a lot. I used to do a lot more life
coaching, but now I‟m doing more business coaching. I would have
clients who would ask me that. I believe that “having it all” is truly a
matter of perception. Sadly, many of us really don‟t believe it‟s possible
to have it all. Can I have that great job and the wonderful relationship
and the beautiful home and the great family? Can I have all of it?
When we don‟t think it‟s possible, then we don‟t ever attract that caliber of “having it all” into our
lives.
Having it all really requires a shift in our thinking, and this shift involves asking ourselves, “How much
do I deserve? Do I deserve to have it all? Am I going to allow all of the success and abundance and
magnificence in my life? Will I allow it?
I always challenge people to explore what they are not allowing, where are they getting stopped, so
that they can open that up more and move through that. Of course, practicing patience is very much
a requirement for this, and being patient is not always easy. But it definitely has helped me to remind
myself that I do deserve to have it all. It may not all happen immediately, but I‟m going to go take
the actions and the steps that are required to have what I really want in my work and in my life.
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18. Jean M. DiGiovanna continued . . .
“We go out into the world to become successful, but what can often happen is that
we get caught up with what is supposed to happen or what we should be doing or
what other people think we ought to be doing . . . The world needs to hear you and
who you are, and that’s what people really want. It’s a lot easier than
trying to be somebody else.”
I: Sometimes it seems like what we perceive as “having it all” is not really what is intended for us, or
is not what would honestly fulfill us in the long run. Sometimes life takes you where you really need
to be and fulfills that for you, and then you think, Oh! I would have never considered that was what I
needed, but it’s better than I ever expected.
JD: What you just said sparked a thought in my mind that so often we get attached to some future
plan of what we‟re looking to achieve, and we miss out on those opportunities and those interesting
paths like you mentioned that are there and show up, and we wouldn‟t have even recognized them if
we weren‟t open to them.
I: Exactly. You mentioned earlier that part of what success means to you is making a difference.
What can our readers do to make a difference when working at home?
JD: One of the things that I encourage people to take on when they want to really make a difference
is to actually try on a new perspective. This new perspective involves asking yourself, “How can I
make the person in front of me successful? How can I make my wife successful or my husband
successful? How can I make my boss successful? How can I make my mentor successful or my
business partner successful?”
What I truly believe is that when we take on that perspective, we
actually work and live that way of thinking. When we consider
how to make the other person successful, we will automatically
make a difference, because what happens is, as soon as you think
about the other person and how you could impact their life or
make life better for them, immediately your attention goes away
from you and over to them, and there‟s no way that something
positive can't happen out of that.
It‟s a fun challenge to ask my clients to try that perspective at
work and then also when they get home with their family, and see
what shifts in their life.
I: That‟s a great idea. What have been your greatest lessons
learned that you can share with our readers today for achieving
success?
JD: There are several, and I‟m happy to share some.
Lessons for Success
1) Just be yourself. This is one of the biggest lessons that I
learned over a decade ago. Don‟t pretend to be someone else
because, in the end, yourself will always catch up with you.
We go out into the world to become successful, but what can
often happen is that we get caught up with what is supposed to
happen or what we should be doing or what other people think we
ought to be doing. In the end, we‟re not actually aligning our true
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19. self with our core values, and our soul kind of gets depleted and zapped. Our energy gets zapped,
and then we wonder why.
The world needs to hear you and who you are; that‟s what people really want. It‟s a lot easier than
trying to be somebody else.
2) Life is too short to feel drained. Notice who or what is draining energy
from you, and begin to look at how to shift that. Start doing what lights you up “Notice what or
and brings you passion, because when you‟re in that state, you‟re going to who is draining
attract so much success in your life. energy from you,
and begin to look
3) If you don’t know where you’re going, any road actually will not get
you there. It‟s so important to set a direction, to set a clear intention of what at how to shift
you want to achieve in the next month or in the next three months. Let that be that. Start doing
your compass. Let that be the stake in the ground that says, “This is what I what lights you
want.” Think about the future and the results you want to produce, and by doing up and brings you
that, you‟re actually propelling it toward you.
passion.”
4) Don’t go it alone. This is something I‟m continuing to get better at and am
learning so much about. I grew up learning to be independent and take care of myself, a woman in
the professional world, and I came to realize that I don‟t have to do it all on my own, and I don‟t
actually want to. I encourage people to realize this too.
5) Have fun. Laugh, see the humor in life, because life is too short to be intense and to take
everything so seriously. Simply follow your passion in your work and in your life.
I: Those are all wonderful points. I especially liked what you mentioned about authenticity. How can
someone hold up a mask constantly? It would be so draining to constantly have to be that person
that you‟ve created rather than just being yourself—instead you can just be.
How can our readers find more information or how can they get in touch with you?
JD: My current business is called www.workshopuniversity.com. I help solopreneurs package their
expertise into workshops and webinars so they can reach a larger audience.
The other place to look is Launch Your First Webinar at www.launchyourfirstwebinar.com. This is
something I‟ve been focusing on over the course of the past year. I help people get their message out
through the use of webinars. Those two Web sites are great places to find me and to learn more.
www.workshopuniversity.com
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20. Ben Croft
is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading
business and executive coach marketers, having
worked with thousands of coaches around the world.
Since graduating with an honors degree in marketing
from one of the UK’s leading universities, Ben has
worked solely on marketing for coaches around the
world, living and consulting in the UK, Australia, New
York, and Buenos Aires. He has lead marketing
campaigns for coaches that have lead to multiple
millions of dollars in sales, his one event series alone
seeing 6,700 business owners registered to attend
with a marketing budget under $10,000.
Ben’s specific area of expertise lies with seminars,
event webinars, workshop marketing for coaches,
strategic alliance marketing for coaches, and social
media marketing for coaches, for which he has
created what is now the world’s leading course for
business and executive coaches.
Ben is very much a practical marketer in that his
strategies, tactics, and action plans are focused
toward achieving the harder results of marketing,
therefore generating high-quality leads that have a
high propensity to turn into coaching clients.
I: What is your story? You‟re twenty-eight years old and you
currently live in Buenos Aires and, as I understand, you have
spent at least four months in five continents over the past
three years. How did you come to all this?
BC: I guess I‟m in a fairly fortunate position in that straight
away from University I went into specializing in business
coach marketing, and as a result of that, it‟s taken me all
around the world.
It‟s an industry that is obviously fairly new, and there are
very few people in the world who have become specialist
business coach marketers, and as such, this has been
something I‟ve been in very high demand for.
I absolutely loved living in Australia. We started off traveling
through many countries in Africa, leading ourselves to the
Middle East, Dubai, and then through to India and Southeast
Asia and into Australia. Then we came back around to North
America, and now we‟re in South America.
We‟ve been very fortunate in that time to meet up and form
strategic alliances with many of the largest coaching
organizations as we passed through. For example, in Texas,
we stopped by the ICF conference last year, and we‟ve been
able to meet up with lots of new clients and prospects.
We‟ve gotten to a point now where, with our own
consultancy, we‟re almost at capacity, and that, I guess, is
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21. why we‟ve come to the point where we‟re able to put on the event that we‟ve got planned for July,
which is the World Business and Executive Coach Summit.
I: How did you get into coach marketing?
BC: It‟s actually quite interesting. I got into coach marketing when I bumped into a gentleman at a
bar one time and got to speaking to him about marketing. He asked, “What have you been doing?” I
said, “I‟ve just graduated from University. I‟m in that place now where I‟m looking for a job.”
He said, “That‟s interesting. What did you study?” I said, “Marketing.”
He said, “Oh, that‟s very interesting.” I asked, “Why is that?”
He said, “I own the largest marketing consultancy in the city.” I said, “Oh wow, that‟s nice—have you
got any jobs?”
He said, “No, I don‟t have any jobs at the moment; however, I know everyone in the industry, and
everyone‟s always coming to me asking if I know of someone in marketing, and I say that I‟m sure I‟ll
be able to find someone for them.”
We had a couple of drinks together, and I said goodbye and gave him my contact details. The next
day I was at a graduate recruitment fair, and I got a call from the same guy, and he said, “Hey, Ben,
I got you an interview.”
That interview was with a fairly well-known company, Action Coach, which is the largest business
coaching company in the world.
As a result of this gentleman‟s personal recommendation, I ended up getting a job and went straight
away into the deep end working for thirty business coaches. From there, I grew my career,
specializing in business executive coach marketing.
I: What is your biggest achievement in your marketing career?
BC: I put on a series of events in Australia with a very limited budget. I lead the marketing for it, and
we ended up getting 6,700 business owners to attend, which at the time I believe was one of the
largest business coaching events ever in the world.
Also, having my first book published this year, Social Media for Coaches, was a great achievement for
me. I had the foreword written by Brian Tracy. That was pretty exciting.
I think what is going to be my biggest and most exciting achievement will be when we launch the
event coming up in July, which will be the first personal event I‟ve run myself.
I: Social media has been a big buzz for some time. You have the world‟s leading course on social
media marketing and business coaches. What would you say should be the starting point when
looking to integrate social media into a marketing plan?
BC: Most people are using social media to a certain level, even if they‟re just dabbling in it. Perhaps
they‟ve set up a profile and they‟re looking into it and they don‟t know what to do. That‟s the case for
the majority of people. It has only been in the past year or two that people have started to realize
that this is a mainstream tool for communication.
The biggest problem for most coaches specifically is that they don‟t have a plan. They may have a
marketing plan, and contained within that marketing plan is social media, and they‟re saying, “We
need to find out about social media. We need to do something with social media.”
What they don‟t do is they don‟t put together a social media marketing plan. In its simplest form, all
that plan requires is for somebody to do a situation analysis starting with where you are now—how
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22. Ben Croft continued . . .
many friends you have, how many
followers you get, how many leads you‟re
receiving currently, where your current
situation is now—and then to define your
objectives. You may not be exactly
where you want to be and you might be
saying, “We‟re here, and we‟d like to get
this point now.”
Once you‟ve identified those two points—
where you are and where you want to
be—you can then start selecting your
strategy, your tactics, and your actions
to make sure that the actions and
strategies you‟re going to be taking are
going to contribute to those goals.
My strategies include setting objectives,
measuring your results, and also
selecting a starting point, but very few individuals I have worked with actually have a social media
marketing plan in place. We‟ve worked with thousands of coaches in around the world, and I think
I‟ve come across two so far who had a plan in place. I would say that would certainly be the starting
point.
Just get that plan in place because then you can measure and identify your progress. You can
obviously then break that down into which of the strategies and tactics are working the best for you.
It‟s important to pinpoint the best things that you are doing that are getting the greatest results.
Where many coaches are going wrong is that they‟re trying to do everything, and they don‟t need to
do everything. They only need to do a few things with social media to get some fantastic results.
I: I‟m on your business and executive coaching group on LinkedIn, and I know that you give out
wonderful information. You talk about how to be more strategic, and you offer a ton of information
not only there but on your blog as well. I highly recommend anyone to sign up for your groups,
because you know what you are talking about. And you‟re right, a lot of people don‟t have a plan, and
you know how to streamline it for them.
We want to ensure our readers take away as much practical advice as possible from our articles. That
being said, what can you say are the top three marketing strategies that should be integrated into
everyone‟s marketing plans?
“Good marketing in the 21st Century doesn’t require an epic budget . . .
You don’t need a big budget of financial resources, cash in the bank, or
investments. What you do need is time. Good marketing is all about time.”
BC: I‟m a firm believer and a strong advocate of the fact that good marketing in the 21 st Century
doesn‟t require an epic budget. You don‟t need a big budget, and I say that hesitantly, because when
I say “big budget,” you do need a big budget—you just don‟t need a big budget of financial resources,
cash in the bank, or investments.
What you do need is time. Good marketing is all about time, but if you invest your time correctly, you
don‟t even need to be investing so much time that it‟s overwhelming you.
With that in mind, here are three strategies that I would say every coach should be using. And when I
say every coach, I mean every coach.
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23. Three Marketing Strategies Every Coach Should Be Using
#1: Referrals
Referrals will be always be your best strategy. Paul Simister conducted a recent study and published
a report along with it. It‟s a brilliant study on coaching and the marketing benchmark. I‟m not
associated with him in any way, but I have to say that it was a fantastic study.
His study showed that a large majority of coaching leads come through referrals. With that in mind,
how many coaches have a really strictly defined referral process in place? Very few. So it‟s very
important to have a referral strategy in place. You can Google one. You can read books about it. It‟s
going to be your number one strategy, so you need to be really good at it.
Once you have a referral strategy in place, you can just keep implanting it, making it easy for people
to refer other people to you, and making sure they know exactly what to do and the benefits of doing
so. It doesn‟t necessarily mean you‟re going to be giving them some kind of commission, it can just
simply be that they get acknowledgement for their referrals.
#2: Strategic Alliances
I‟ll talk more about strategic alliances a little bit later, but they‟re the most leveraged marketing you
can do. Find someone with the same target market as you and ask them to send a message out to
their database for you in return for a value-added piece. Build the relationship up with them to a
point where they are comfortable enough to do that. This strategy is going to be some of the best
marketing you can do.
You can spend weeks, months, or years going after a big database, or you can find someone who
already has a database created. Of course, when they market to that database for you, it‟s going to
be a lot more effective than if you‟re marketing to their database yourself saying, “Hey, I‟m great!”
versus them saying, “Hey, this guy is great!”
#3: Social Media
I‟ve already talked about this strategy, and it is a given in this list.
I: One of the biggest challenges for those in the coaching and personal development industry is
finding prospects who have a high propensity to convert to clients. Where is the best place to find
targeted prospects?
BC: Again, one of the key strategies I work with my clients on is strategic alliances. You have to
define who exactly your target market is. Really, really define who it is: How old are they? What do
they do? You also have to find those organizations out there that have a very close, tight-knit fit with
exactly who your target market is. Then simply go and build relationships with those organizations,
and they will provide you with access to that target market.
In terms of social media, there are some
fantastic tools you can use. You can use things
like Facebook Social Ads, Twellow, and Tweet
Adder. These are fantastic ways to find
prospects and build up your network.
But if you‟re looking to get direct access, really
great conversion rates, and a high level of
leads coming through, the best way to do that
is through strategic alliances.
I: What is the best way to differentiate yourself
from the competition?
BC: The best way to differentiate yourself from
competition would be to create a niche for
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24. Ben Croft continued . . .
yourself and decide on a niche market. A niche could be a group of people, or it can be a specific
product that you‟re offering. There‟s a lot of buzz around this, and the point that needs to be made is
that the more defined you are in who you are targeting, the more relevant you can be.
For example, when you‟re marketing as a business coach, you may decide to write a blog about
business growth tips and tips for small business owners. For example, your blog title might be “Seven
Strategies to Grow Your Small Business.”
When you write a blog called “Seven Strategies to Grow Your Small Business,” all of a sudden, you
are in competition with every other blogger out there, including people like Seth Godin, Jay Conrad
Levinson, Brian Tracy, and all of the big names. If you target it down a lot more and create a point of
differentiation and call it “How to Grow Your Toronto-Based Professional Services Business,” all of a
sudden, if you‟re a Toronto-based professional services small business—and you can narrow it down
even more than that such as “How To Grow Your Toronto-Based Small Business Law Firm”—
immediately you‟ve got relevancy.
If you are in that target market and you‟re one of those people, which is probably only 200 to maybe
500 people in the world, you‟re going to read that. You‟ll think, “Wow! This is for me! I am a Toronto-
based law firm owner. I‟m going to read this.”
Whereas if it‟s small business advice on how to
grow your business, there are millions of blogs on
that. That change alone is going to give a great
point of differentiation just because you‟ve claimed
that niche. You can almost become Toronto‟s
leading specialist for how to grow a Toronto-based
professional services company. There are probably
not many people doing it—maybe one or two—there
may be nobody. You can become Toronto‟s number
one business coach for professional service
companies, and that gives you a massive point of
differentiation and is going to draw a lot of
attention to yourself.
I: There‟s a lot of talk these days about the
importance of defining standards in coaching—what
are your thoughts on this?
BC: Myself and some of the leading marketers in coach marketing are all eagerly watching what‟s
happening as coaching almost commoditizes. What I mean by that is that more and more people are
going to start seeing defined standards in coaching.
Right now, some people say that coaching has almost been a Wild West of standards in terms of
people coming up with accrediting bodies. There are some big companies out there doing some
fantastic things. People at ICF are doing some great things by bringing in standards, certifications,
and regulations in an industry that needs regulating.
As that happens, there will become expectations. When you get an accountant, for example, you get
an accountant based on their tenure, their experience—it‟s almost like a commodity. Whereas with
coaching, it‟s so varied, and because of that, as it moves toward the point where people come to
expect that a coach is a coach is a coach, they start looking for points of differentiation to make their
decision. Say you‟ve got three coaches lined up in front of you. If one has something about them that
is specialized in what it is that you do, you‟re more likely to go with that coach.
Still, as we stand, there‟s far more demand than there are coaches, so we haven't quite gotten to
that point, but as we move toward that in the next ten to fifteen years, we‟re going to see that
increasing.
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25. Going back to what we were talking about earlier, the importance of niche is so much more important
in regards to this, and it becomes so much easier to market your coaching business by having a
defined niche.
I: Your company is called Modern Methods Marketing. What is Modern Marketing in your eyes?
BC: For me, Modern Marketing is all about relationships. It‟s taking the interruption out of marketing.
Once upon a time, your options to market included things like telemarketing, advertising in the
newspaper, sending newsletters, and doing direct mail, all of which interrupted people‟s daily
patterns. Now it‟s all about relationships and conversations. Instead of saying, “Hey, I‟ve got this,
would you like to buy it?” now it‟s “Hey, how are you? Tell me a little bit about yourself. Okay. . . tell
me about what you‟re looking for.”
Then once I know what you‟re looking for, I‟m going to go away and produce what you‟re looking for,
and then I‟m going to come back and offer it to you based on what you‟ve asked for. When you come
back and offer what a potential client has asked for, they are more likely to say yes, and it also
means that you‟re in a relationship. You‟re in communication. You‟re finding out specifically what it is
they need and you‟re delivering it, versus interrupting them and trying to get their attention at a
point when they aren‟t ready to buy from you. It‟s a lot more expensive, quite frankly, and now, if
you‟re doing it right, marketing is so much of a lower cost than it has ever been.
That‟s Modern Marketing. It‟s all about relationships. It‟s all about building up communications
between people and genuinely understanding their needs rather than having to guess and hopefully
pigeonhole people into what you think they need; It‟s about finding out what they actually need.
I: What do you think the number one priority should be for a business coach in terms of marketing?
BC: The number one thing that a business coach needs to do in terms of marketing is to work out
exactly where they are positioned in the marketplace. What is it that they are actually selling? What
is their positioning within the market? They don‟t want to just become lost in the crowd.
You‟ve got to realize that prospects who would consider bringing on a coach, most of the time, are
not out there actively looking for a coach. People don‟t go searching for coaches. If you actually look
at the number of search terms used around coaching, it‟s very low.
What you‟ll find is that people are introduced to coaching, and they start forming a relationship with
the coach. They begin to realize how coaching could benefit them. The most important thing for a
coach to do is to start building relationships. Start finding those people who have a high propensity to
convert to client, start building a relationship, and go from there.
www.tinyurl.com/wbecs
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26. Ginger London
is an ordained Christian minister, teacher,
author, speaker, and life coach. She is the
founder of Ginger London Ministries in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana.
Ginger is the author of four study manuals: The
Making of a Spiritual Diamond; Understanding
Your Calling; Discerning Your Boaz for the
Single Woman; and Friends, Foes, and Fellow
Christians. She is a writing contributor of eight
topical articles and biblical profiles for the
nationally acclaimed Women of Color Study
Bible released in January 2000, and now
released Aspire: The New Women of Color Study
Bible.
Ginger is the owner of and life coach for
Essentials for Life, a coaching ministry
discussing the issues of life for victorious living,
which includes conferences, individual and
group coaching, teleseminars, and ministry
training essential for helping individuals and
groups discover their strengths and abilities to
live successful lives and to experience work and
career success.
Ginger has preached and taught both nationally
and internationally. She hosted the television
teaching ministry, “The Ginger London
Ministry,” which aired for three and half years
on Cox Cable Faith Net Channel in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana and surrounding parishes. She has
been an instructor for nationally acclaimed
Christian leadership conferences and has over
twenty years of experience in helping people
through ministry.
I: How did you get started in Christian ministry?
GL: It was an exciting journey for me. I became
saved through Jesus Christ when I was a young girl,
but it wasn‟t until I graduated from college after
completing my undergraduate degree that I started
looking for something exciting to do with my life.
I worked in accounting for several years, and then I
moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to take a job with a
local CPA firm. That was during the 1980s. During my
employment there, I realized that although
accounting was a good profession, it just wasn‟t
exciting enough for me. My clients in the CPA firm
were mom and pop clients who would bring in their
receipts in a brown paper bag every month.
After working there for some time, I discovered that I
wanted to do something more exciting. Apparently,
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27. not only did I have that feeling, but I guess the CPA firm that I was working for was thinking the
same thing, because one day they called me in and asked, “Do you like your job?” Of course when
you‟re asked that question you‟re going to say yes, but deep down, my answer was really no. I think
they sensed that I was unmotivated by the job, and so at some point they actually fired me. They
said, “This is not for you. You have to find what is for you.”
I began to search, and I worked at a Vo-Tech school in Chalmette, Louisiana. At that Vo-Tech school
was a woman who would come by my desk, and she would say, “There is something more that God
wants to do with your life.”
At that time, I wasn‟t as spiritually mature as I am now, and I didn‟t really understand what she
meant by what she was saying. I thought it was just something good.
As we were preparing to close the year out and move into a new year, she came by and said, “Don‟t
let this year end and the New Year begin without rededicating your life to Christ. God has big plans
for your life. You have to get connected to God.”
Again, I thought she was saying something nice. When the New Year came, I was at church on that
Sunday. The pastor finished his sermon and was getting ready to do the altar call for prayer, and he
said, “Wait. I want to say this. God is saying to someone in here not to let the old year end and the
New Year begin without rededicating your life. There is something big that He wants to do with your
life.”
I could have fainted because they were almost the exact words that the woman had used. I
hesitated. I looked down the aisle and I thought, That’s the longest walk in history! I finally got up
out of my seat and walked down the aisle, and when I reached the front and sat in one of the chairs
there, I looked over to my right and there was an older lady sitting up front. There was a beautiful
glow on her. She looked at me and she nodded, and she moved her lips and said, “Yes, it‟s you.”
That‟s where my journey in Christian ministry began, because I became actively involved in that
church. It was through my involvement there that I discovered that I really enjoy helping people. I
got involved in the counseling ministry, the recovery ministry, and the new members ministry of the
church.
Even with all of that, there was still some searching going on. I went through cosmetology school,
and it was okay for a while; I discovered that I was able to be creative when I was studying
cosmetology, but there was still something more.
While I was involved in the church ministries, the pastor was teaching on the subject of fasting and
prayer. One of the elders in the church said, “You should go on a seven-day fast and seek God‟s
purpose for your life.”
I literally fasted and prayed for seven days with only water and studying God‟s Word. I studied all of
the Scriptures that were related to purpose, gifts, being predestined—all of those things, and after
those seven days of fasting and prayer, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do.
I went to the Pastor of the church and told him what I had discovered, and he surprisingly said to me,
“I‟ve been waiting for you to come to me to let me know.”
From that moment on, it was full speed ahead for me. I started teaching at the church. People were
really blessed by it, and I am still humbled by it. I kept thinking, Wow! Are they clapping for me?
Then I started putting on events and people actually started coming.
From there I went to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma for my graduate studies in theology.
It was there that I was able to harness all of my gifts and abilities and learn how to present them,
how to package them, and how to use them to help other people live better. It was a shaping and
defining period of time for me, and it helped me to shape my gifts and talents.
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28. Ginger London continued . . .
When I came back home from graduate school in the mid 1990s, I started doing conferences. I lead
seminars and workshops. People starting coming, wanting to know if I coached people. I had never
heard of coaching, so I had to start doing some research. That‟s how I got actively involved in
ministry and, for me, ministry is exciting, because the word actually means to serve people.
I: What initially happened that made you aware of life coaching?
GL: It all started when people began coming to me and
asking me if I coached. Coaching wasn‟t a term that was
used years ago in the Christian ministry realm. It was
known then as mentoring. Most people would ask, “Do you
mentor people for ministry?” or “Do you mentor people for
spiritual growth?”
People started coming and asking me if I coached people,
but I didn‟t really know what coaching was. I said, “I‟m
really not sure what coaching is. Let me find out what it is.”
I went on to say, “I do mentor people.”
When I started researching and learning a little bit more
about life coaching, I understood what they were asking
me. They were asking me if I could coach them in getting
their business started or in discovering what their gifts
were. They also wanted me to in work with them to see if
their idea was plausible or if they could actually succeed at
what they had in mind.
In my mind, that was mentoring, but I guess they had some experience with coaching, and so that‟s
how I got interested in life coaching. From there, I started researching to learn more about life
coaching. By that time, there were some Christian authors who were putting out books about
Christian coaching which helped me tremendously. I thought, Great! There’s someone else in the
body of Christ that already knows what this is. I started studying what life coaching is all about from
the Christian perspective.
I: How is helping people defining how you are now doing your life‟s work?
GL: It made me aware that some people need help with life problems, and some people need help
with life purpose. It helped me to avoid placing everyone in one box. When you study counseling—
and coaching is not part of the curriculum—you have a mind-set that people come to you with an
issue that they want to work on.
People started coming who didn‟t have issues; they had ideas. The more I learned about coaching, I
was able to actually separate that or compartmentalize it in my mind: There are some people who
have life problems that they want to work on, and that‟s counseling. Then there are those who have
life purpose issues, or life purpose agendas that they want help with, and that‟s more appropriate for
coaching.
It helped me to redefine my perspective of how I was seeing people, which was great for me. Not
that I thought that everyone had problems, but sometimes when a person is trained in counseling,
when they sit down, they automatically zero in in on the counseling mode and it is easy to want to try
to fix everything, or to try to figure out what the issue is and where it‟s coming from. With life
coaching, it‟s just an exciting time. It‟s all about the other person‟s agenda, and you‟re just excited to
share with them as they discover what that agenda is or realize that they have more strength than
they thought they had and more resources than they may have realized.
I: How does Christian life coaching help someone?
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29. GL: Christian life coaching is an intentional focus on designing life as God intended it to be for that
particular person. It‟s coaching from a godly perspective.
Christian Coaching is about . . .
Discovering Who You Are in Christ
Most of the time—both for Christians and for those who are not Christians—people are trying to
discover who they are. The difference is that Christian coaching helps people to discover who they are
in Christ. They‟re asking, “What does the Bible say about me being successful? What does the Bible
say about who I am and how God created me?”
Demolishing Negative Mind-Sets
Christian coaching helps people to demolish mind-sets that may be holding them back. There are
numerous Scriptures in the Bible that talk about having a right mind and what needs to be done to
take on the mind to be successful and to be victorious. A lot of times people are bogged down in their
minds with negative, self-defeating thoughts. Christian life coaching helps people to demolish those
mind-sets.
Empowering and Equipping
Christian coaching empowers and equips people to be all they can be or all that God has created
them to be. There‟s an interesting Scripture in the Bible: Jeremiah 29:11 says, “„For I know the plans
I have for you,‟ said the Lord. „Plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a hope and a
future.‟” I think that sums up exactly what Christian life coaching does. It helps people to understand
that they have a hope and they have a future.
You are equipped to do everything you were intended to do, and if not, you have the ability to
become equipped to be all that you can be in Christ.
I: A lot of us know what life purpose means when we‟re talking about
life coaching in general, but what does life purpose mean in
Christianity?
GL: In Christianity, life purpose means finding out who God created you
to be and what God‟s plans are for your life. Christians realize that as it
relates to living we don‟t have our own agenda. We don‟t get to pick our
own passions and desires per se or schedule our own agenda, but
instead we seek God to find out which direction He wants us to go in
our lives and what is it that He has assigned us to do.
As a Christian, once I realize that, I can begin to equip and prepare
myself to walk in those steps and to fulfill what God has purposed for
my life. Until I do that, my life is somewhat unfulfilled, because I know
that I‟m created in God‟s image, and that means that I have the ability
to think, to be successful, and to imagine. I have gifts, abilities, and
talents, and I can pull all of that together and begin to discover exactly
what it is I am called to. Am I called to be a business owner? Is it my
calling to be a teacher? Am I called to be a housewife? Am I called to be
a life coach? I have to start by asking, “What is it that God has
purposed for my life, and how do I live that out according to Biblical
principles?”
Questions for Helping You Understand Your Life Purpose:
#1: How am I created? We are created in the image of God.
#2: How do I find out what my divine assignment is, or my calling, as some people would
say? The most important way to begin the journey of finding your purpose or assignment is with
clarity—believing that your life has purpose. In addition, it means spending time getting to know
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30. Ginger London continued . . .
yourself and paying attention to the intricate and important
details and experiences of your life. The more you know about
yourself, the easier it will be to discover your assignment or
purpose. Ask yourself the question, "Who Am I?" Then enjoy the
journey in discovering wonderful things about yourself. Other
steps include:
 Being clear on your core values and beliefs—these are the
fundamental principles of your life that shape and define who
you are.
 Self-reflection—be sure that you are living a life that is
consistent with your core values and beliefs.
 Knowing your gifts and strengths—start using them daily;
become clear about them and the things you are passionate
about.
 Finding opportunities to do what you are interested in or
passionate about.
#3: What is the stewardship of gift that I have? This is what God has given you that you are
responsible for. Are you gifted at teaching? If you are, you are responsible for making sure that you
nurture and mature that gift and that you don‟t mishandle that gift. Are you talented? Can you sing?
Then it means that you have to nurture that gift and protect it, not abuse it or misuse it.
#4: Am I positioned in the right place? I know what I‟m supposed to do in life, but am I in the
right place, and am I targeting the right people? Am I making the right connections so that the
people I‟m assigned to can actually receive what it is that God has placed inside of me? It comes
down to knowing your life purpose; for Christians, it‟s knowing what God has called you to do.
I: How can life coaching be bridged into Christian ministry?
GL: One of the ways it can be bridged into Christian ministry is for leaders in ministry to understand
that there have always been areas within Christian ministry that were functioning in some capacity as
coaching already.
For example, in the church, we already have one-on-one sessions where people can come for
counseling or support. We also have groups that meet in the church. We have specialized programs
such as learning how to manage your finances. We have small groups. And we have products on
certain areas that help people. As the leadership in the church, we have to understand that we
already have some areas of ministry that are functioning in some capacity of coaching.
To bridge coaching and Christian ministry, there has to be a foundation laid in the church. That
foundation has to start with the leadership, extend to the congregation, and then we have to find the
people who are gifted or who have a desire to help other people.
Those who are already doing life coaching—Christian coaching—need to educate ministry leaders on
what life coaching is through a seminar or workshop style event. The leadership needs to understand
what life coaching is even before putting the Christian descriptive to it.
Ministry leaders need to understand what Christian life coaching is and how it aides ministry. How
does it help a ministry to become more relevant today, to reach more people, or to be able to make
available to people more resources, more support, and more encouragement?
Next, we need to move on to the congregation. There needs to be some teaching in general to the
congregation members about what life coaching is so that they‟ll know that there‟s an area of
ministry that‟s available to them to help them reach their greatest potential as individuals. They‟re
wanting to seek out those who feel called to help people, and the church would call it The Ministry of
Helps.
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31. Finally, we have to go to those people who are gifted at helping people and begin to train them to be
life coaches so that they can learn the skills and the techniques—what they need to know about
people—so that it can be an effective area of ministry and not just another area that we add to
ministry.
Once the leadership and the congregation are on board, and the individuals who are called to help
have been identified, then we need to do what some life coaches do: If life coaching is new to a
church, they may want to offer sample group sessions. This can be done by selecting twelve to fifteen
people in the church and letting them go through a predetermined number of weeks of group
coaching, and then allow them to come back to the congregation and give testimonies about how the
group coaching helped them.
The same thing could be done with one-on-one coaching. Get some people to be part of a pilot group,
let them go through a certain number of coaching sessions, and then let them come back and give
testimonies to the church congregation.
Also, the church can host live events offering a particular teaching related to being successful in life,
finding your purpose, opening a business, marketing your business—whatever it is—and it can
actually become a coaching event. Do this so that people in the church can become more familiar
with this professional area of help.
Those are the things I see that can be done to bridge life coaching and Christian ministry. Christians
are known for wanting to go to the church for help when they have a need. They go to the either a
church or a Christian organization first. If the church doesn‟t have the resources to help with their
particular need, then they go outside of the church. If we‟re going to be as relevant as we should be,
that‟s one of the areas to consider adding to church ministry.
I: What makes a good Christian life coach?
GL: The heart of a coach is important because, as Christians, we‟re told to love one another with a
pure heart; we‟re told to have a true heart before God. I think the heart of a coach is very important.
When I refer to the heart, what I mean is, is there a self-awareness there? As a Christian life coach,
am I aware of my own core beliefs? Am I aware of my own mind-set and what my strengths and
abilities are? Do I know my limitations?
Also important is how I perceive other people in my heart Do I see people as individuals who have
the ability to succeed, or do I see certain people as being draining, wearing me out, good for nothing,
doing the same old thing, and as though they‟re never going to get anywhere? How do I see people?
People can sense if you are pure towards them or if you‟re judgmental.
I think the heart of a Christian coach, or any coach really, should be pure. There should be a lot of
self-awareness there. How you perceive people—what you think about people—is crucial to how
you‟re going to be able to help them. You have to be people sensitive.
The skills of a coach are also extremely important. Even though we‟re in Christian ministry and we
conduct ministry in a certain way when it comes to life coaching, there are sets of skills and
techniques that we have to learn in addition to what we already know. Part of that skill development
would include areas such as learning about human behavior, learning how to communicate using
powerful questions, and active listening, which we do to some degree, but when you‟re coaching it‟s a
little different. I think a Christian life coach has to develop skills that will make him or her effective in
this area of profession.
I: What are some key differences you see when coaching Christian clients versus non-Christians?
GL: For me, the difference is seen in the coaching process itself. The techniques, the powerful
questions, and the skills are basically the same. For me, it‟s more about the coaching process, or the
coaching relationship.
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