Living Service

praise for: Living Service: The Journey of a Prosperous Coach

if you’re looking for a quick-fix, seven-step formula or tactics to get clients for your coaching practice, you won’t find it here. what you will find, however, is much more valuable—the insight that “service isn't an external strategy; it’s an internal stance.” as a coach, you cannot take your clients where you have never been yourself. melissa offers a brutally honest and vulnerable account of her own journey of struggle, failure, success, failure, and ultimate success—not as arriving, but as an ongoing journey. this book offers great lessons for any coach who wants to serve clients in the most powerful way.

~ Ron Wilder, creator of CEO Jiu-Jitsu and author of Clear Your Hidden Profit Blocker(s): How to Own Your Next Level of Performance So There’s No Looking Back, Aligned Action: The Key to CEO Effectiveness and The 100 Watt War

melissa ford’s insightful journey on her path to prosperous coaching is a must read for everyone in the world of coaching!

~ Steve Chandler, Author of Time Warrior: How to defeat procrastination, people-pleasing, self-doubt, over-commitment, broken promises and chaos

Melissa Ford is a master business and life coach with over twenty years of experience working with individuals and groups. Her clients include fast-rising coaches, entrepreneurs, executives and career changers. She offers ongoing programs to coaches to help them strengthen their business mindsets, deepen their service and increase their profitability. She is a contributing author to When All Boats Rise: 12 Coaches on Service as the Heart of a Thriving Practice.

Visit Melissa at: www.melissafordcoaching.com

table of contents



Foreword by Ankush Jain xiii

Introduction xvii



Part I: Awakening to Service



1.     Breaking Up Is Hard to Do 3

2.     Off to a Nervous Start 8

3.     Hidden Help 10

4.     One-Sentence Wakeup Call 13

5.     What the Hell Is Service? 18

6.     My Sneaky Social Self 22

7.     From Fake Pro to Legit 25

8.     Another Piece of the Professional Puzzle: No Downside 30

9.     The Year I Set My Hair on Fire 35

10.  The Heart of the Matter 38



Part II: Learning Service



11.  Learning to Learn 43

12.  Learning Aversion 48

13.  H.O.W. 53

14.  Got Courage? 56

15.  Where Had I Not Been HONEST? 61

16.  How to Be OPEN 65

17.  Willing to Be WILLING? 69

18.  Three Stages of Mastery 71

19.  The Stages of Service Mastery

#1: Love Your Process 74

20.    The Detour 79

21.    #2: Own Your Progress 82

22.    #3: You’ve Got This! 86

23.  The Service Game 91

24.  Playing Without Fear 94

25.  Game On! 100



Part III: Practicing Service



26.  Mastery Milestones 111

27.  Recovering 114

28.  Drop that “Coaching” Thing 120

29.  Money Commits 126

30.  No Niche Necessary 132

31.  Working Coach vs. Prosperous Coach 135

32.  Fee Creation Vs Fee Confusion 140

33.  It Isn’t a YES 144

34.  Sisyphus System 149

35.  Slowing Down to Powerfully Serve 156

36.  The Service Equation 161



Part IV: Living Service



37.  Service Clarity 167

38.  Service Is Creative 171

39.  Stay on the Path 175

40.  Serving Loved Ones 178

41.  Serving Yourself 181

42.  Keep Upgrading Your Service 183

43.  Service Becomes Your Life 188

44.  You’re Right Where You Need to Be 190



Acknowledgments 195

About the Author 199