About


These kinds of bios are always difficult to write.

Understandably, prospective clients may want to know a little more about me before committing to a coaching relationship and convention dictates that I reel off a laundry list of achievements, credentials and life experiences. So be it.

But, if I were sitting across from you and you were to ask me why you should trust and work with me, I would probably not refer you to my resume.

I believe that the qualities and experiences that make me a good coach do arise from my professional background and my education; but they also spring from the fabric of my own day to day experience, my work with past clients, my values and my spiritual life.

So, let’s take a stab at combining the two approaches.

The Basics

First, the laundry list.

I was educated in England (six years of Latin!) and received a full scholarship to UCLA, from which I graduated with a B.A. in Interpersonal Communications. During this time I was published as a fiction and non-fiction writer.

Also, during this time, I started my first successful small business. I was an independent art dealer and I sold paintings and sculptures to galleries and collectors. I found that I most loved coaching my customers and employees to success. To this end, I wrote and conducted workshops, created their marketing, educated them and kicked them in the butt when necessary.

I then transitioned to large project management in the corporate world. My strengths were mediation, dispute resolution, problem-solving, motivation and marketing. Again, I found that I most loved coaching my customers and employees to success.

Several years ago I finally paid attention to reality.

I left the corporate world and made my vocation my profession when I began my own coaching business - The Constructed Life, Inc.

The Transition

I undertook two years formal Coaching Training and was certified as a Professional Coach with a specialization in Life Coaching. Then, after a lifetime of study of Constructive Living and the successful application of its principles in my own life, I undertook residential training to become a Certified Constructive Living Instructor.

C.L. is little known in the West, more’s the pity. During the year in which I took my training, I was one of only four people who were trained in this modality in the U.S.

Here and Now

I am a Zen Buddhist practitioner and I have had the great karma to have found a supportive practice community and teacher, both of which enrich my life. I mention this fact, not to position myself as a Buddhist teacher or “expert”, but to give a heads-up as to my beliefs, perspective and values. Constructive Living is also deeply rooted in the philosophy of Zen Buddhism.

It is common for Coaches to have niches. I try not to restrict myself. I work with men, women, the young, the more mature, the professional, C.E.O.’s, the counter-culture, the hopeful and the lost.

If I have a niche it is to facilitate my clients to wake up to their own lives, be present to it and take responsibility for it. I believe that this is the foundation of all peace of mind and change. You cannot change what you are unaware of; you cannot change what you do not first accept.

My Clients

My particular coaching interests are uncovering and replacing outworn belief systems and habits (think - weight, confidence, self-sabotage, self-limiting issues, judgments) and dealing with the tyranny of emotions (especially fear).

I have also worked very successfully with people in Recovery, with ADHD and individuals who are in reaction to a Bi-Polar loved one.

My approach is common-sensical, compassionate and direct.

I am an active member of the International Coaching Federation.

I am the resident Constructive Living Expert on www.selfgrowth.com

Member of the Prison Dharma network.

Co-Chair of the UCLA Alumni Association Scholarship Committee.

I also mentor and teach creative writing and issues of accountability and self-esteem to children.

I am a recovered serial re modeler, animal rights proponent, outdoorsy type and a big kidder.

I don’t have one motto or creed to live by. I have a few, depending on my mood.

Here are a few of them:

Words to Live By

  • Wines and cheese improve with age. Dreams don’t. Do what you gotta do when you gotta do it.
  • Relax and Release.
  • “Life is just a bowl of cherries, don’t take it serious. Life’s too mysterious.”
  • Behavior creates Habit; Habits create Character; Character creates destiny.
  • Worry is not preparation.
  • Pain is unavoidable. Suffering is optional.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me.