Brave Thinking Institute

  • MainMenu
  • Call us at 800-914-6958
  • Life &
    Transformation
    • Home
    • Programs
    • Events
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Our Faculty
    • Success Stories
  • Love &
    Relationships
    • Home
    • Programs
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Our Faculty
  • Business &
    Leadership
    • Home
    • Programs
    • Events
    • Blog
    • Our Faculty
  • Health &
    Well-Being
    • Home
    • Programs
    • Events & Retreats
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Our Faculty
  • Life Coach
    Certification
    • Home
    • Programs
    • Events
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Our Faculty
    • Success Stories
  • Log In
  • Event
    Calendar
  • Home
  • Programs
  • Events & Retreats
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Our Faculty
  • Success Stories
  • Log In

Should You Coach Friends and Family?

Logo
By: Mary Morrissey
Updated: July 9, 2016
Comments: 9
Shares:

Should You Coach Friends and Family?

sisters sharing wine together

Is it okay for friends and family to actually hire you and pay you money for your services?

As a life coach, your purpose is to help others create lives that they truly love living.

But should you be coaching friends and family?

In the process of doing this, as you apply the transformational principles that you share with your clients to your own life, you create a life that YOU love living, too!

The people around you in your friend or family circles, and in your community, will likely begin to notice the difference you’re making with your clients and in your own life, and become aware of the ALIVENESS that you’re exuding as a result.

Some of your friends and family may even begin to ask you more about the work that you’re doing, and whether or not they can work with you. But should you be coaching friends and family? Or does this create too much of a conflict of interest in some way?

At Brave Thinking Institute, we’ve developed some guidelines to help you answer this question for yourself.

Yes it is appropriate to coach the people close to you, provided that you keep a few things in mind…

First and foremost, when it comes to your loved ones, your first relationship with them is going to always be the personal relationship that you have with them.

The secondary relationship will always be that of coach and client.

For this reason, when coaching friends and family, it’s best in the beginning of the coaching relationship to have set some very clear ground rules.

Coaching Friends and Family

Share with them exactly what the coaching experience will entail…

Coaching Friends and Family

Let them know what your expectations will be of them as a client…

Coaching Friends and Family

… and what they can expect from you as their professional coach.

Coaching Friends and Family

For example, you’ll want to make your potential client aware of what the duration of the program is, what the time commitment is, and that there will be times throughout the program you’ll guide them through where they may feel “uncomfortable.”

Creating a life we truly love involves getting “uncomfortable” — it involves stepping outside of our current comfort zone, and stretching ourselves beyond our current limitations!

You’ll also want to communicate that you’ll have appointment times setup in advance to work with them, and that you are both expected to honor and keep those appointment times.

I have seen many, many life coaches successfully work with their friends, family, co-workers, because they do a great job of sharing the ground rules and expectations in advance — before coaching begins.

Here’s how I accepted my own mother as a life coaching client

My father passed away in 2003.

I’d been doing professional coaching since 1981, and so, by the time he died, I already had many, many clients all over the world.

My mother, Dorothy Manin, had always known about my work.

She even came to a few of the events I did!

But she had never put herself INSIDE my work. My signature coaching program was called, and still is called, the DreamBuilder Program.

Even though she’d always been a supportive mother, she had never taken it, or any of my other programs.

But then, my dad died.

My parents were married for 63 years, so as you would expect, being without him for the first time in over six decades was extremely hard for her.

She went through a very dark, difficult time.

Then one day, a few months later, she called me and said,

“Mary, I’ve been thinking. If I’m still breathing, then maybe there’s something I should do with my life that I’m not doing. Tell me about that DreamBuilder Program you do.”

So I explained to her what it was.

I told her it was a coaching program, where we’d spend several months together exploring what it is that she would love to be, do, have or create in her life.

I said, “This is a coaching relationship,” and I described the ground rules of the people that I work with, and my mother decided to enroll.

She was 85 years old at the time, and as a result of our work together, her life began to expand.

She discovered that she really wanted to reignite her passion for painting, and she began painting these beautiful china plates.

It gave her great joy to do this.

Over time, her work began to be featured in art galleries all around the Pacific Northwest, where we lived.

She went on to write a book, she started a nonprofit… she lived seven more joyful, fulfilling, expressive and expansive years after her phone call to me, where she asked about becoming a coaching client of mine.

FREE: Are You Meant to Be a Life Coach? eBook

Find out how to make a greater impact on the world, set the rules and enjoy coaching your friends and family!

Get Access Now

Those seven years were the most creative years of my mother’s life

I’m very proud, of course, that I had the privilege of being the person who helped coach someone I loved so much out of a dark time, and into some new beginnings for herself. But my mother was the one who had to take those steps!

I couldn’t take them for her, and she knew this… because we were both very clear about what the client and coach relationship looked like before we began working together.

But even though she became my client, first and foremost, she was always my mom — and our mother-daughter relationship grew even stronger during that time, as well.

So if you’re considering coaching friends and family, be clear with them about the nature of the client and coach relationship.

Let them know that you are here to support them in achieving their goals and their dreams, and not in perpetuating disempowering stories or excuses.

Also, be sure to take them through a proven system of transformation, like the one that we give our coaches who become certified with us at Brave Thinking Institute — one that’s reliable and repeatable when it comes to producing extraordinary results.

For more step-by-step tools and proven strategies on how to start or grow a successful life coaching business that makes a profound and lasting difference in the lives of others, and allows you to earn an abundant income working from anywhere that you choose, click here to download my FREE ebook, Are You Meant to Be a Life Coach?

Meant To Be Life Coach eBook Life Coach Certification Banner

About Mary Morrissey

Mary Morrissey

Mary Morrissey is widely considered the world’s foremost expert on “dream-building,” having invested the last 40 years into studying the art and science of transforming dreams into results. Mary has also written two best-selling books, addressed the United Nations three times, co-convened three week-long meetings with His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and met with President Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Through her books, live events and programs, Mary has helped empower millions of people worldwide to achieve new heights of meaning, purpose, aliveness and authentic success.

Learn More About Mary Morrissey

Related Articles

Is Fear and Self-Doubt Holding You Back From a Better Life?

December 8, 2020

Why You Want to “Stop Trading Time for Money” : Life Coach Edition

December 3, 2020

ideal life coaching client checklist

How to Attract Your Perfect Life Coaching Clients

March 11, 2019

Comments

  1. AvatarJill Cullen

    July 10, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Thanks for your email. I love receiving these. They are so inspiring and motivating. I feel as a mom you are a coach (guide on the side) to your family from the time they are young til they set off for college. After that, I wait to be asked for advice and try to let them find their own way now that they are in their 20’s. So I guess you become more like counsel as they grow older. That seems to be a given role as a parent.

    Reply
    • Mary MorrisseyMary Morrissey

      October 14, 2016 at 9:12 am

      Love your words Jill… Yes.. we can always be a counsel to our kids and not only to them, but with people that need us!
      Stay tuned!

      Reply
      • AvatarAllison

        February 21, 2017 at 7:04 am

        Jill…would be great if you could begin a buiness just for this area…so many parents go through the empty nest and want to hang on to being needed…young adults want and need to find their own way…with support they can do it…parents need to step back and let their dear ones ask them for advice instead of shoving it down their throats which separates and causes parents anxiety…

        Reply
  2. AvatarClave Wilson

    July 10, 2016 at 9:34 am

    Very inspiring story about your beloved mother. There’s always hope.

    Reply
    • Mary MorrisseyMary Morrissey

      October 14, 2016 at 9:12 am

      Thank you Clave!
      Keep in touch!

      Reply
  3. Avatarpim

    July 10, 2016 at 8:10 am

    iam a life-coach and i help ,of course family,friends, people iwork with for free; i am glad i can help them

    Reply
    • Mary MorrisseyMary Morrissey

      October 14, 2016 at 11:36 am

      Thank you for your comments Pim! That is so awesome! Im sure you are a blessing to all the people that you coach!
      Keep in touch thru my http://www.lifemasteryinstitute.com/blog
      You will find very helpful articles there.

      Have an awesome day!

      Reply
  4. AvatarJudith Lansky

    July 10, 2016 at 6:22 am

    I am an experienced Career Coach. When my sister wanted to explore new career options, she asked me for coaching. We talked a lot about how to make that work without getting into “family stuff.” We agreed to have one of my staff members sit in our sessions as a neutral party. Each of us was very committed to our roles and my sister made a great career transition!

    Reply
    • Mary MorrisseyMary Morrissey

      October 14, 2016 at 11:37 am

      BRAVO Judith! Good for you and your sister! Congratulations!
      Keep it up and stay tuned!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECENT BLOG POSTS

  • Is Fear and Self-Doubt Holding You Back From a Better Life?

    Is Fear and Self-Doubt Holding You Back From a Better Life?

  • Why You Want to “Stop Trading Time for Money” : Life Coach Edition

    Why You Want to “Stop Trading Time for Money” : Life Coach Edition

  • How to Become a Transformational Life Coach: From Getting Started to Getting Paid

    How to Become a Transformational Life Coach: From Getting Started to Getting Paid

  • Spiritual Life Coaching: What Is It and Is It For Me?

    Spiritual Life Coaching: What Is It and Is It For Me?

CATEGORIES

  • Life & Transformation
  • Love & Relationships
  • Business & Leadership
  • Health & Well-Being
  • Life Coach Certification
  • Find us on Facebook
  • Find us on Twitter
  • Find us on Instagram
  • Find us on LinkedIn
  • Find us on YouTube

Topics of Interest

  • Life & Transformation
  • Love & Relationships
  • Business & Leadership
  • Health & Well-Being
  • Life Coach Certification

Learn More

  • Programs
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Meet The Faculty

More Support

  • Contact Us
  • Speaking Requests
  • Log In
  • Become an Affiliate

Brave Thinking Institute Logo

Our vision is to help you bring your biggest dream into reality. As stipulated by law, we cannot and do not make any guarantees about your ability to get results or earn any money with our ideas, information, tools or strategies. Your results are completely up to you, your level of awareness, expertise, the action you take and the service you provide to others. Any testimonials, financial numbers mentioned in emails or referenced on any of our web pages should not be considered exact, actual or as a promise of potential earnings – all numbers are illustrative only, as I’m sure you understand. That being said, we believe in you and we are here to support you in making the changes you want for your life and giving you methods, strategies, and ideas that will help move you in the direction of your dream.

Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

Life Coaching Programs and Coaching Certification by LifeSOULutions That Work®, LLC © © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
31441 Santa Margarita Pkwy, #A-364, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688