Taking My Transformation to a Whole New Level

Jeff Spikes, PCC, CBC
Certified BALM® Family Recovery Life Coach
Gallup-Certified  Strengths Coach
Arizona

I found the BALM® online while looking for a quick certificate in life coaching. When I called to get information about the coach training program, Bev quickly called me back (more than most of the schools I called did). Bev explained the value of engaging in a robust life coach training program rather than a paper mill or a quick certificate for learning basic skills and concepts.

After some deep conversation, including me learning what the BALM® Institute and Family Recovery Resources offer and Bev learning about my passion and love for activating change in the world, Bev asked one question that has forever changed my life. She asked, “Have you considered what it would feel like to say, ‘I’m in training to be a life coach at the BALM® Institute’ rather than ‘I have a certificate’?” Wow, what a powerful question that was for me. That question stuck with me as a prominent consideration for a few days. I imagined what that would look and feel like and knew that being in training was the answer. A few days later, I took the plunge and joined the BALM® community as a student.

I caught the vision of the program when she explained the mission of helping all families blaze the trail to recovery and became intrigued by the concept of going deep into both life coaching and family recovery. I felt connected to and inspired by the future of the program, the ICF accreditation, and the potential growth of additional programs. As I look back, I realize everything Bev said was happening was, everything that was going to happen has, and what Bev explained as a vision has become the realization of a revolution against addiction, use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and codependency. Any and every person or program that stands for recovery is included and embraced. Real practices: calming, centering, and communicating, with myself and the world around me in a way that addresses codependency and delivers healing experientially on a core internal level.

As a person with over thirty years in long-term recovery, I had faced many challenges on the path to what I considered success. Fresh out of the Marines as a twenty-one-year-old, new in recovery for the second time, I followed the path of least resistance into a career, still somewhat a victim to my circumstances. This led me down a road as a logistics/facility professional, and I climbed my way into the corporate world eventually to a position that embodied my idea of success. I was able to be a husband, father, son, brother, friend, mentor, and many other meaningful and joyous things. My avocation along the way has always been about holistic recovery and self-improvement. I had worked both in the recovery field and in the corporate world as a person engaged in the business development and consulting end of things. I wrote and taught courses at church to raise awareness of codependency and how it affects our lives. I’ve challenged myself and others to evaluate personal effectiveness and find ways to increase our effectiveness in the world. I’ve been focused on new ideas and implementation, always on the lookout for great ideas making their way to the marketplace. I was always looking for more!

The year in BALM® coach training gave me more than I could have imagined and is the “more” I had been searching for. It included exposure to global experts in the recovery field, substantial coach training written and delivered by experts in the fields of both recovery and life coaching, and a community of like-minded coach trainees all committed to changing the face of recovery by helping families.

Personally, I faced challenges head-on in the BALM® way, using facts and love concurrently to help loved ones, recovery partners, business associates, and others, without losing my own integrity. I learned that I had been coaching (or what I thought was coaching) my entire life yet felt unappreciated for what I brought to the table. It was like I was hiding the best parts of myself from the world. I got the opportunity to challenge myself on how I had shown up in the world and coined the personal phrase that I had been coaching sideways for as long as I could remember. I’ve been challenged to put intention toward ways of being I had for some reason locked up or controlled and shared sparingly when I thought it wouldn’t be noticed and then wondered why people didn’t notice the greatness.

Part of the work I engaged in over the course of the year in additional to coach training was having a life coach of my own. In that relationship, I worked through personal, business, and recovery challenges and found my own life purpose. I became a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, something I had practiced using for over fifteen years yet had refused to become certified in. I learned the value of investing in myself and have been able to gain an intimate understanding of what self-care is and does for me. I have lost close to one hundred pounds, maintained the loss, and addressed my relationship to food, exercise, and overall wellness. I engage today with the world around me in a more authentic way than ever before regardless of the environment.

When put together, the past eighteen months resulted in much more than just my BALM® coach certification. I also got myself back-and in some ways, got to a whole new level of self-development in a powerful way. My understanding of change has been catapulted into a new dimension, and I’ve been able to sustain change where previously I had not found success. Everyone who knows me well has experienced the change and for the most part offers feedback that I am not attached to doing things the hard way and seem more at peace than ever. My relationships have improved tenfold, and I am no longer hiding my purpose and best self from the world.

The BALM® is for families, individuals, and everyone. Actually, there are only two kinds of people when it comes to the BALM: those who work it and those who would greatly benefit by doing so.

If you would like to hire Jeff as your BALM® Coach call 1-888-998-BALM (2256) option 2

If you would like to learn more about the BALM® Family Recovery Program CLICK HERE. Or Call 1-888-998-BALM (2256) option 2