Higher Ed Life Coach » Higher Ed Life Coaching

HigherEdLifeCoach.Com Going on Indefinite Hiatus

Sean Cook — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:10:16 +0000

When I first launched HigherEdLifeCoach.Com in August of 2009, I was focused on creating a blog that would help s students and their families manage the transitions that are a normal part of college, and to create opportunities to craft a brand name for myself as a coach that could help them in navigating these difficult journeys.The idea seemed to resonate with higher ed professionals, especially those in student affairs.

I started networking with others, and several talented writers stepped up and wrote regular guest posts for the blog, most notably Mickey Fitch and Mallory Bower, two of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time, and who I know support the ideas behind this blog, and me, and I am grateful for all the support I received from other guest bloggers, including Shonda Goward, Lee Skallerup, Sarah Howard, Andrew Henck, and Brian Fisher, and from my periodic guest hosts on my podcast, Bryan Koval, Mickey Fitch and Dennis Charles.

I’m also grateful for the many readers who have stopped by and for their comments and feedback. I still get between 600-1000 visitors in a given month, but I’m not reaching the audience I was hoping , and honestly, my interests have changed. As my coaching practice started to get going, career coaching clearly became my focus. I have been a part of the national conversations about employment and professional preparation in student affairs, and I’ve gained a few paying clients.

But, in reality, my attention to this site has trailed off, and I can’t spend the time here that would be necessary to really have it gain the kind of traction to make it feel worthwhile. I need more clients, and I need the regular income that comes with them, so I am going to follow the money, and spend time focusing on HigherEdCareerCoach.Com, my clients, my podcasts and webinars, and place HigherEdLifeCoach.Com on “pause” for a while, while I seek partners who can help bring the content up to par, and help manage it better.

I’ve reached out to some of these people (or they’ve reached out to me) in the last few weeks, and I am going to try to work on getting some regular contributors and maybe some interns and advisors. Until then, this blog is officially on hiatus.

Thanks for reading and for your support.

Let Them Choose: A Wake-Up Call for Parents of College-Aged Children

Sean Cook — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:27:19 +0000

College can be just as much of an adjustment for parents as it is for college students. It’s important to give your student the support to make it through challenges, but to resist “saving” them from everyday decisions that come along with becoming healthy, functioning adults.

That’s why I will be teaming up with Monica Moody, a fellow Life Purpose and Career Coach, to facilitate a free webinar for parents of college students AT 3 PM EST on Wednesday, December 15. To register, use the registration widget below!

Higher Ed Life Coach receives Freshman Advisor Award

Sean Cook — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:30:28 +0000

Higher Ed Life Coach has recently been honored to receive eCollegeFinder.org’s Freshmen Advisor Award. The Freshmen Advisor Award recognizes the top 50 Internet-based resources offering young students advice toward advancing their college-life experience.

An excerpt from the press release eCollegeFinder sent along with the award notification gives the rationale for choosing the site for this recognition.

By introducing students as well as parents to both the exciting and challenging trials and tribulations of beginning college, Higher Ed Life Coach has shown its commitment to college freshmen during their transition into higher education.

To view more about this award, visit the eCollegeFinder Freshmen Advisor Award page.

About eCollegeFinder.org

Getting ahead in today’s competitive job market requires you to advance your education and knowledge. eCollegeFinder.org helps students find the right online degrees, offering a wide range of Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees as well as specialized certificates and diplomas from the top accredited online colleges and universities.

If They Knew Now, What You Know Now, That You Wish You’d Known Then…. What Would They Know?

Sean Cook — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:01:52 +0000

When I first came to college, I had all sorts of nonsense running through my head about college and what it would be all about. I looked forward to meeting new people and making friends, maybe joining a fraternity, and (this was a surprise to many who knew me) Air Force ROTC. I quickly found out that many of my preconceptions about what college would be like were based on television and movies, and not real life. I had rose-colored glasses in a big way and soon enough, they were stripped away and I had to see college for what it really was: hard work (and not just the classes-the meeting people and having a social life was work, too.)

If I had to do it again, I’d have a lot of advice for that fresh-faced first-year, and quite a bit of it would blow his mind.

College may be a fresh start, but you can’t really “re-create” yourself in some new image. You will always be essentially the same person. The more you push against it, the more misery you will create. Just be yourself.
You may be an adult, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. In fact, knowing when you need help is an essential adult life skill. So prove you know when to ask for help, and how to find it. It’s the adult way to do things.
As long as we’re talking about it, try to do new things on your own before asking for help. It’s great to have the support of friends and family, but if you have so much help from others that you don’t know how to handle everyday life choices, you’re actually co-dependent. Your chief life goal during college should be to become more independent and move toward inter-dependence in your relationships. Other people can’t do this for you. If they do, you may pass your classes, but you’ll fail college life.

These are just 3 brief life lessons I’d share with myself, if met me at orientation or on the way into the residence hall. I’d like to hear yours.

What can you share? If they knew now, what you know now, that you wish you’d known then…. what would they know?

Happy Birthday to Us!

Sean Cook — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:19:45 +0000

A year has somehow passed since I first registered HigherEdCareerCoach.Com and HigherEdLifeCoach.Com, so today I’d just like to say “thanks!” to all our readers and guest posters, and to all the other people who have supported and sustained the sites through this critical first year.

Today, I outlined some milestone events during year 1 on our companion blog, Higher Ed Career Coach. Read that post if you are interested in knowing more about what we’ve been doing with our sites!

For now, though, just know that the development of these sites, (and my coaching practice) would not have been possible without the support of an awesome community of readers, contributors, friends and colleagues. You’ve helped the blogs “find their voice,” attract new readers, and explore new territory in our efforts to play a contributing role in discussions about the emerging directions in higher education, how we serve our students and their families, and how we train and prepare future professionals for success in working with college students.

In the next few weeks, you’ll see even more changes, including:

A new tab where you can find more information on upcoming live webinar classes for job searchers and professionals starting their new positions, short courses, teleseminars, and the next editions of our hybrid coaching programs. (Another for students hoping to attend placement next Spring, and one on getting your act together to apply for graduate programs.)
A new provider (aWeber) for our mailing list, and free e-mail “short courses” for new subscribers
E-books, videos, and audio content, including interviews with higher ed professionals about their career development.)
A membership area for premium content, discussion forums, and online coaching.
New sites in our web portfolio, including HigherEdCoach, a site for coaches and consultants working in higher ed to share their tips for getting into coaching and consulting, and to learn from each other. The site will also have a directory for coaches and consultants, that will hopefully assist those in need of coaching and consulting in finding someone appropriate to their needs.

Help celebrate our blog birthday! Your support and encouragement keep us going. Here are some great ways you can help us kick off Year 2:

Tell a friend or colleague to check out the sites.
Even better, send out links to your favorite articles from the last year to your Twitter List, or “like” them on Facebook (you can use the Wibiya toolbar)
Go back and comment on your favorite post.
Add our sites to your blogroll if you have a blog.
Write a guest post.
Sign up for an upcoming webinar class or coaching program.
Give the gift of coaching to a friend, colleague or family member who needs a motivational kick-start in their job search.
And most importantly, keep reading!

Thanks for everything! We’re looking forward to Year 2!