Coach?

So I have come across, on several occasions, something pertaining to the occupation of 'life coach'.  

Needless to say, I am VERY cynical to this profession on the whole and those who think they are qualified to assume such a role.   

What exactly is a life coach?  What do they do?  More importantly, what makes one qualified to be a life coach?   How is it determined that, hey, you right there - you're more successful in life than 90% of the buffoons out there - you're qualified to tell others what they should be doing with their lives!!  Is it a certain amount of 'life experience' that makes one qualified to be a life coach?  I see 20 and 30-somethings claiming to be life coaches.   Is there any training to become a life coach?  I personally would think the training would be life itself - but we all have that experience of having lived life - what makes some of us grossly unqualified for the profession?   Is being a life coach solely a self-proclaimed accolade, or is there a formal certification process?  Are there a good amount of people out there going to 'life coaches'?  (Actually, I have no trouble believing this - those who feel desperately lost and searching will turn to anything that might be able to solve their problems, hence the success of cults, Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret", etc.)

I do believe several of those behind "The Secret" are self-proclaimed life coaches.  This doesn't add on any cynicism for me toward this subject matter; I already had plenty.

It's not the idea of a life coach that troubles me - it's the idea that some of my peers might be qualified to assume this role in my, or someone's, life.  I dare a life coach to offer up some advice to me.

(Editor's sidenote:  To find a picture for this blog, I googled 'Coach', but that only yielded handbags.  I then googled 'athlete coach' and immediately came upon the picture of Bela Karolyi and Kerri Strug.  Those who know me appreciate that I couldn't resist.)