Why pay me - why not do it yourself?

Very good question, and you're right to ask it.

If you're out of work, or facing redundancy, or simply trying to create a better life for yourself, then you have to watch every penny.   Also, if you haven't worked with somebody like me before then you may be wary and not sure whether I could really be of use to you.  You may feel that you ought to be able to deal with this - whatever this is - on your own.  And you may also feel that there are some rather dodgy people out there who call themselves coaches or counsellors but who're only "in it for the money." 

I agree with all those reservations.

Deciding whether to work with a helper is both difficult and scary.  You don't know me and you can't be sure that what I'm offering really is worth the money.

You're absolutely right to feel that you should be in charge of your own life and making your own decisions.  However, you may not know enough to be able to make informed and sensible decisions, and I could help you to find out.  You may be in a new and threatening situation that you don't understand, but I do.  You also may not know exactly how to do the things you want to do, and I've helped hundreds of people to learn skills. And you may not know quite how to identify and develop your strengths while learning how to cope with your weaknesses, and I'm good at helping there.

You need to talk and share whatever this is, but your nearest and dearest are emotionally caught up in it, your friends and colleagues have got their own agendas, so a neutral but concerned helper can be useful. 

So here's a suggestion 

• set yourself a time limit - by when do you want success?
• do whatever you think is right to gain that success
• when the time's up, decide if you've moved forwards on your own
• if you have, congratulations and good luck with your future
• and if you haven't, think seriously about working with me