What's the latest buzzword on the Island and the top trend accessory for success?A coach.In the past month alone, Bermuda has hosted three international coaches who have been brought here to give public talks and presentations offering ways to improve our careers, our communities, our health, and ultimately our lives. Coaching is no means a new phenomenon. The concept has been around in the US and UK for decades. Anyone upwardly mobile and successful, Americans in particular, consider having a coach as necessary as we might think of having a dentist. And now Bermuda is catching on.So what do these coaches do and how does it work?It's generally assumed that great athletes and sports teams have a coach. The coach's job is to offer an objective view of their game, to encourage and support the player, help them develop plays and get the best performance possible from the individual and the team as a whole.The same thing works for your life.‘Coaching', an umbrella term including Executive Coaching, Life Coaching, Leadership coaching etc. is a process designed to get the coachee/client or shall we say, ‘player' (in this game of life) from where they are now, to where they want to be, faster than they could on their own. It is not to be confused with counselling or therapy, nor is it someone telling you what to do. Coaching, as a rule, is future focused and non-directive and concerns the individual's aspirations, choices and actions towards positive change. Coaches have at their disposal a toolbox of questioning techniques, exercises and information about how the human mind works and how to make the most of it to achieve the results that the individual (the player) really wants to see, in whichever aspect of life they choose to work on. This could include their career, health, relationships, finances, family, creativity the tools are applicable to virtually any areas of a person's life where they want to see improvement. Some coaches choose to concentrate in a niche area or market, for example ‘Wellness Coaching' or ‘Youth Coaching'. But there are core elements of the process itself applicable to all coaching which include: effective goal-setting, harnessing motivation, examining limiting beliefs, aligning with one's values, accepting personal responsibility, generating options, understanding team dynamics, to name a few. Simple tools that can have a dramatic effect on the way people live their lives and the success they achieve.So, what's stopping people rushing out and getting their own personal coach?Of course many have. Coaching at executive level is well established in Bermuda's corporate world. And now the benefits and success stories have filtered down to the rest of the population. However, the other catch phrase of the New Year is ‘this current economic climate'. And how ironic that during a financial downturn can often be when a coach can be most useful, to assist players in establishing their priorities, considering their options and facilitating change to create a positive future.I have seen numerous clients literally transform their lives and themselves through coaching, and personally feel these tools should be available to everyone willing to make a commitment to themselves, regardless of their current income.To this end, as a certified, practicing Personal Development and Success Coach who's recently returned to the Island from the UK, I would like to share with you some of these really helpful even transformative tools of coaching. Hence this column, each week I will be covering an aspect of coaching, how it can apply to you, and I'll include questions and exercises to assist you in moving forward towards achieving your goals and dreams, all for the price of a newspaper. Although nothing can replace the experience of working one-to-one with a coach dedicated to your success, I aim to provide information and tools to support and inspire those willing to engage in the process and take action. And taking action is the key. If you just read the column it's an article, it's not coaching. I can give you the tools but it's up to you to use them to carve your path to success. And not to worry, it'll be one step at a time. So if there's any area of your life that you would like to improve your performance, I invite you on this journey and look forward to the coming weeks and the progress in store…Next week we'll be starting with an introduction to the goal setting process…Just think of the buzz you'll be creating.Julia Pitt is a trained coach and certified NLP practitioner. For further information contact Julia on 441-705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com