Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Can I speak to someone live?
Of course! If you have any questions about this program, please email us at jonathangustin@hotmail.com
Q. Where can I find some basic facts about the Purpose Guide Training?
Click to open a “snapshot” of the program.
Questions about fit?
Q.What is purpose guiding?
Purpose guiding is the art and science of guiding a client to identify and then embody their life purpose.
Q. Is purpose guiding a good fit for me?
Purpose Guides™ are people who feel called to support others to discover a life of purpose. Purpose Guides™ have a deep commitment to their clients’ evolution, to their own continuous learning, and a desire to create a planet with 8 billion people living with purpose.
Q. How is purpose guiding™ different from coaching or psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy attends, primarily, to mental health issues. Life-coaching attends to almost every area of life, while purpose guiding attends, specifically, to one area: finding and embodying one's life purpose.
Purpose Guides™ do not give medical, legal, or financial advice or practice psychotherapy — purpose guides know when to refer their client to experts in other professions.
Q. I'm not a coach or therapist...can I still be a purpose guide?
Yes. You may have come to the end of the road with your current work. You may be ready for a job that, both pays the bills and fulfills your passion for meaningful service. We expect, that some of our trainees will not have previous coaching experience. That said, it is advantageous if you have some experience with mentoring: yoga instructor, mediation teacher, life coach, etc.
Q. I'm already a coach or therapist...why would I want more training?
Because you already are a coach, counselor, psychotherapist, educator, healthcare practitioner, or clergy person, and you are happy with your career, but feel that adding the skill set of a purpose guide may lead to better results with your clients.
Q. I'm already a purpose coach...why would I want to take PGI's training?
Because you want to grow in your career as a purpose coach. You know that, even as an established purpose coach, there is still some learning before you become a Master of your craft.
Questions about training
Q. How many participants are in the training?
We limit the class size to 35 participants maximum to preserve an intimate learning experience during Semester #2.
Q. How is the class structured? What is the learning style?
Small group learning environments are where great guides are born. When you become a trainee, you will join between “small groups” of approximately five other professionals who want to learn, grow, and practice together. Over the months of the training, a close bond will form with your peers that is likely to last beyond the training itself. Expect stimulating lectures, demonstrations, hands-on practice, feedback from faculty and lots of personal development. Also, expect to read about 1 book per month during the course of the training, and weekly reflective writing on both the books and the experiential practices you will be assigned.
Q. What is the time commitment for the training?
A trainee can expect to have approximately 12 hours of coursework to complete each week, including: readings, written assignments, cohort calls (large group), small group calls, guest teacher calls, personal development exercises, etc. It's important to arrange your life in a way to make space for the course work. Expect the training to be rigorous, profound, and thorough in a way that prepares you to jump into the profession of purpose guiding, well-positioned for success.
Q. What kind of support will I receive during the class?
Learning to guide is not something we can do alone. Throughout the training, you'll receive support and extensive feedback in several ways:
The large group calls calls are your first place to get support, to have you questions answered, and receive feedback.
You'll have access to a “virtual fire circle” (a private Mighty Networks page) where Jonathan will personally answer your questions between calls. This virtual fire circle is an additional way for the our community to keep co-exploring together between the LIVE meetings.
Every trainee is assigned a small group, which meets by video conference (Zoom) to discuss progress with personal development plans, the art and science of purpose guiding, and experiences working with clients. You will also practice what you have learned in the small group calls. Each small group has a Teaching Assistant who is a Certified Purpose Guide™, that serves as a mentor.
Q. Do my client meetings have to be in-person?
No. You may use Skype, Zoom, FaceTime or phone calls to conduct your guiding sessions.
Q. Are there prerequisites for taking the training?
No. But there is an increased chance of being accepted into the program if you have prior experience with some type of mentoring field: coaching, therapy, yoga teacher, meditation teacher, etc. Note: your acceptance into semester #2 training program is contingent upon successful completion of semester #1 as well as the approval of your small group mentor.
Q. Are there scholarships or payment plans available?
We do offer an installment plan. While we don't currently offer scholarships, we have kept our training program more affordable than other comparable programs. Further, no other program offers contact with the leading purpose guides in the country, or 93 contact hours of top-notch training at this price. We feel our training is well valued for only $4200 ($4800, including the optional Entrepreneurial Semester.)
$1300 Semester I - Sept-Dec 2024 - Discover Your Purpose
$2900 Semester II - Jan-June 2025 - Purpose Guide Training
$600 Semester III - July - Aug 2025 - Entrepreneurial Training
Q. Are there any extra costs not included in the price of the training?
Just two: you will spend around $150 for books in Semester #2. We also recommend using Zoom for your 1:1 sessions (cost is $15/month).
Q. Is there further training offered after certification as a Purpose Guide™?
Yes. Graduates of the Purpose Guide™ training may choose to continue their studies of purpose guiding through our graduate level training leading to Advanced Purpose Guide, and then Master Purpose Guide certification.
Q. How much contact will I get with Jonathan and the Guest Teachers?
The lead instructor (Jonathan Gustin) teaches almost all the large group calls. The guest teachers will each be teaching a single two-hour module on their speciality, through an interactive video conference meeting on Zoom.
Questions about livelihood:
Q. Can I earn a living being a purpose guide?
Yes. But...you'll need to do a lot of hard work! First, you'll become proficient in purpose guiding. Second, you'll need a sound business plan. Third, you'll need to execute your business plan superbly to draw clients who are in your "sweet spot". PGI will actively help you with all three steps so that you can earn a living doing this work. Warning: don't quit your day job before you get your practice up and running. One of the advantages of entering the purpose guiding profession is that you can keep your initial start-up costs to a bare minimum: a business card, email address, and website...that's it!
Q. What do purpose guides charge?
The going rate is $3150 for a 6 month guiding program. We encourage Purpose Guides™ to meet with their clients 3x a month for 6 months, for a total of 18 sessions. This works out to $175 per session. You may choose to offer a shorter or longer program to your clients. If you follow the 18 session blueprint of PGI's proprietary guiding method, the "Purpose Octagon Process", and the charge the usual fee, you'd earn your tuition back and make a several thousand in profits after serving 2 clients. Some graduates have successfully offered purpose guiding packages for much more as in the case of one of our graduates who routinely charges (and gets) $7000 for his 3-month coaching package. While Purpose Guiding has the potential to cover the "survival dance" of paying the bills, its deeper value lies in its ability for you to help transform the species from living a life of default purpose to living a life of soul-stirring purpose.
Q. Does PGI support students in getting clients?
We support you in two ways. First, one of the elements of the training is taking your business ideas and turning them into a solid business plan. We help you generate this business plan through our 4-session entrepreneurial semester. "Creating a Purpose Guiding Business". Second, upon successful certification as a Purpose Guide™, you will be included in our online "Receive Guiding" section of our website. We actively market that page, so we can draw attention to our excellent guides and the work they do. The cost of being included in the "Find a guide" section of the website is $150/year. 100% of your money goes into advertising the "Find a guide" page. By pooling our resources we can achieve a much greater reach with our advertising than if we each advertised alone.
Q. How can I be certain I’ll be a proficient coach at the end of the training?
This is a rigorous course of training. You will be stretched to grow, both personally and as a guide. With continuous feedback and lots of work on your part, it is highly likely that you will become a proficient Purpose Guide™. Once you have completed the full course of study, and have received supervision and guidance from your small group mentor, you can be approved for certification as a Purpose Guide™.
Q. Why would I choose to be a purpose guide instead of a life coach?
The main question to ask yourself is, "Do I feel called to the specific task of helping create a world of 8 billion people living on purpose?" If the answer is yes, then purpose guiding is for you. Viewed from a business angle, potential clients tend to favor those with a specialization over those who are generalists. Of course, taking both kinds of training is even more advantageous.
Q. How is your training program different from what I'd get at a coaching school?
As stated above, coaching school programs tend to emphasize the coach's toolkit of skills, such as developing listening and questioning skills, forming an alliance with a client, how to do an intake session, how to deal with emotionally charged situations and challenging issues, etc. PGI's training assumes that you have already or are in the process of mastering these skills. At PGI, we devote most of our training to the specific skill set of helping people uncover and live their life purpose!
Q. What is the Relationship between the "Discover Your Purpose Course" and the first semester of the "Purpose Guiding Training ?"
They are the same thing. Semester I brings you through the 12-module process yourself. This happens between September and December. Semester II teaches you how to deliver purpose guiding to others. This happens between January and June.
Q. Can I drop out after semester One without PENALTY?
Yes! Your initial investment is $1300 for the Purpose Discovery Program (Semester I). If after completing Semester I you then realize that becoming a Purpose Guide isn't for you, you can withdraw from the training, having become clear about your life purpose and the next steps you need to take to embody that purpose. You are not obligated to pay for semester II.