Susan Hyatt:
Welcome to the Rich Coach Club, the podcast that teaches you how to build your dream coaching process and how to significantly increase your income. If you're a coach and you're determined to start making more money, this show is for you. I'm master certified life coach Susan Hyatt, and I'm psyched for you to join me on this journey. So why did you become a coach? Probably because you want to make a difference in people's lives. You want to make the world a better place. You want to do work that's really significant and meaningful. You want to make an impact. Those are probably some of the reasons why you became a coach, right?

Susan Hyatt:
So here's the big, tough question. Are you hoping and wishing and thinking about making an impact or are you actually doing it? On today's show, we're going to talk about how to really make an impact on your client's lives and on the world, how to create real impact that feels profound and satisfying, not just posting an inspirational quote on Instagram. I know this is something you care about. So keep listening because here we go.

Susan Hyatt:
Over the last year or so, you've probably seen lots of people in the coaching industry posting all kinds of things on social media, posting things related to race, racism, activism, social justice, and creating a better world. You probably see your peers posting things on Facebook or Instagram or whatever. Someone might post and say, "I stand in solidarity with black people and people of color." Or they post and say, "It's autism awareness month. Let's bring attention to this issue." Or they post and say, "Support indigenous artists. Skip the big box brands and shop local." Look, there's nothing wrong with posting a supportive message on Instagram. That's fine. If you want to do that, great. It's a good way to create awareness.

Susan Hyatt:
But I want to know, what are you doing after that? What are you doing in addition to that? Aside from a social media post, what are you actually doing to create the changes you want to see? As coaches, we are community leaders. We need to be role models. We need to lead the way forward and we need to do this with our actions not just our words. So as you may or may not know, I'm the founder of the University for Life Coach Training. We have training programs to get you certified as a life coach or a master coach and we have certain graduation requirements.

Susan Hyatt:
One graduation requirement is that you must complete a social justice project. This is mandatory. It is not optional. So this can be any topic in any project you want to do. We encourage our students to get creative and come up with a project that feels inspiring and powerful to them. So the idea is we want you to use your coaching skills, use your creativity and use your wonderful brain to come up with some way that you can make an impact. So for example, this project could be you create a fundraiser to raise money for black lives matter. You give a presentation on how to talk about race and racism. You write a brochure with advice for parents who have a child who is differently abled and then distribute a hundred copies around your neighborhood. You could teach free yoga, meditation and mindfulness classes at a local prison or school or community center.

Susan Hyatt:
You could organize a town hall meeting or panel event and bring leading voices together and then mobilize your audience to take action. Or you teach a workshop at a public school for teenagers who might not otherwise have access to your coaching skills, or whatever else you want to do. So again, this is a graduation requirement for our students. I know that our students are going to come up with some amazing ideas.

Susan Hyatt:
So dear person listening to this episode, I want to give this same assignment to you. By the end of this year, I want you to come up with a social justice project. Pick a topic, come up with a topic. Don't just think about it, actually do it. If you feel like, "But Susan, I don't have a lot of money. I don't have much time. I don't have a big platform. I don't have the ability to make an impact like you can." Well, then your challenge is to figure out a project that you can do with the resources you've currently got. If you have $0 in 30 minutes, you can do something. If you have $100 in three hours, you can do something. There is always something you can do. So I don't want to hear any whining or excuses. I repeat. There is something that you can do.

Susan Hyatt:
Decide what it is and do it. Let your value show through your actions because again, posting a message on Instagram is a great start, but it's just that. It's just a start. It's a nice beginning, but you need to go further. There's much more that we can do and need to do so. What's your project going to be? You can email me, support@susanhyatt.co or post it on social media, tell us what it is. We'd love to hear from you. Even better, tell us your project and tell us when you're going to complete it. We'd love to see you get specific and get serious about this. It's going to feel so good to complete your project because it always feels amazing to know that you are really making an impact, not just doing a performance on social media. Go do this.

Susan Hyatt:
All right. It's time for some community wins. This is the part of the show where I share wins and victories and accomplishments. Today, I'm actually going to celebrate some winning from the University for Life Coach Training. So I'm super proud that I created this university and the work that the faculty and the students are doing. I have to tell you, we have such an amazing group of coaches going through this training and we're about halfway through the first training cohort. Many of the students wrote the most beautiful things about the university. I wanted to share some of them with you because the reason I started the university was to create a ripple effect. It's so wonderful to hear what they have to say about what we're doing at the university and how they feel about it.

Susan Hyatt:
So Amy Stone wrote, "If you have a thirst for knowledge and a desire to learn and be inspired by great coaches, this program is for you. The content is amazing and comprehensive like a bird's eye view in addition to the week by week rollout." Thank you, Amy. Emma [Lavelle 00:07:23] says, "There is an energy that is both momentous, but also calm and consistent. I'm learning practical steps to building a life that my clients will see as an example rather than being an overstretched and overwhelmed reactive ball of energy. Don't be nervous about joining. You're given the tools from the first day to lean on while you make them your own."

Susan Hyatt:
Then Kelly Jackson says, "Sensitive topics are always challenging to approach, which is why DEI education is so valuable. The approach of ULCT is simultaneously direct and compassionate, allowing for a level of awareness that sets an example for the students." Thank you, Kelly. Laura [McCaffrey 00:08:08] says, "ULCT is the only coach training program that teaches coaching tools and techniques specifically designed to be inclusive and anti-oppressive. The instructors have unmatched expertise and the environment of the coach training groups themselves is inclusive and supportive. This is the best training on the market." Well thank you, Laura. We think so too.

Susan Hyatt:
Lindsey Alexander says, "I highly recommend ULCT especially if you're interested in really diving deeper from a diversity and inclusivity lens. It will not only make you a stronger coach, but make you a better ally in change." So good. Listen, we are actually having an open inside the Rich Coach Club Facebook group. If you're listening to this, when this episode dropped, okay, on Wednesday, April 21st, we are having a day long extravaganza inside the Facebook group where every hour on the hour from 9 to 5 Central time, we have university students and faculty delivering workshops. We're going to put the link in the show notes to the Rich Coach Club Facebook group. You're going to want to check this out because the workshops being delivered that day, that open house is worth thousands of dollars and we're giving it to you for free. So come check it out inside Rich Coach Club on Facebook. Join this group. We would love to have you in the club.

Susan Hyatt:
Okay. One more thing before we end today's show. If you're a white person, you might wonder what are some ways that I can stand in solidarity with my black friends and clients and with people of color and other marginalized communities? What are some ways I can make a difference? What are some specific things I can do? Maybe you just don't know where to begin. You figure, "Well, I guess I could donate some money to a good cause." But what else? Maybe you need some fresh ideas. Well, my colleague, Alex Franzen co-wrote a short book to help you out and it's free. The book is called 30 Ways You Can Educate Yourself, Stand in Solidarity with your BIPOC, BIPOC stands for black, indigenous and people of color, Fight Racism and Build a Better World.

Susan Hyatt:
So this book includes 30 small action steps that could make a big difference. You can pick a couple of things from the list, or you could even pick one action step and then do one thing per day for 30 days in a row. So Alex worked with a diverse group of friends to collect input and make this book as inclusive as possible. You can get this book for free and it might give you a bunch of ideas. So I'll put the link in the show notes. One more thing that's really cool about the book. They use a font called Martin, and this is a font inspired by the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968. So Martin Luther King Jr. joined the cause speaking to a crowd of 6,000 people and then a company called [Trey Seals 00:11:17], a vocal type company created a font inspired by that moment in history. How cool is that? So with every decision you make in your coaching practice, even something as small as the font you choose, you can make a statement and make a difference.

Susan Hyatt:
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Rich Coach Club podcast. I hope this episode has inspired you to come up with a social justice project, set a timeline and do it. Use your position as a coach to be a role model for your clients and your community. Lead the way. Thanks again for listening and I will see you next week.