He
coaches you in the game of life
BEACH CITIES - Coaches. We remember them from school, those rare individuals who worked endlessly just to see a kid in Little League hit her first home run, or to see that proud high school freshman run into the end zone with a football tucked under his arm. Sometimes they were the only ones who believed in us and shouted from the sidelines for us to carry on.Nowadays, a new breed of coaches is emerging, and they are encouraging people to take their life and run with it.
They are called personal success coaches, and they help people find balance in the arenas of their lives.
Riley Cardwell is a success coach based in Solana Beach. He said he "works with motivated people who want more balance in their lives in order to enjoy what they have."
Cardwell said he has been coaching people since he was 11 years old.
"I just naturally had a tendency to help people identify their goals, dreams, and desires, and then take it out of the air, and make it real."
His childhood knack of helping people see that their wildest dreams could become their greatest reality grew into his latest profession of being a success coach. He has helped a variety of people with different needs of direction, from the business executive wanting to increase profitability to the individual in transition who feels they are stuck in career or a relationship that they don't really enjoy.
Cardwell explained that he is not a psychologist. He has no training as a therapist, and said that is not what coaching is about. While meetings with a psychologist tend to focus on feelings, "coaching is about doing, and focusing on goals. It is to encourage you to see your life as a work of art and to inspire you to have the courage to grasp the brush and paint your own canvas," said Cardwell.
He starts the process by interviewing potential clients to see where they stand in their lives, and what they would like to focus on. Cardwell said he can quickly weed out those who will not be devoted to setting goals and sticking to them.
He looks to work with only those who are truly motivated.
Although some clients may feel that many areas of their life are out of whack, Cardwell encourages them to pick one area to focus on at a time.
He does this so that the task of changing their life for the best won't seem too overwhelming at first. Also, Cardwell noted that when one area comes together for a person, the others seem to naturally fall into place as well.
He then asks questions like: "Where can you see yourself in three months, six months, a year? What will it take to get there? What is the first step towards that goal'?"
By breaking the dream down into small increments, the goal turns from a pipe dream to a doable game plan.
"By doing this, it becomes less scary to the person. When the dream becomes real,!he whole world of what's possible breaks open," said Cardwell. "I firmly believe that my mission in life is to put people's dreams within their reach. Absolutely."
And, he's not alone. This phenomenon of employing a personal lifestyle trainer is becoming a nationwide trend. There is even an International Coaching Society--Cardwell is a member of the San Diego chapter.
Cardwell confers with his clients weekly, usually by telephone during 30 pr 60-minute sessions designed to keep the client focused, motivated and accountable to their own goals.
"The accountability part is really important," explained Cardwell who will have his clients set realistic dates of completion on the steps to meet their ultimate goals. He added that, if, for some reason, those steps aren't taken by the set date, it's okay. They will regroup and try again.
"If you don't make your goal, no problem. we adjust and look at how we move on from here," he said.
Cardwell said the ultimate goal is all part of the process of achieving it, and once people get to it and then look back at where they were before they started, their self esteem skyrockets. And that, he said, it what makes it all worth it.
For more information on success coaching, call Riley Cardwell at (619) 515-4884.
CARDIFF RESIDENT Riley Cardwell is riding the wave of a new career concept: small business and performance coaching. You can contact him at:
RILEY CARDWELL COACHING 249 S. Pacific Coast Highway # 202 Solana Beach, CA 92075 Phone (619) 515-4884 Fax (760) 632-1152
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