MY STORY
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I'm committed to your fullest expression and highest contribution, you having a life and career you love. If you want this, I'm here to support you with tools and guidance. It is this commitment that drives all I do as a Certified Purpose Guide™ and author of Purpose Rising (2017, with Ken Wilber, Dustin DiPerna, Erwin Laszlo, Duane Elgin) and Planet on Purpose (2018) and as the Founder of Ensouled Life, a lifestyle brand and media platform for living life on purpose.
Upbringing Although I current live in Berkeley, CA, I was born and raised in Illinois. I had the privilege of having great parents, awesome schools and an abundant upbringing with lots of time in nature. As a boy, I played baseball, was a Cub Scout and went to corn festivals. As youth gave way to young adulthood, I began my path to living the American Dream. I played sports, made the Dean's List, dated cheerleaders, joined a fraternity, held leadership positions, and began my career in investment banking, startups and venture capital. But none of it was fulfilling. It wasn't me. Despite these traditional markers of success, I felt empty inside, awash in confusion and anger. It felt like I was living someone else's life, like I was inside a prison with walls I couldn't see, only feel. I spent my teens and twenties trying to escape by partying really hard. As a result, I found myself in jail in 6 different states before my 28th birthday. |
Purpose Discovery Journey
In my late 20's, I could no longer ignore the call to find and live my purpose. I could no longer just party to numb the pain and distract myself from the emptiness and isolation. After graduating with my MBA at Columbia Business School in 2004, I headed to San Francisco to work with social enterprises and dive head first into personal and spiritual development work. I needed to find the truth in my heart, what it was that truly moved me. I plowed through every book, course and teacher I could get my hands on. I went to therapy, India, Burning Man and dozens of workshops and retreats. I did this for seven years and although I had numerous essential breakthroughs, none of it gave me the bone-rattling clarity to give something my all, nor the grit to be unstoppable. In 2011, I had the good fortune to begin purpose discovery work and all that changed. My search was over.
I worked with Jonathan Gustin, the Founder of the Purpose Guides Institute. Through our work together, I was finally able to touch something real, and it was electric! I found the ground beneath my feet and began growing my roots. As a result of this work, I started EVR1 with my business partner, Dane Zehrung. We produced and sold purpose-driven products on 5 continents and our work was covered by major news outlets such USA Today, Techcrunch and on Fox News. In 2012, at the request of my friends and family, I also started guiding them on their purpose discovery journey.
In 2014, after 18 months of rapid growth at EVR1, Dane and I shut it down. Through our continued purpose work, we each discovered that we fulfilled on our purposes much more effectively as guides than through selling our products. Plus we love it! It's seriously fulfilling work. I hung my shingle as a guide in January of 2014 and completed my training with the Purpose Guides Institute. Since 2012, I have had the privilege to guide thousands of people from over 50 countries on their journey, including entrepreneurs, educators, CEOs, doctors, Catholic Priests, artists, Dalai Lama Fellows and world-class athletes.
In my late 20's, I could no longer ignore the call to find and live my purpose. I could no longer just party to numb the pain and distract myself from the emptiness and isolation. After graduating with my MBA at Columbia Business School in 2004, I headed to San Francisco to work with social enterprises and dive head first into personal and spiritual development work. I needed to find the truth in my heart, what it was that truly moved me. I plowed through every book, course and teacher I could get my hands on. I went to therapy, India, Burning Man and dozens of workshops and retreats. I did this for seven years and although I had numerous essential breakthroughs, none of it gave me the bone-rattling clarity to give something my all, nor the grit to be unstoppable. In 2011, I had the good fortune to begin purpose discovery work and all that changed. My search was over.
I worked with Jonathan Gustin, the Founder of the Purpose Guides Institute. Through our work together, I was finally able to touch something real, and it was electric! I found the ground beneath my feet and began growing my roots. As a result of this work, I started EVR1 with my business partner, Dane Zehrung. We produced and sold purpose-driven products on 5 continents and our work was covered by major news outlets such USA Today, Techcrunch and on Fox News. In 2012, at the request of my friends and family, I also started guiding them on their purpose discovery journey.
In 2014, after 18 months of rapid growth at EVR1, Dane and I shut it down. Through our continued purpose work, we each discovered that we fulfilled on our purposes much more effectively as guides than through selling our products. Plus we love it! It's seriously fulfilling work. I hung my shingle as a guide in January of 2014 and completed my training with the Purpose Guides Institute. Since 2012, I have had the privilege to guide thousands of people from over 50 countries on their journey, including entrepreneurs, educators, CEOs, doctors, Catholic Priests, artists, Dalai Lama Fellows and world-class athletes.
MY PURPOSE
Like all purposes, mine continually evolves through doing the same exercises and practices I lead my clients through. As of 2017, the ten aspects of my purpose are:
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MY WORK
I help professionals and executive teams from successful companies like Apple, Johnson & Johnson and Google, awaken their purpose-driven leadership and create profitable high-impact businesses.
I also deliver inspiring keynotes and workshops at large corporations like Johnson & Johnson, Illumina and Morgan Stanley, and startups like Net Driven, Dr. Hops Kombucha and AnnMarie Skincare, and at events and conferences like the Purpose Summit, Global Purpose Day, Good Business Network, New Paradigm Populism, the Greenerminds Summit and the Mobile Entertainment Conference.
I also teach live courses and have lectured at the University of California, Northern Arizona University, The Institute of Noetic Sciences and the California College of the Arts.
Prior to finding my purpose - creating a world of 7.5 billion purpose-driven leaders -, I built teams and led projects for a number of successful social enterprises, start-ups and Fortune 500 Companies, such as Merrill Lynch & Co., Autodesk, Bebo/Aol., Crackle/Sony, Intertainer and SunTechnics.
I also deliver inspiring keynotes and workshops at large corporations like Johnson & Johnson, Illumina and Morgan Stanley, and startups like Net Driven, Dr. Hops Kombucha and AnnMarie Skincare, and at events and conferences like the Purpose Summit, Global Purpose Day, Good Business Network, New Paradigm Populism, the Greenerminds Summit and the Mobile Entertainment Conference.
I also teach live courses and have lectured at the University of California, Northern Arizona University, The Institute of Noetic Sciences and the California College of the Arts.
Prior to finding my purpose - creating a world of 7.5 billion purpose-driven leaders -, I built teams and led projects for a number of successful social enterprises, start-ups and Fortune 500 Companies, such as Merrill Lynch & Co., Autodesk, Bebo/Aol., Crackle/Sony, Intertainer and SunTechnics.
MY TRAINING AND EDUCATION
During my 8-month training and certification program at the Purpose Guides Institute, I had the opportunity to learn from leading guides and evolutionary thinkers such as Jonathan Gustin ( Founder, Purpose Guides Institute), Bill Plotkin (Founder, Animas Valley Institute), Tim Kelley (Founder, True Purpose Institute), Joanna Macy, Terry Patten, Steve McIntosh and Sera Beak.
In addition, I've taken numerous trainings in leadership, facilitation, communications and mindfulness from The ManKind Project, Landmark Worldwide, Leadershape Institute, Hofstede 5-D Multicultural Training, Non-Violent Communications, Vipassana Meditation and Camp Wellstone.
I earned my B.S. in Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and my MBA in Leadership at Columbia Business School in New York City.
In addition, I've taken numerous trainings in leadership, facilitation, communications and mindfulness from The ManKind Project, Landmark Worldwide, Leadershape Institute, Hofstede 5-D Multicultural Training, Non-Violent Communications, Vipassana Meditation and Camp Wellstone.
I earned my B.S. in Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and my MBA in Leadership at Columbia Business School in New York City.
