How A Life Coach Is Different From A Therapist

There's a secret yearning inside most of us for a mentor. We want someone who can be there when the questions are so big that they seem cosmic, but can also be focused when they are small, yet irritating.

Our own personal Yoda, perhaps, who can train us to be whatever the 21st century rendition of a Jedi Knight would be. Someone who can answer the meaning of life questions with the aplomb of a Fonzie, and the insight of Albus Dumbledore.

But, with one caveat: This guide has to be real, not fictional.

Actually, that guide exists. They're called life coaches, and they can help you figure out how to achieve the goals that are within you, find success in the choices you make, make the career change you want, do something you love as work and attain the confidence you long to possess.

Keep in mind that a life coach is very different from a therapist. A therapist is great for dealing with emotional issues that are casting long shadows over your current life choices.

A life coach has a different role. They are gazing out at the universe with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, while the best you can do on your own is squint up at the night sky to try and find the Big Dipper.

Millennials might have grown up with GPS rather than AAA Travel, but that doesn't mean they have all the answers. There's never been a generation like this.

The Millennials -- the adored offspring/debt-ridden college graduates/gadget-savvy techies/social media communicators -- have changed the youth brand with the way they live, love, work and play.

The generation born roughly within the boundaries of the Reagan presidency and 9/11 are still rewriting the script of their era, and everyone questions how it will end. One of the areas where those questions are most defined are in their careers.

Young people, who are seeking entry into meaningful employment, should consider getting guidance to help them with the major life decision of finding a career.

That may mean calling upon the services of a life coach who can stand back, assess the talents, skills, dreams and needs of a person, and point out some tips that can help customize a Millennial's earning potential.

As life coach Sally Mercedes explains it, “Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?”

A life coach has never met you before, but they know what you can become and how the different personality traits and talents you possess can permeate all the layers of your life, including work.

Millennials are already revolutionizing the workplace by customizing their income source with what they love. Take Lenny Platt, a man who works as an administrative legal assistant for ESPN in New York. He's now also Lenny Platt, the actor from "How to Get Away With Murder" and "Quantico".

Platt has achieved the kind of versatility that makes his LinkedIn page, as he puts it, “look crazy.” But crazy is just another means of personal expression.

Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?

That's where a life coach's perceptions can make the difference between a life that's lived seven days a week, or one that just waits for the weekend.

Life coaches understand that for a Millennial, the need to seek gainful employment shouldn't mean climbing the rungs of a ladder that leads to a surplus of overtime and stress ulcers.

A life coach can help in the quest for a career that combines work and play, an income that meets personal needs and a lifestyle that's meaningful.

How do they do this? They pay attention. They ask you the questions that need to be answered in order for you to figure out what it is that you want from work. What's keeping you from attaining that dream? A life coach comes up with a strategic plan that maps out your destination.

For people of all ages, the yearning for answers has led to a growth spurt in the consulting industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Studies, there's an annual increase of over 575,000 jobs in the field, demonstrating that people are going to professionals to find the answers they can't find on their own. And they're happy with their results.

According to the International Coach Federation, clients of life coaches have reported that their median return on investment is 3.4 times the amount they originally invested.

There are nearly 75 million Millennials who are currently in, or preparing to join, the workforce. Find the life coach that's right for you. The results will lead you to the life you're meant to live.

Your destiny is waiting.