1. What inspired you to become a Life Coach?
My mother was a great school teacher, and I guess it is in my genes.
I have never been a “Teacher,” but I love to help others, especially young people. When I look back at my life, I realize that I have always been mentoring and coaching and wanting to help others - my friends, my relatives, and the people I meet in my everyday life.
I guess, finally, I felt it was time to make it “official.”
2. What is the most challenging part of your career?
It seems like suddenly everyone is a coach! A few years ago, psychologists were the norm, and now everyone wants to be a coach.
I see it in two opposite ways:
1- Yes, I believe that any of us can coach someone who is going through some bad experience that we have also gone through, learned how to solve it, succeeded, and overcome it. Then, we can turn that mess into a message and help people going through what we went through.
2-Or, you may possess 20 years of experience at something, and you are good at it; you have the results to prove it. Therefore you can coach someone in the same field to go faster by learning from you and saving years of trial and error by learning from your experience.
It is called the “Knowledge Industry” that is worth billions now.
What I am against is the people who don’t have something of value to offer and are mainly motivated by finding a way to make money.
So to answer your question, I guess the real challenge for any sincere and capable coach is to compete with the thousands of others that may look great in FB ads, but that could be lacking true love and concern for their clients.
3. When it comes to accomplishing goals, what is the biggest mistake that you see people make? People rely a lot on strategies and formulas, thinking that that is enough to accomplish a goal. But I always ask: What good is a formula or system if it does not get implemented? What stops people from performing and implementing their strategies?
Usually, it is a weak mindset and poor mental state, which are made manifest in procrastination and laziness. I believe, first, you need to help people to develop self-discipline, and then strengthen their mindset so that they are better equipped to tackle their goals.
Knowledge is not power; the real power is always in the execution of the idea.
4. How do you help your clients to develop a winning and successful mindset?
First, I need to talk and hear the client out and see what their weak areas are and what they need. We are all different, and every client is different, as well.
Some people might be developing self-discipline first. For others, we may have to start with their self-limiting beliefs. Others may struggle with worry and fear, while others do not have the motivation and need to know “why” they need a change in their lives.
5. To those who feel like constant failures, what would you advise them?
Feelings of inadequacy and failure, limiting beliefs are deep-rooted and originate in the way people are raised, backgrounds, cultures, and a host of other influences and triggers. So it is essential to recognize this and tackle the fear, phobias, and limiting beliefs one by one.
So there is no one remedy, cure-all approach. Again, people are different, and each individual is unique. At the same time, there are some basic methods to help the individual overcome these feelings of worthlessness. One basic idea to keep in mind is that “your past does not equal your future.” In other words, never be a prisoner of your past, as it was just a life lesson, not a life sentence.
6. What are the most common bad habits that prevent people from achieving their goals and finding happiness?
We are all unique individuals and face different types of obstacles. But, I could probably mention: lack of clarity and lying to yourself about the reality of your situation; laziness and procrastination, being indecisive, and afraid to try.
Making decisions based on fear and not courage; a weak mental state or an undisciplined mind; time wasters and the desire for instant gratification.
7. You offer success coaching sessions. Please tell us what a typical session looks like and what you cover in these?
The first session is free; it’s time to get to know each other and see if we are a good match. For me, the most critical aspect is the commitment of the client. If he or she is committed to doing whatever it takes to make progress, I will take the client. If not, I won’t take the client, as then it will be a waste of time and money. I only accept clients who are as serious about the process as I am.
After this is determined, I will have to hear from the client about the outcome he desires from our sessions. Once the outcome is established, then we can proceed to map out a plan of action to obtain that desired result.
8. Name a few healthy habits of successful people?
A morning ritual- exercise- reading and learning- setting goals- execution of those goals- excellent human relations- hunger for success.
9. You published an interesting article, which was enjoyed by many readers: “Are you trapped in a comparing game?” In your opinion, when we compare ourselves to others, how can we use this to our advantage and make it a positive thing?
You can play the “Comparing Game” as proof of the concept that if other people have done it, you can do it too. In other words, you compare positively by challenging yourself to achieve what others have achieved.
But even more important is to compare yourself today against who you were yesterday and always try to improve and progress in any area of your life that you are working on.
And after all, is said and done, to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everybody else is the greatest accomplishment. - to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson
10. How can we control negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, stress, and hatred?
Sometimes I wonder, why has nobody taught us in school how to control our feelings? Love and hate are two of the most powerful human emotions. They are invisible forces, but they influence every decision that we make.
The good news is that you can choose how you direct your emotions, and by doing so, you can change the quality of your existence on this earth. Positive emotions can enhance your life to the point that you can only dream of.
In essence, to have a great life, you need to learn to master those incredible forces of human emotion. And you need to understand that the meaning you give to things is essential. Now, if you have done gardening, you know that weeds grow automatically; you don’t have to plant them.
Negative emotions are the same, they are always there growing, and you have to pull them out; otherwise, they will ruin the garden of your life. https://habitsofsuccess.org/do-you-understand-the-power-of-your-emotions/
11. You also wrote about how self-confidence is your best bet to grow. Please explain how people can build confidence?
It will be challenging to explain it briefly. In coaching, for some people, this topic will be the main area to conquer since a lack of self-confidence is very harmful to your success.
We all have our doubts. Confidence is seldom something you have, but rather something that you must create. An essential part of your growth as a human being is learning to develop that feeling of certainty that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.
As a result, you learn to take the persistent action that is required for the attainment of your goals. You grow in determination, as you think of the person that you intend to become. And you never stop trying until you have developed sufficient courage to become self-reliant on your path to success.
12. How do you help clients with overcoming their fears in life? What steps should they take?
Again, this subject of fear cannot be explained so briefly. Fear is the greatest enemy of success. There is the fear of sickness, fear of rejection, fear of criticism, fear of losing the one you love, fear of poverty, fear of death, and the list goes on.
One of the first things to do is recognize the type of fears that plague you individually and make a clear distinction of what could be considered real concerns - the ones that are good for you and keep you safe from danger - and which ones are just the product of your imagination and are abnormal and shouldn’t be allowed in your life.
One of the best ways to win over fear is to face it and do exactly the things you are afraid of. Fear exaggerates things and renders you useless if you give in to it. So you have no choice, really, except to conquer it. And it is not too tricky: Seneca said that most fears are not real and live only in your imagination.
13-What was the biggest lesson you learned from life?
That Faith allows you to believe that all things are possible if you believe and develop a mindset of certainty.
That Hope helps you never to doubt that there is a better future for you if you believe and take the right steps.
And to always remember there is no greater force in the world than the power of love.
There is Faith, Hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.
Vitin Landivar-