I’m a citizen of the world who grew up in foreign countries. This had an indelible imprint on my psyche. My childhood years were spent in Germany, Portugal, and Turkey. English is the third language I learned, after German and Portuguese. When I arrived in the United States at the age of 16, I had fully internalized what it meant to be a foreigner and not always fit in.
My deepest personal journey has been the road from feeling like an outsider to becoming the one who belongs. I want to say fits in but that’s not actually what I mean. No, belongs and is wholly comfortable in his own skin.
While your story is undoubtedly different from mine, the journey you and I embark on in our coaching work is not that dissimilar from my personal quest. We will explore mindset shifts and micro-behaviors. At the deepest level, however, coaching is invariably about becoming more comfortable in our own skin. Showing up as the most luminous version of ourselves. Connecting more richly with others. And doing so with fully embodied skills.
I believe in taking risks. This ethos was drilled into me during my first career as a professional theatre director and acting coach. I also know all too well that taking risks can create a bit of healthy discomfort. That’s a good thing.
In business, we often rely on psychological assessments of people. While assessments, at their finest, create powerful personal aha moments, they also tempt us to quickly pin down who someone is.
I’m not interested in pinning you down. I’m interested in exploring range with you. That’s why highly successful actors continue to go to acting class. It is where they take risks. That’s why every successful tennis player continues to work with a coach. To broaden range. Range emerges through intentional exploration and the creation of new muscle memory. Powerful stuff.
I always honor who you are, at your core. But I promise to take you a little closer to your personal edge. It’s where a freer, more expansive version of you resides. It’s where you discover the skills and habits that transcend the story of who you think you are.
We’ll explore. Together. I will hold you accountable. And we will do it in a spirit of joy.
