My Story

What can I say about myself?  Well, I think the most important thing to know about me is that I am a seeker.  I have been a seeker all of my life, even when I did not realize it.  So what have I been seeking?  In short, happiness.

Now that may seem obvious.  All of us want to be happy, right?  Well, I don’t know about that.  I wasn’t aware that I was seeking happiness until about three years ago.  Up to that time I was seeking success.  And I defined that success by the status I had in my job, the money I earned, the car I drove, how many friends I had, etc. I thought success in those things would make me happy. I equated success as I understood it back then with happiness.

And you know what, those are all valid measures… and I have done very well in those areas.  But about three years ago I realized that while I had the six figure income, the BMW, a fantastic downtown apartment in a luxury high rise, the great education and lots of friends, I still didn’t wake up most mornings looking forward to the day.  I was grumpy, short tempered and irritable, and I didn’t know why.

So I did what we of the male gender are programmed to do… I started trying to figure it out and fix the problem.  I embarked on a journey of self-reflection and self-improvement.  I went back to meditating, applying neuro-linguistic programming and hypnotherapy, and enrolled in a masters degree in clinical psychology.  I wanted to understand how I worked, and figure out why I was not as happy as I thought I should be.

What I have discovered over this short three year journey is that what I was doing to make myself happy was fundamentally not aligned with my values and beliefs.  Don’t misunderstand.  I do not feel that being a corporate executive, or being financially successful is somehow immoral, or makes people unhappy.  Quite the opposite.  Those things are worthy aspirations, and I encourage people to find what they are great at and excel in those things (as long as those things aren’t immoral, illegal or unethical, of course!).

But financial, social, and career success are not what fundamentally make me happy.  Certainly, I enjoy those successes.  And life would be much different for me without them.  But what was missing for me was purpose.  Although I was doing well in many areas of my life I was not fulfilled.  I was not living as a purposeful being. 

So I changed direction.  I took a risk and left my corporate job and started working for myself as a business consultant, and career and personal coach.  Since changing direction I have also earned certifications as an NLP Practitioner, TimeLine Therapist, and Clinical Hypnotherapist, and have completed all of the studies and half of the practicum requirements for a M.S. in Clinical Psychology. I only have 300 more hours of clinical practice remaining until I graduate! Once I finish the Masters degree I intend to enroll in a PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology and ultimately become a Licensed Psychologist.

This change in direction has paid off so far, although it has not been easy.  At the end of the year I will have made at least as much money as I did at my last corporate job, and I have the freedom to work from home and be with my wife and newborn daughter.  And most importantly, I feel like I am working to achieve my purpose in life, which is to teach and help others find and realize their purpose.

I hope that through the pages and posts of my blog you will find information that helps you grow and discover your purpose.  And once you discover that purpose, you will know the true meaning of success.

Warm regards.

Chris