Life coach — Thomas West

After gaining a degree in sport and exercise science, Thomas worked as a personal trainer. This role inspired him to train as a life coach to better support his clients

Why did you want to work as a life coach?

I started working as a life coach to supplement my personal training career. I found that my clients sometimes struggled to reach their goals, even when they were given all the knowledge and tools to succeed.

This led me to re-evaluate my coaching style, and I realised that there are so many factors within a person's life that affect them getting to where they want to be. Originally, I only wanted to learn the skills that a life coach possessed to improve my problem solving and coaching abilities. However, as I became more educated, I realised I wanted to offer life/health coaching away from the gym environment.

How did you start your career in life coaching?

I started my career straight after my training, which was a year-long online course that taught all the relevant skills, as well as hundreds of hours of practicing techniques.

I then ran a six-week coaching programme that I promoted online, as well as at the gym I was still working at. As all things do, it started slow. I eventually got busier, and people became more aware of the ability to progress themselves in life with more structure, understanding and guidance.

What type of life coaching do you offer?

I still offer the same six-week programme I started with. It's a lot more refined in terms of the delivery, however the principle remains the same. I take more of a health orientated approach to life coaching.

What kind of tasks do you complete on a typical day?

A typical day mainly revolves around one-to-one sessions, each lasting 45 minutes to an hour. Before each session I spend a bit of time reviewing the previous session with the client and then following the session I go over and type up any notes and plan the next session while it's all fresh in my mind.

Life coaching is currently an unregulated profession. What training/qualifications do you hold?

I hold a health and life coaching certification through the Health Coach Institute. I also hold a degree in sport and exercise science, which allows me to dive deeper on aspects of exercise and nutrition.

How do you gain the trust of your clients?

I gain their trust by taking my time and listening to them. I think gaining trust is a lot easier when the individual feels heard and understood.

What do you enjoy being a life coach?

For me it's seeing the positive change you can have on people and seeing them achieve things in small stages that really add up over a longer period of time.

What are the challenges?

People sometimes think that because they now have the answers, things will magically change or get better, which isn't the case. Coaching takes time, patience and a lot of hard work from the client. I think setting expectations is really important from the start.

What qualities are important for a career in coaching?

Patience is definitely an important quality. People won't always understand things right away and sometimes you have to say the same thing five different ways to find something they can relate to.

Great listening skills partnered with an open mind and understanding nature are super important, without this no one will open up to you and give you the real reasons they are there.

What are your career ambitions?

I'm very content with where my career is right now. I just want to keep learning and developing my own skills for the future.

What advice can you give to other aspiring life coaches?

Keep learning from mistakes and keep analysing your own performance in sessions to see where you can improve. Progress is important. It's imperative we don't stand still and be comfortable with our knowledge. 

Find out more

• Learn more about the role of a life coach.
• Discover more about training to become a life coach.
• Find out what you can do with a degree in sport and exercise science.