From self-help to self-hype, the dubious dynamics of celebrity life coaches

Should their lives—and their work—be taken with a pinch of salt, or should we give them the benefit of the doubt?

“Actually, the greatest detachment is being close to everything and not letting it consume and own you. That’s real strength,” author, podcaster, and life coach Jay Shetty writes in his book Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day (2020). His pearls of wisdom, like those of many other new-age celebrity life coaches, have found most of us in awe—and perhaps rightly so. In a world running high on endless pressures, toxicity, and a mental health crisis, life coaches, spiritual gurus and best-selling authors of self-help books can offer the respite and solace we often desperately need. But what happens when the very people who give us reason to be hopeful fabricate the journey they base their work on or manipulate their way to fame and popularity?  

Los Angeles-based British Indian influencer and motivational speaker Jay Shetty’s recent revelations of a controversial backstory and questions regarding the legitimacy of his certification school by The Guardian begs a deeper exploration into whether life coaches and self-proclaimed self-help gurus should be trusted completely. Equally important questions to be asked include those of what it takes to be a life coach, the ethical concerns around pursuing the profession, the legitimacy of their claim to fame, and the role played by social media within this seemingly complicated dynamic. 

Becoming a life coach and setting goals 

Life coaching today is trendy amongst those who choose to pursue it as a career as well as those who choose to rely on them for a healthier, happier life. According to the Gitnux Marketdata Report 2024, the life coaching industry will hit US$25 billion by 2025 globally, with an average annual growth rate of seven per cent from 2022 to 2025. In India alone, the health and wellness coaching market is projected to reach US$1,916 million this year [Statista, 2024]. There’s no denying its benefits, growth, and impact. Yet, as easy as it may appear on the websites of certain certification schools, becoming a life coach demands more than just a want to be a do-gooder in the lives of others. It warrants long hours and commitment. 

According to Aparna Santhanam, a transformational life coach, dermatologist, and author of three books, one of the foremost qualities and requirements of being a life coach is intent. “Second is empathy and third is training from a master coach whom you identify with. I think I’m qualified to be one as I underwent the process and the certification, so I approach each session as a privilege to be a part of someone’s deepest transformational journey. My medical background also helps me,” she says.

“The aim of a life coach should be to facilitate a process of self-discovery and transformation for the client at all points of time. This involves taking yourself, your thinking and philosophy, and biases out of the equation,” adds Santhanam.

Amrita A Singh, founder of Back To Source Coaching, agrees, elaborating: “Honestly, I don't think that a life coach has an aim as such. Life coaching is to support people to take an inward journey, to be able to find the questions they're asking, and enable them to seek the answers themselves, so they can lead more meaningful, fulfilling lives.” 

According to entrepreneur, content creator, and author Ankur Warikoo, most often, life coaches are people you won’t even know of. “A social media profile or a personal brand wouldn’t make someone a life coach. Life coaching is a technical profession that requires training, education, and experience. A life coach has to go through at least 100 hours of training, if not more [as per life-training courses accredited by the International Coaching Federation], to be qualified. Just because you call yourself one doesn’t make you one. It is based on observation, so you observe someone’s actions and conduct and give them feedback why their approach, structure or form is not right.” 

Psychologist Dr Neerja Agarwal emphasises the imperativeness of certain qualifications and certifications a coach must earn, such as from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). “What also matters is consistency and integrity, along with experience in the field. If you have gone through that path, evolved as a human being, and have followed the practices that you preach—it is the most significant aspect,” she says. 

The ethical aspects of being a life coach

Life coaching, as a profession, is governed by an exhaustive code of conduct and a list of ethics and principles to abide by. The ICF enlists four core values in its code of ethics, namely: professionalism, collaboration, humanity, and equity. This is followed by an extensive and detailed guide on ethical standards that must be followed by every certified coach. Now, consider the Jay Shetty Certification School—one that has been making tall claims with little returns and a lack of legitimacy. Yet, some swear by the lessons learned and values preached, including a roster of his clientele that features some of Hollywood’s biggest and best—such as Will Smith and Joe Jonas. Shetty’s many entrepreneurial endeavours have been questioned through reports in the media, such as this piece published in the Los Angeles Times last year, where he said: “I’m well aware that my life is a paradox. It’s a lot for me to comprehend, let alone someone who’s not me. So, I get it. But I’m as much a media personality as I am a management consultant as I am a monk. Everything I have in my life—whether it’s personal satisfaction or career success—is based on me allowing all those things to co-exist.”

“Coaching is very ‘in’ now, so the pursuit of fame, book deals, and TV shows does exist. But it’s important to realise that someone is trusting you when they ask you to coach them.,” says Santhanam.

For Warikoo, perhaps one of his biggest angsts is having a perverse incentive for the client. “With all due respect, you don’t necessarily have an incentive to help someone because the minute you help someone, they take away the business that you rely on. If there aren’t enough people from a supply perspective, you create this artificial incentive to never truly fix someone. Having said that, a coach, by definition, is someone who you can have for life because there will always be something that you’re doing and you may require independent observation. But I would say staying true to your job and not having a perverse incentive to fix somebody is definitely an ethical keep-in-mind.”

Ultimately, the code of ethics needs to be followed. “We've all pledged by the code of ethics [laid down by ICF], which is something that gives us great pride in our profession. But if you were to take the essence of all of that, it is trust, right? It is that cornerstone of all ethics,” says Singh. Should Shetty and others such as Tony Robbins or Deepak Chopra then be held accountable for their misleading words or actions? “I think the highest level of accountability that you have is to yourself. Any erosion of trust impacts you before it impacts anybody else,” says Singh.

Chasing fame or purposeful preaching?

We live in a world driven by technology, an overwhelming digital presence, and a relentless need to stay relevant. From Indian monastics such as Gaur Gopal Das and Sri Gauranga Das (Shetty’s spiritual mentor) to new-age life coaches such as Shetty, Robin Sharma, Simon Sinek and others—each of whom have over a million followers across platforms—a glimpse at their social media page and you’re like to find yourself scrolling through the archives, finding one quote too many relatable (albeit sometimes too preachy), and even sharing these with your closest ones. 

Warikoo makes it clear that merely creating a social media profile or personal brand does not make you a life coach. “Being a public figure and claiming that you’re a life coach is just fancy, but that’s not how I see it,” he says. 

Vishaal Shah, a PR professional shares, “Today, you can have social capital in your sphere if you are a social influencer too. In the early days of the social wave, several self-help coaches like Shetty rode the wave to gain popularity and fame. Though in Shetty’s case, he also ticked off the conventional boxes like authoring books on his way to becoming a global influencer.”

According to a report by Custom Marketing Insights (CMI) published last year, the global self-improvement market is poised for significant growth until 2032, and is expected to achieve a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of eight per cent during this period. Hemal Majithia, a digital branding and marketing professional, says, “Through social media, self-help content has been democratised. It is helping more people to understand [themselves] better and get access to information that is interesting.” 

Verifying and cross-checking information on social media presents a large ordeal to those who are stakeholders within the dynamic and ethics continue to raise concerns. According to Shah, “For an average user on social media, it is very difficult to verify the claims made by any ‘expert’—be it a self-help guru or a financial expert or any other. The onus of fact-checking is a lot more on conventional media.”

"When the credibility of one person is lost, it does impact the entire industry," Majithia adds.

In India, the influencer marketing industry reached ₹12 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a rate of 25 per cent  annually [Statista, 2024]. “In terms of monetisation, there’s so much that has been done. The revenue is divided between your content and branded content, depending on the number of followers that you have, of course. As a coach, you have to keep in mind your intent, as the motivation for money can lead you to take certain questionable actions. From a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars is what coaches charge through each post. They also conduct private sessions and workshops that can cost up to millions of dollars,” says Majithia. 

On chasing fame, Santhnam opines, “Oftentimes, the problem with fame is that it is focused on a sense of identity and recognition. Coaching, however, is never about the coach’s identity. Hence, extreme fame carries an inherent danger of propagation of one’s thoughts, approach, and identity, subverting the coaching process.” According to Majithia, the focus should not be on the number of people who follow you. “It’s about the impact you create, which can be shown by personal transformation stories, or the community that you’re building. Numbers can mean a lot of things, but it’s a very superficial way of looking at things. Nowadays there are so many bots too,” he says. 

Singh believes it is up to each individual to decide for themselves whether to simply trust and blindly follow the advice from life coaches or corroborate facts beforehand. “We're all adults, we all have our own minds,” she says. “Coaching is not really about telling people what to do. It's about getting them to come to the answers themselves. So, for whatever reason people choose to follow or not follow, they have to use their intelligence.” 

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