Meditation Teacher
Shifting Your Mindset
for personal growth, transformation, and reconnection.
STRUGGLING THROUGH TRAUMA OR TRANSITION?
I'VE BEEN THERE.
RELIED ON STRESS & ANXIETY MEDICATION
FOR OVER 10 YEARS
For a large part of my life, I tried to cope with my high level of stress and anxiety. I bounced from one medication to the next searching for a way to feel better and to manage the effects of my constant anger, fear, and worry. I went unmanaged by a doctor and self-regulated my dosing. It was exhausting.
I GOT FIRED
FROM MY HIGH-PAYING JOB
Medical Device Sales was a cut-throat industry with heavy competition and very little room for error. To separate myself from the pack, at 32 years old, I went back to school to get a master’s degree, putting myself $100,000 in debt and adding a ton of stress on my career, a fragile marriage, and a newborn baby. I made it through the program, just to be violently fired a few months later.
MY MARRIAGE ENDED
IN HIGH CONFLICT
I had been married for almost 8 years when I found myself utterly alone and confused. I had always wanted a family of my own and thought I was on the right track to having just that. Emotions were high, there was verbally abusive behavior, and we were at odds. As the marriage ended it felt like we were fighting just to fight and arguing with the intent to destroy the other. When our families got involved and tried to influence our situation, it only added fuel to fire.
ESTRANGED FROM PARENTS
FEELING BETRAYED
As my marriage ended, I stopped having contact with my mother as I felt betrayed by her actions that seemed to support my Ex. I wondered how my mother could have a completely different experience than I was having. I wanted her to support me differently, but I couldn’t seem to ask in a way that she could hear me. I stopped talking to her to inflict the same level of pain that I believed she had caused me. It took 3 years to reconnect.
Years later my father and I were at odds and our relationship fell apart. We didn’t speak for over 2.5 years until an accident prrovided us with an opportunity to mend our relationship. It took years of self-reflection and inner work to bring me to a place where I could forgive and trust him once again.
WENT BANKRUPT
AFTER RISKY BUSINESS VENTURE
After trying my hands at a start-up and losing over $150,000 of private investor's money and my own, I borrowed more money from the bank to open the area’s first Meditation studio. For 2 years, I fought as hard as I could to keep this business open. I was selling my furniture, piece by piece to pay rent, and asking my young daughter to make many sacrifices. When the choice came down to supporting a community and putting food on the table, I closed the business and suffered through bankruptcy and my perception that I had failed.
BUT MINDSET IS EVERYTHING
Patience, Self-Awareness, Determination, and Clarity of Mind
Changed My Situation For The Better!
And, It Can CHANGE Yours Too!
LET'S BACK UP A LITTLE...
MY JOURNEY STARTED IN 2013
My journey towards a happier and more peaceful lifestyle began in 2013 when I was juggling the demands of a young marriage, a newborn child, a graduate school program, and a high-pressure career. My ability to manage the day-to-day was constantly being challenged. Like most people, I agonized about what happened in the past and tried to influence what would happen in the future, regardless of whether it was in my control or not. I was stressed, overwhelmed, and knew there had to be a better, more meaningful way to live my life.
BEGINNING
I’d spent the majority of my professional career in medical device sales, selling diagnostic testing equipment to doctors’ offices and hospitals. I earned a great living and was very good at my job. Like in many other industries, medical device companies began to experience consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. As a result, I felt like I needed to differentiate myself to stay competitive amongst the other great salespeople I worked with, and so I decided to enroll in a master's degree program that specialized in leadership and business. One week prior to the start of the program, my daughter Lexie was born, adding much joy, but also complexity to my life. It quickly became challenging to be a new dad, an emotionally-available husband to my wife of 4 years, as well as a top performer at my job. The graduate studies program tested me like never before and I began making sacrifices in many areas of my life so that I could get through it.
Upon completing and earning a master's degree from The Penn State University Smeal College of Business, I was in a daze. I felt like I was spinning out of control, very emotional, reactive, and in some ways destructive. I sought out some professional help because I had spent over 10 years taking medication to manage my symptoms of anxiety and depression. One day, after a very short meeting with the Chief of Psychology at a local hospital, I was told to take more medications. The same night, after filling my new prescription I felt like something wasn’t right. I thought, how could someone talk to me for 30 minutes and determine I needed more medication? And so, I stopped taking all the medication that I has been prescribed immediately. This was very dangerous and I suffered greatly for many weeks, experiencing symptoms of withdrawal. While at one of the lowest points of my life, my wife left our marriage, I was fired from my high-paying medical device sales job, and my neighbor sued me for verbal harassment after an altercation. Life around me seemed to come crashing down.
SHIFT
Exercise was always a healthy outlet for me. I found yoga to be especially therapeutic both physically and mentally. Knowing I needed to slow down and become more focused and present in my life, I decided to take a yoga class with one of my favorite teachers in Philly. As luck would have it, she was out sick and a substitute filled in. At the end of the class, the teacher guided us through 15 minutes of meditation. Immediately, I was hooked. The feeling of peace and stillness that I was able to experience in just those few minutes was what I had been searching for. I knew I needed to add meditation to my life, but the thing was, I didn’t know where to start. So, I decided to sit quietly for a few minutes each day and trusted that I would ultimately figure out "how to meditate." I practiced every day for over 230 consecutive days and it set my journey in motion.
I soon began to see a noticeable shift in my life. Although at times the changes weren’t always pleasant, meditation gave me the tools to move through these tough situations with a bit more ease and grace. I enrolled in guided meditation classes and began to explore many different breathing exercises and other techniques to effectively deal with all of the stress in my life. I soon became certified in teaching both meditation and yoga (asana) and dedicated myself to learning all that I could about these transformative practices. With my newly developed skill set, I noticed that my attitude, my outlook, and my experiences all began to change too. I started to invite joy and happiness back into my life and I felt less anxious and more relaxed. As a result, I became a more mindful dad and more present with the people who mattered most in my life. I also no longer needed to rely on medication to keep my emotions under control and to feel good.
TRANSFORMATION
Meditation had given me the foundation to transform my life by helping to create the space I needed to grow into my authentic self. It taught me how to pause and become patient while feeling content with where I was in my life. It guided me inwards to explore the past emotional traumas, helping me to forgive and let go of things that didn’t serve a purpose in my life like fear, guilt, and anger. It allowed me to become conscious with my thoughts, words, and actions and I began to gain clarity on the things that I wanted to bring into my life. I realized my purpose and passion for helping others to discover who they are and to guide them into the same state of happiness and peace.
In 2015, I left my career and the life I had known behind in pursuit of something more fulfilling. After trying my hands at a technology start-up, I was fortunate enough to have opened the first guided meditation studio in the Philadelphia area called, Sit Meditation Space in 2017. During the two years in business, I had the honor of watching a community come together over the common goal of slowing down, becoming more connected with one another, and learning tools to be more mindful and present in their lives. Working with over 3500 people of all ages made me realize that we are all experiencing some level of trauma and/or transition in our lives, we all experience the cycle of suffering, and we all just want to be happy.
MINDSET COACHING
In 2019, I made the tough decision to close the meditation studio, and I found an opportunity to work with a traditional therapy practice helping people become strong mentally so they can move through their own personal traumas. But, then COVID hit and when everything shut down, I was forced to reinvent myself and my business once again.
It was at this time that I was inspired to create my own Mindset Coaching business. I realized that all of the different aspects of my life's experience created an incredible framework for people to go inwards in order to grow and create everlasting change. I created The Mindset Shift Blueprint™ and many other techniques that help people pause, get present with their experience, shift their perspective, get clear about what they want, take action, and overcome their fears holding them back and keeping them stuck. Together with mindfulness meditation and other communication tools, my clients enjoy peace of mind, gain clarity, find purpose, and design an action plan for success.
I have found that this process helps strengthen anyone's relationship with themselves and with others. It helps in building confidence and embraces one's authentic self. Additionally, I have dedicated the past few years to working with people experiencing relationship struggles, including high-conflict divorce, and parental alienation and estrangement.
I'd be honored to work with you and share an incredible framework and set of tools and techniques that can be learned and implemented no matter what situation you may be experiencing.
Change Your Thoughts, Transform Your Life!
Mindset Coaching will help you become "conscious" so that you can master your mindset and gain a strong understanding of how your thoughts, words, and actions create your reality and experiences. Our sessions are designed to help you gain self-awareness and become EMPOWERED and HAPPY.
Want to make a significant change in your life?
Get in Touch
Let's schedule a FREE 30-minute discovery phone call
to see if we are a good fit.
MINDSET COACHING
All that we desire is already within us, we simply need to remove the self-limiting beliefs and unlock our full potential. We will work together to explore perspective, potential, and purpose. You will learn to create successful habits and move into alignment with your authentic self.
MEDITATION
TRAINING
To be guided in meditation means to be led by a teacher who is providing verbal cues and reminders to help build your focus and awareness. This guidance allows you to let go of the desire to control the experience and instead be fully present with it.