In case you haven't noticed, the world is overflowing with screwed up people. Some of them are just plain crazy (I've been told that I fit into that group) and some are just mixed up (been there, done that). While the crazy people probably need medical help, a good majority of the rest just need someone to help them make sense of it all and to get their lives on track.

There are a wide variety of life coach training options. It's not like being a shrink or a doctor where you have to be licensed or anything like that, you simply declare yourself to be a life coach and that's it. Nonetheless, there are numerous training options online that you should consider because you'll have a lot more credibility if you can say that you've been certified or that you've completed a certain course and so on. Unfortunately, however, the lack of licensing requirements means that there isn't really a standard course of learning so you'll have to figure that out on your own. Use extreme caution when choosing a training course and be sure to research it thoroughly before spending any money. Remember, any idiot with a computer and an internet connection can claim to sell a "Life Coach Certification Course."

Who would make a good life coach? Anyone can be a life coach but it helps if you aren't screwed up yourself. (You'd be surprised how many nutty people decide to be life coaches.) You should be a good listener, have a lot of patience, have the ability to think clearly and have exceptional problem solving skills. You should also be able to remain dispassionate about your client's problems and you should be able to maintain confidentiality. If you have a big mouth, this is probably not the right career for you.

The beauty of being an online life coach is that you never even have to see your clients. You can mentor them by email or instant messenger (ICQ, AIM, etc.) or even over the phone. If you wanted a virtual face-to-face meeting you could use a service like SightSpeed for videoconferencing. There are a million different ways to do it nowadays so experiment a bit and see what works for you.

Here are some resources that might help you out...

The Life Coaching Studio - This manual will show you the ropes and help you get started.

The Life Coach Marketing Bible - This manual teach you how to get customers for your life coaching business.