Years ago, I decided I wanted to play the guitar. Keen and eager, I rushed out and bought a guitar, amplifier, effects pedals and a few books. I got it all home, plugged it all in and then made a noise that sounded like a herd of cats all caterwauling out of tune.

After some days and weeks of struggling and irritating my family I decided that I needed to learn properly. The best way to learn properly is to get someone who is already an expert to teach you.

Many of my coaching clients are coaches themselves, and quite a few of them have asked me how to promote their coaching business online. Here is some of the information I have shared with them. Use these tips and ideas to promote your own coaching practice online, get more clients and make more money:

I have spent many years trying to develop my inner self. It has not been easy. Overcoming my fears, inhibitions and inertia was difficult, but the effort has been worth it and I believe I live my life to its full potential. But how can I teach my child to live life to the full?

If we really want to help people regardless of our credentials whether as a psychologist, counselor, life coach, doctor or friend we will need to as much as possible embody the following (we are using the word subject in the place of the words patient or client):

1. Care for the other and sincerely desire to help him or her. The subject will feel if we really care or not.

Ill admit that Im a software developer and that I spend up to 9 hours a day in front of a computer terminal, but I dont think that it necessarily precludes me from the arena of self improvement. In fact, I have been trying to find ways in helping me to attain my full potential for a while now. And I also use software development methodologies as an aid!

The terms "self-help" and "MBA" don't often go hand in hand. So it's surprising that a Columbia Business School class called Creativity and Personal Mastery (CPM) is fast becoming one of the most popular B-school classes in the U.S. Weirder still, it's arguably the toughest to get into, requires thinking about the "meaning of life," and not infrequently convinces MBA students that --surprise!-- money isn't everything.

It was John Dunne who first wrote; No man is an island. Never was there a truer observation of man's condition. No one forms beliefs, ideas, emotions, opinions in isolation. The search of self improvement is no different. We can only find our inner self through others.

These life coaching tips are in no particular order; they are just listed 1 - 10 for ease.

1. Try stepping outside your comfort zone once in a while. One of the greatest barriers to achieving your potential is your comfort zone. As a life coach this is probably the number one area I focus on with clients. Great things happen when you make friends with your discomfort zone.

2. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. There is an old saying that people who haven't made mistakes haven't made anything. Make mistakes and learn from them.

When you hear the word coach, what comes first into your mind? Do you picture the 46 Seater Coach packed with tourists or do you picture a basketball team with person shouting out instructions? Or maybe the image of a football team with someone in a tracksuit pacing back and to calling out the names of the players comes to mind?

"It's what you learn when you think you know everything that counts the most in life."
Basketball Coach John Wooden

What's the "secret" behind successful business owners? It's simple - they have a coach. We all have blind spots, particularly when it comes to our business. Have you noticed how easy it is to give advice, but when it comes to your life you can't see the whole picture? Emotions can get in the way of making clear decisions.

Who do you turn to when you need answers?