On Meaning, Purpose, and Value…

I’ve always been fascinated with the human psyche, but when I attended college back the early 1980’s, the field of "positive psychology" didn't yet exist. I minored in Psychology but chose to major in Mass Communications with an emphasis on broadcast television and the media arts and sciences.

My first post-graduate job was for a company called "Motivation Media," a creative services consultancy that produced the media programs for Fortune 500 sales conferences and leadership meetings. We worked with our clients to design inspirational content and thematic elements, then produced all the media (slide shows, videos, and print). We then took the show on the road and provided the technical on-site event production (sound, lighting, and staging). These were high-end events with hundreds of attendees hosted at world-class resorts. Our objective was to transform hotel ballrooms into the kind of magical environments that inspired individuals and teams to their highest level of performance.

My “Aha Moment”

It’s the mid 1980’s. I’m 25 years old sitting in the control booth in the back of a dark ballroom that we had transformed into a theater. I’m watching as our corporate clients parade their top salespeople across the glistening stage to present them with performance bonus checks in front of their peers. The senior vice president’s voice beams “and the salesperson of the year is Brett", holding up a big check for all to see. Flashing a toothy smile, Brett bounces up to the stage in his pink polo shirt and khakis, and the screen puts up the dollar amount. That one bonus check was more than my annual salary.

“How is that even possible,” I think to myself. “If he makes that much in one bonus check for selling pharmaceuticals, how much is my time worth?" and “How do I want to invest my precious life energy?” and “What’s really meaningful, anyway?”

That experience sparked my personal quest to discover my own sense of meaning and purpose. I started asking questions like “what is really worth doing?” and “what is the best investment of my time?”

Over the next thirty years, I explored philosophy, psychology, human potential, hypnosis and mind sciences, alternative health and healing, fitness and peak performance, spirituality, altered states of consciousness, quantum physics, Indigenous wisdom traditions, and evolutionary leadership. I’ve walked on fire (twice!), sat in sweat lodges, faced my fears in outdoor adventure trainings (including testing my strength in ropes courses, allowing snakes to crawl on me, and being left alone on a mountain in the snow). I’ve learned dozens of meditation techniques, participated in hundreds of workshops, and had the privilege to learn from wise mentors.

After many paths of exploration, I ultimately learned that “all paths lead to center.” When you synthesize all the major psychological, medical, and spiritual traditions, they agree on a few points:

• We are part of Nature, not separate from it.

• When it’s all said and done, you can’t take any material possessions with you.

• True fulfillment and satisfaction are most easily reached when we identify our unique gifts and talents and apply them joyfully in the service of the greater good.

This inspired me to invest my energies as a coach, hypnotherapist, and mindfulness trainer to help others find their purpose and express their unique gifts. Toward that end, I work with people individually through my private practice, I facilitate workshops and small groups, and I contribute to selected projects that help people understand and embody the benefits of leading a mindful, purpose-driven life.

Training & Approach

Mindfulness Trainer - HeartMath Coach - Hypnotherapist

My coaching certifications include HeartMath Certified Coach, NLP Practitioner, Cognitive Behavior Coach, Health Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and Infinite Possibilities Trainer. I was certified in Hypnotherapy, Advanced Hypnotherapy, Clinical Hypnotherapy and Inner Child Therapy at the Palo Alto School of Hypnotherapy in 1992 and 1993.

With a background in corporate communications, I also work with soulful entrepreneurs and purpose-driven professionals as a communications consultant.