Are you a life coach? If so, you know that there are a lot of great books out there on the topic of life coaching. But which ones should you read?
There is a lot of life coaching books on the market these days. It can be tough to know which ones are worth reading and which ones won’t help you become a better coach.
In case you don’t know us, we’re Cass and Tee, the creators of Lovely Impact. If you’re into coaching, you’ve come to the right place! Our experience as web designers turned coaches means we are well versed in all aspects of coaching, including branding, web design, trends, and more.
That’s why we put together this list of the 10 best life coaching books – so you can read the very best ones and get started on your coaching journey!
Whether you’re looking for practical advice or inspiration, these books have got you covered. Ready to elevate your coaching library? Keep reading to learn more.
10 Best Life Coaching Books
1. Make Money As A Life Coach
Understanding the financial side of becoming a life coach can be pretty daunting when you’re just starting out, and this book helps to unlock the mystery and makes it easier to get your foot in the door. A lot of life coaching books focus on practical skills and how to approach clients, but this one is all about how to attract paying customers so your business starts making money.
The book covers plenty of information on how to find your coaching niche, how to realize your ambitions, and how to turn your doubts into fuel to get yourself going. It looks at a wide range of the biggest questions people have about coaching and helps to talk you through pricing and some of the practical steps you will need to follow.
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Digital: $9.99 (Kindle) | Physical: $14.99 | Audio 1 Credit (Audible) # of Pages: 130
Sample Buyer Review: Sally Miller and Melissa Ricker have put together an inspiring and actionable guide to launching your own coaching service. I could not put this one down until I powered through every page, now I’m going back and re-reading each section, and making my life coaching launch plans.
2. Life Coach Handbook
For those looking for a really comprehensive guide on what life coaching is and how to do it, this handbook is ideal. It lays out all the foundations of coaching, including chapters on what coaching is, the differences between coaching and therapy, and the different coaching models that you might want to try.
Though it has a concise approach that keeps things simple, some of the advice contained in it is a little basic – which makes it ideal for beginners, and not so great for experienced coaches. It is a useful resource for people who want to understand some coaching fundamentals.
Digital: $34.99 (Kindle) | Physical: $49.99 | Audio: 1 Credit (Audible) | # of Pages: 727
3. Life Coaching For Dummies
Perhaps one of the best-named life coaching books, this one does what it says on the cover; it unlocks the path to becoming a coach with step-by-step guides you can follow to write an action plan, organize your priorities, and overcome the obstacles you face.
The book covers some common themes of coaching, such as choosing your beliefs and becoming the best version of yourself, and it focuses on growth in all aspects of life, including at work and at home.
If you want to be your own life coach before you start coaching others, this is a great way to do it.
Life Coaching For Dummies Paperback – Illustrated, September 7, 2010
Digital: $13.00 (Kindle) | Physical: $18.39 | |# of Pages: 384
Sample Buyer Review: I bought this book to learn more about Life coaching. It has helped me so much. I am glad I bought it.
4. Helping People Change
Helping People Change is one of the best life coaching books you can try if you are having difficulty helping your clients despite your ability to clearly understand their problems. It is focused on practical strategies to help your clients actually implement the things they need to do to succeed.
This book is focused on building great relationships with your clients and will show you how to get to the heart of what is bothering them – which any great life coach needs to be able to do. If you are eager to learn about coaching with compassion, this is the resource you need to help you start.
Digital: $19.99 (ETextbook) | Physical: $22.99 | Audio: 1 Credit (Audible) | # of Pages: 256
Sample Buyer Review: Although this book was written for coaches, its contents would be beneficial to anyone who wants to help others make positive changes in their lives (managers, parents – everyone).
5. Life Coaching Activities + Powerful Questions
A resource intended to serve both coaches and coachees, this book is packed with exercises that you can follow or encourage your clients to undertake, and it serves as a teacher for both parties. A lot of it is focused on finding the right questions to ask your clients, and it provides you with many tools you can use.
If you want a set of activities that you can use with your clients, particularly as you are building up your confidence and establishing your coaching techniques, this book will give you what you need. It is intended to serve people from all walks of life but is probably best for beginner coaches and those looking to achieve self-growth.
Digital: $0.00 (Kindle) | Physical: $9.99 | |# of Pages: 118
The book is excellent coaching material and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about life coaching. It contains some of the best coaching questions ever.
6. Don’t Make Me Use My Life Coach Voice
Another one of the life coaching books that are aimed at both helping aspiring coaches and their coachees, this one covers a whole range of topics, including celebrities who love life coaches, what you can gain from working with a coach, various techniques that coaches can use, and how to run a coaching session.
It covers important topics like habits and challenging negative habits, and talks about the value of mindset coaching for both individuals and coaches.
It also touches on business coaching for those interested in expanding their knowledge and has a section on building trust, which could be invaluable to aspiring coaches who are just starting to grapple with client relationships.
Digital: $8.99 (Kindle) | Physical: $13.99 | Audio: 1 Credit (Audible) | # of Pages: 166
Sample Buyer Review:
I have to say that “You had me at the book title.”
It was just so witty and fun and so understandable and believable that it gave me an insight into what type of book and style this would be.
It didn’t disappoint.
7. Becoming A Professional Life Coach
This book is ideal for those interested in honing their coaching skills and techniques directly used with clients; it is focused on techniques such as asking good questions, listening well, providing feedback, and reframing ideas succinctly and clearly.
If you’re looking for a practical guide on how to build up your skills as a coach, this might be ideal for you, although it has been noted that it isn’t perfectly edited. Overall, however, the content is strong and provides good descriptions of skills like listening and finding the bigger picture version of the things your clients say.
You’ll also get some tips on how to categorize goals for your clients, and how to ensure that the conversations you have with your clients are productive on both sides.
Becoming a Professional Life Coach: Lessons from the Institute of Life Coach Training 2nd Edition
Digital: $32.68 (Kindle) | Physical: $33.30-34.40 | Audio: $0.00|
Sample Buyer Review: This is a great resource for a coach to have. I wish I had found it earlier.
8. Designing & Leading Life-Changing Workshops
Full of practical advice and solid know-how, this guide sets out to inspire coaches in all different areas, and to give life coaches everything they need in order to transform the lives of others. It’s a gem among life coaching books and gives you everything you need for building revolutionary coaching sessions.
It contains life stories, techniques for generating ideas, science about how the brain operates and learns, and advice for leading a workshop. It also talks about the role of the teacher and how to create safe spaces for your clients, as well as how to get participants on board.
Everything you need to know to become a great life coach is encapsulated in this book, accompanied by relatable stories to clarify the theories being discussed.
Digital: 0.00 (Kindle) | Physical: $24.50 | # of Pages: 309
Sample Buyer Review: I had great luck to participate in Ken Nelson and Lesli Lang’s course at Kripalu a number of years ago so when I heard about this book I was delighted. I was also deeply curious.
9. Total Life Coaching
This book offers a wide range of ideas and advice, wrapped up in a series of “life lessons” that will give you insight into yourself and your clients. It explores beliefs and where they stem from, along with ideas about identity, goal creation, and how to help a client start to believe in the right things.
The book is structured to give you a series of “life lessons,” and then follows these up with ways you can use them with your clients to help them learn too. The setup is an effective way of both learning and thinking about how to teach others, and it is accompanied by exercises, questions, and language that you can use with your clients.
Digital: $34.99 (Kindle) | Physical: $47.50 | # of Pages: 480
Sample Buyer Review: I love all of Patrick Williams’ books. They are so easy to read, understand and comprehend. Well written, tons of information, and straight to the point. He is an excellent writer and a great communicator.
10. Life Consulting Launch Workbook
If you want to cover topics like self-definition, finding your strengths, determining your vision, and working out who your ideal self is, this book will help you do all that – and then launch into doing it with clients too.
It has sections on how to create your business and what tools you may need, as well as touching on how to find your niche and how to start pricing yourself. This makes it a practical guide for those just getting started, and it will help you improve yourself as well as your clients.
Whatever kind of coaching you want to do, this book will help to make you into a fantastic coach!
Life Consulting Launch Workbook: Help Yourself and Others Paperback – August 6, 2020
Physical: $37.00 | # of Pages: 147
Final Thoughts
That’s it! Those are our top 10 life coaching books, picked because they each have something special and unique to offer coaches at any stage of their career. We hope you found this list helpful in your search for the perfect reading material to elevate your coaching business.
Whether you’re a life coach just starting out or you’ve been at it for a while and are looking for new ways to improve your practice, we consider these ten books to be essential reading. Success in coaching becomes inevitable when you are armed with the right resources.
What book do you plan to read first? Is there any other life coaching books that should be on this list? Leave us a comment and let us know!