How many people do you know, that are living the life they really want? You know, they go and get what they want in life. They don’t sacrifice their health due to perceived work demands. They have passion for life, and are not overwhelmed by financial or time pressures. They take their great ideas and dreams, and actually turn them into reality. They have fulfilling relationships and truly love their life. How many people did you count?

Ok, maybe it sounds too good to be true? Are we talking about a fairytale? Sure, if you win the lottery you can live the life you want, but what are the odds? Then again, money can’t buy happiness. Or can it? So who is really living their dream life? Did they leave an unfulfilling job or career? But most importantly, how did they get there?

To learn more about how to live a dream life, I interviewed Mark Susnow, a successful Personal Life Coach who once ran his own law practice for 30 years. He started his coaching practice, Inspire Possibilities, with the mission to empower people to see what is really possible. He is living the life he wants, and he helps others to do the same.

Q: Mark, why did you decide to become a Personal Life Coach?

Coach: I have always been interested in personal growth. I wondered, can we experience more in life then we really are experiencing? I’ve always been curious on how I could create the life that I want. My main focus has never been with money per say; it has been more about having a fulfilling life. That led me to mediation and yoga.

In 1999, a psychologist friend of mine came to me and said, “You’d probably be really good at coaching, because of all the things your into”. I decided to close my 30-year old attorney practice, and take a year off in Hawaii. I thought about what I wanted to do. I started to look into coaching, not really knowing what it was. I started taking some coaching courses, and started telling people I was a coach. That’s how I made the transition.

Q: What's the inspiration behind your coaching practice?

Coach: The inspiration is to empower people – to really enable them to believe what is possible. I have done coaching a lot now, and have seen great results, and my confidence level is really high. I really believe that life can be a lot better than it is for others, no matter who they are. I have also been married for 20 years, so a lot of people feel that, I “walk the talk”, and I think that makes a difference.

Q: What are your clients typically facing, and how do you help them? 

Coach: For a lot of people, I think there is just dissatisfaction in their. They are missing joy. I help them to look and reframe their life, in terms of looking at it in a different way. For instance, I’m really big on having some type of morning program, so you start the day the same. Everything else in life is unpredictable. If you have a morning program, you can start the day with certainly, and you are able to handle things better.

I wrote an article called, “Start Your Day On Your Terms”, which means to have intentions. For instance, I wake up to a CD that I choose, then I shower, then I have a mediation practice. I focus on my affirmations, and look at what I’m grateful for. Then I ask a question and wonder, “what will the highlight of my day will be?” From there, I go throughout my day looking for my highlight of my day. From there, I can ask other empowering questions.

You always have a choice on whether you are going to focus on possibilities, or limitations. What is possible? Or, what can go wrong? You are constantly asking yourself questions during the day. The morning is the only time of the day that you can really take for you. When you do that, and you really are centered in that, then things just work better. I think there is a direct correlation regarding how you start the day, and the quality of your life.

Q: What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about becoming a coach?

Coach: They have had financial support and take some courses. And then just start doing it. I think that one mistake that I feel anyway, is that a lot of the schools tell people to take all these courses, and get certified, but then people are afraid to coach. There are so many people who go through the coaching programs, but they have never coached anyone, except maybe some of the classes.

It’s good to actually do coaching, and in the beginning do it with the idea to get so much from it. Just do it, but not to make a living, but do it because it’s the best personal growth thing you can do. It’s different if they want to make it into a business. The coaches that do it well treat it like a business. You have to have a plan. You got to sell yourself, and people don’t like that. You constantly market yourself, because people don’t work with you forever.

Q: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?

Coach: Yes! You get such incredible satisfaction from coaching. I am so excited about my business, that I drive my wife nuts! She says, “You’ve gotta stop talking about it!” I just love it. The people that I work with are allowing me to be a part of their life. For them allowing me to be a part of their life, it makes me so much more than I am now. I really get as much out of it as they do, and maybe even more.

End: Thanks Mark!

Mark Susnow is a Personal Life Coach and a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute. He offers phone coaching sessions, an Ecourse, and teleclasses. For more information, please visit www.InspirePossibility.com or send an email to Mark@InspirePossibility.com