COACHING FOR THE LIFE YOU DREAM
Born in a black-and-white movie in Pittsburgh in 1942, I’ve evolved from engineer in a steel mill to sales guy to manager to executive, for 40 years in Silicon Valley, on the front lines and under the gun, in companies from 2 to120,000 people. I had numbers to make for forty years, 160 quarters, from 1966 to 2006. I was a good leader and an OK manager.
In my seventh decade, I combined front line business experience with a formal education in integral coaching to create “Surviving Success”. I called it that to reflect a goal that people understand and stay true to their authentic selves. Since 2007, I have coached nearly 200 clients, ages 24 to 65, from individual contributors to CEOs. My clients work on leadership, communications, emotional intelligence, team – and trustbuilding, work/life alignment, career makeover, and fulfillment. I believe that humans have a nearly limitless potential, with the head, heart, body and spirit all essential for growth. Clients learn what is sabotaging them, what habits they need to change and how to do that.
As a coach I finally learned to replace judgment with curiosity. I cofounded Silicon Valley Press (www.siliconvalleypress.net) in 2010. SVP enables leaders to author the books they aspire to write. SVP’s differences are our capacity to supply precisely the right mix of resources to create and publish literary fine art, and our unstoppable process which adapts to the work- and lifestyle of the author, and we always finish the books, 26 so far.
I hold a BSME from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from Duquesne University, and an Integral Coaching Certification from New Ventures West in San Francisco. I have taught at Loyola Marymount, MIT, Oxford’s Said Business School, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Stanford, Wharton, and Wesleyan Universities, and at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School in Ghana. Besides SVP and coaching, my life includes my wife Hedda, my sons David and Michael, grandkids Jack and Kate, the San Francisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors, and Liars Club, for monthly hits of Texas Hold ‘Em. The Covid lockdown taught me I could live anywhere, so after 40 years in Silicon Valley I moved 60 miles south to Carmel, California in August 2020.
HOW I GOT HERE
I’m a recovering coach potato.
At age 77, I met Hedda Adler, who at 73 had the energy and presence of someone in their 30s.
I got interested enough to want her vitality, energy and potency. We dated; we sheltered in place; we moved in together; we got married.
In the year since we met, I’ve lost nearly 30 pounds, went from 4 to 1 prescription meds, sleep like a dead man, virtually painless all day, and am healthier and more energetic than I was 25 years ago. Besides the 30 pounds, I believe Hedda has also taken 30 years off me – or extended my health span by 30 years. Being in love has something to do with this, but that’s not how it happened. I didn’t fall in love and then got healthy.
Losing the meds
What happened is that I made a decision shortly after meeting her that I wanted to be like her. I went to my doctor and said I want to take no meds and be healthy and energetic, like Hedda. My doctor listened and replied, “Do what Hedda does, eat what Hedda eats, come back in six months, and we will see.” Six months later, she cancelled three of my four prescriptions, and cut the last one in half.
CONFESSIONS OF A RECOVERING COUCH POTATO
In those six months, I made some changes:
- Stop eating processed and junk foods
- Radically less sugar
- Less added salt
- Eat between noon and 8:00PM
- Lots more vegetables and fruit
- I weigh myself every day
- A 20 to 30 minute walk every day
- 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week
- Get eight hours sleep
- Be very conscious of stress and manage it
Yes, that’s it. No more Kraft Singles, Oreos and a cold glass of milk, adding salt to everything. Less red meat. We still have our indulgences. When a real craving occurs, I indulge. It’s less and less often, because 1. I pay attention to my body’s reaction and it’s usually not all that pleasant, and 2. I’ve learned that deferred gratification isn’t just the deferred part, it does lead to realgratification.
I never dreamed I would look forward to exercise. And I still don’t. What I love is the things I use to distract myself: a good podcast or news feed makes the time go by so fast I sometimes keep pedaling or jumping to hear the end of the story. What I love the most is the energy and vitality
I feel, and honestly, the reactions I get from people. Think about the 10 or 30 or more pounds you’re dragging around. Imagine it as shopping bags that weigh that much. What if you could just put them down and be on your way? That’s exactly how I feel now.
I recognized that I could do…. anything. I got healthy, and then I fell in love. And maybe because I got healthy, Hedda loved me back. I’m not making any predictions about your future; I’m just telling you what happened to me.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: PODCASTS & VIDEOS
We will be branching out in the near future with additional medias. This will help expand our positive and unique outlook with Aging Interrupted and help us gain more insight with your feedback in participating.
Please check back soon to get the dates.
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