Over the last year Curtis Jasper, a life coach living in Georgia, has been getting media attention for creating a national mentoring program for inner-city and at-risk youth. Recently Bella caught up with this nationally recognized educator and entrepreneur to speak to him about his work with teens as well as adults. This is the first part of a three part series.

BELLA: From what I understand your current venture—Peripheral Pathways—grew out of your educational consulting company, can you tell us a little about the evolution?

COACH CURT: I started consulting, coaching and training educators and educational administrators in 1998, shortly after I left teaching as a classroom teacher. I had the wonderful opportunity to serve educators all around the country. What I began to notice was that most of my trainees were impacted professionally by their personal life challenges. I found myself doing more “life” coaching than “educational & teaching” coaching.

BELLA: You’ve said that you’re “trained to listen, to observe and to customize” your approach to differing client needs. What kind of training did you receive to do this work?

COACH CURT: I’ve received hundreds of professional hours of training as a coach within the educational area from top National Consultants and Coaches who are highly regarded in the field of education. I’ve also received hundreds of hours from various institutions in the areas of personal development which has added greatly to my educational training.

BELLA: Do you have a specialty?

COACH CURT: My specialty is working with individuals who are moving toward non-traditional areas within their lives whether that involves a new career, new business, traveling abroad, new relationships, etc. When I say non-traditional, I’m simply referring to being “off the beaten path” for those particular individuals. The moves that they are looking to take are far from most things that they conceived of up to this point of their lives. It’s definitely not of tradition for them.

BELLA: What role does education play in Life Coaching?

COACH CURT: Education is Life Coaching. Educate means to “put in”. It is designed to change existing behavior. Unlike formal education, Life Coaching is designed to educate by broadening or revealing awareness by removing or identifying “blind spots”, hence the name of our organization: “Peripheral Pathways.”

Next week, we’ll speak to Coach Curt about common obstacles faced by his clients and he’ll recommend books that foster personal growth, so stay tuned. In the meantime, for more information about Coach Curt, visit www.peripheralpathways.com or call directly (770)856-6906.