Finding Your Purpose in the Seasons of Life

“WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT’S BEEN” ~JERRY GARCIA
I grew up on the south side of the tracks in a small, rural Illinois town surrounded by corn fields and coal mines. An average childhood in an average family, an average graduate from an average small high school with no real plan for life beyond commencement.
Like a small boat caught up in meandering ocean currents, life carried me from place to place all around the United States, from the Midwest, to the bitter north, to the deep south, to the majestic Inland Northwest, to the rough and gritty Detroit Metro area.
Somehow, with minimal college education and no degree, I always managed to do well in the workplace, first in retail management followed by a 24-year stint in the print and digital media industry in which I finished the final nine years of my career as a senior business development executive for most of the nation’s largest media companies.
Those I have worked with, and those who worked for me over the years described me as a self-assured, assertive, visionary, and curious problem solver who enjoys challenges and is capable of innovative thinking that surprises others with unusual yet effective solutions. I found myself in the unlikely position of being considered a thought leader, coach, consultant, and enjoyed many occasions of standing on stage teaching and inspiring others at conferences around the country.
In the midst of all of that I spent time as the leader of a spiritual community and made several journeys to South America to do what I could to make life better for impoverished and forgotten children in rainforest villages and urban slums.
Today I am the owner of two businesses, a rental car company and a travel agency. And I am trying to navigate my way into a life of helping others as a personal and professional development coach. My passion project for the remainder of my years is to combine coaching with travel, leading clients into new chapters of their lives while leading them through some of the world’s most beautiful places.
I’m a writer, teacher, daydreamer, a nostalgic, a frequent malcontent, insatiable vagabond, and occasional contrarian, but at the end of the day someone who simply want’s to live fully, laugh often, experience beautiful places, have breathtaking experiences, and leave the world a better place because I existed.
“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson