FAQ - Nick Hughes Coaching

GENERAL COACHING QUESTIONS

Why Do I Need A Coach?

To be completely candid, very few people need a coach. But the very best performers in the world all have at least one. That’s what detectives call “A clue.”

And no, I’m not just talking about athletes. I’m talking about Tim Ferris of “The 4-Hour Work Week,” Noah Kagen from App Sumo, Opera, the CEO of Google, and many more. I’ll write you a blog post soon about how coaching in the sports world was the catalyst for it crossing over into business and from there into life in general. Just remember that the world’s high performers all have them.

Am I A Life Coach?

No, no, and no. I think the whole concept of life coaches is inane. There’s no training required to be a life coach. “Becky Few Brains” does an online course for a few hours or buys a book; voila, Becky is a life coach. Spare me.

Do you want to know how bad that industry got? There was a thirteen-year-old life coach who became the darling of the media due to the novelty effect. Please. What does a thirteen-year-old know about life?

Real coaches go through extensive training. The gold standard is now the International Coaching Federation, and to be an entry-level coach with them, you have to have over 100 hours of coaching paid clients under your belts before you can be considered. That’s on top of training on how to coach through accredited organizations.

To give you an idea, I’ve spent over $30,000 on my training to date and have been coaching people since the early nineties.

What Is Transformational Coaching?

A transformational coach helps individuals identify and overcome obstacles, limiting beliefs, and negative patterns that hold them back from reaching their full potential.

Through personalized guidance, they foster profound personal change, helping clients gain clarity, set meaningful goals, and take actionable steps toward achieving lasting transformation in various aspects of life, such as career, relationships, and personal growth.

Transformational coaching goes beyond surface-level changes, focusing on inner shifts that lead to sustainable, long-term success.

What Is The Difference Between Coaching, Therapy, And Consulting?

A picture of a traditional therapist talking to a client lying on a couch used to illustrate a FAQ about transformational coaching on Nick Hughes Coaching's website

In a nutshell, a therapist is a mental health professional who diagnoses and works with dysfunctional clients and makes them functional.

As a transformational coach, I work with functional clients who want to maximize their potential. (See the definition above)

A consultant provides expert advice, analysis, and solutions to organizations to help them improve performance, solve problems, or achieve specific goals. They give the client the answers, whereas coaching is a collaborative effort. Not to knock them at all, but there’s an old joke about consultants (told to me by a consultant friend): “A consultant is someone who’ll tell you how to date, but he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

How Does Your Coaching Process Work?

I’m more of a hybrid coach. A lot of coaches specialize in one thing. For example, I know some who are hypnotists, and that’s all they do with their clients. I have other colleagues who do nothing but NLP. Others follow the new collaborative coaching model, and so on.

Taking a page from my fifty-plus years as a martial artist, I’ve never liked the idea of putting all my eggs in one basket. Boxers and karateka are great till you get them on the ground. Grapplers are terrific until there are multiple opponents. My style of self-defense, therefore, incorporates techniques from every fighting system.

A picture of me throwing a roundhouse kick thirty plus years ago to show my longevity in martial arts.

My coaching methodology is the same. If I think collaborative coaching is the best way to go, that’s what we’ll do. If I believe the client needs hypnosis, we’ll use that. Maybe it’s NLP or EFT, and sometimes it combines several methods. Whatever will get my clients the fastest results in the most efficient use of their time is what I’ll use.

Who Is Transformational Coaching For?

It can be for C-suite executives looking to become better leaders, get clarity, and make progress they couldn’t make on their own. Research shows the benefits to companies across the board that are hiring coaches to work with their employees.

Likewise, it can be for entrepreneurs and anyone driven to tap their maximum potential faster than they could do on their own.

What Kind Of Results Can I Expect From Transformational Coaching?

Anything from peace of mind to gaining clarity, eliminating negative beliefs, overcoming obstacles and overwhelm, to becoming the best version of yourself in the fastest possible time.

Coaches often specialize and will work on helping clients through divorce, setting up a business, dealing with money issues, helping with relationships, and more.

How Long Does The Coaching Process Take?

How long depends significantly on the coach and the coachee and what issue they’re working through. Some clients gain clarity in a single session, but it’s rare. Most work over a period of time, which could be anything from 3 sessions to every month over a year.

TECHNIQUES AND APPROACH

You Mentioned NLP? What Is It?

NLP, or Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is an approach that explores the connection between the mind (neuro), language (linguistic), and behavioral patterns (programming) to help people achieve their goals and overcome challenges.

It uses techniques to identify and change thought patterns and behaviors that may limit success, helping you gain clarity, break through obstacles, and unlock your potential.

Tony Robbins became famous for using it on TV stations nationwide, proving he could cure phobias in under 30 minutes. In one famous example, he was challenged by a psychiatrist with a female client who was deathly afraid of snakes. Robbins cured her in about 20 min.

While some aspects have become obsolete, elements like modeling, fast phobic cures, and instant rapport are still incredibly effective.

How Does Hypnosis Work In Coaching Sessions?

I like to tell people I’m not a hypnotist, but I use hypnosis occasionally. Hypnosis is recognized by the medical profession, for example, as one of the most effective treatments for both chronic pain and IBS, and I have a 95% success rate with helping clients quit smoking.

It works by essentially distracting the conscious mind so we can communicate better with the unconscious.

What Is EFT?

Emotional Freedom Technique is what the acronym stands for. It’s getting excellent results in helping people stressed about various things.

It’s so effective for treating PTSD that the US military is now using it for their veterans who live miles from a VA center. They’re calling it “Battle Tapping.”

I like it because I can teach clients how to use it on themselves so they don’t have to keep coming back.

Will I Be Under Control During Hypnosis?

You can go to my website, HypnoticShift.com, and read more about hypnosis, but yes, you’re 100% under control during a hypnosis session.

Think about it for a moment. If someone was capable of taking control of a client during hypnosis, wouldn’t that person have hypnotized everyone on the planet to do their bidding? Wouldn’t we see hypnotists making their clients go to their ATMs, clean out their accounts, and give it all to the hypnotist?

What Are Limiting Beliefs, And How Do You Help Eliminate Them?

I have a blog post that answers the questions, but briefly, they’re things you believe that hold you back from reaching your maximum potential. “I’m not good enough,” “I could never be a millionaire,” “She would never go out with me,” and so on.

Most of them come from childhood, when you are between the ages of one and seven, in what is known as the imprint phase. You’re pretty much a blank slate at that time, so you believe everything you hear. That’s why kids are so easy to convince about things like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

PRACTICAL AND LOGISTICAL QUESTIONS

How Do I Know If Coaching Is Right For Me?

A picture of an arrow going up and to the right with performance coaching written behind it to illustrate the power of transformational coaching at Nick Hughes Coaching

An easy way is to set up a strategy session. They’re free, they go for about fifteen minutes, and we’ll be able to figure out pretty quickly whether or not you’re at the right phase of your personal developmental journey to justify having a coach.

How Are Sessions Conducted?

They can be in person, via Zoom, or in groups. It all depends on where you live, what we’re working on, and other factors. The strategy session will usually determine which option is best.

What Should I Expect During A Typical Session?

After the strategy session, we can meet via Zoom or in person if we establish that you’re in the right place for coaching. We’ll go more in-depth at that point and figure out exactly what we’re trying to achieve. We go over the different options, and between us, both will pick a course of action that will get you the most effective results in the most efficient use of your time.

How Much Does Coaching Cost?

It depends on how long we determine we need to work together. Again, that’s something we’ll explore during your strategy session.

Do You Offer Any Free Resources Or Initial Consultations?

As mentioned, the easiest way is to click here and set up your strategy session. They’re 100% free. Keep checking back because more resources will be added to the resource section all the time.

Is Coaching Confidential?

Yes, like you couldn’t believe. I used to work as a bodyguard for the rich and famous, and one of the things that’s critical in that trade is confidentiality. You won’t last long in that industry if you get caught telling stories out of school. Coaching, for me, is the same.

If a client knew I was talking about them outside of the office, I’d be finished. So yes, just like Vegas, whatever happens in a session or on a call stays there.