Intellectual fire-power.
Emotional insight.
Meta perspective.
I hold polarities by nature: writer and martial artist, author and strategist, leadership coach and monk. I see the world through intersecting lenses—and help others do the same.
For more than thirty years, I’ve worked at the crossroads of meaning and expression. I help individuals and authors clarify who they are, what they stand for, and how to best offer that truth into the world—through books, brands, businesses, and bold decisions.
My approach is part artistry, part architecture, part nonlinear insight. I bring clarity to voice, strategy to vision, and shape to what often begins as instinct or idea. The work is collaborative, rigorous, and deeply human.
Clients come to me when they’re ready to level up—not just in what they’re making, but in how they’re living. I specialize in the hard transitions: identity shifts, career reinventions, creative rebirths, and the sacred mess of becoming something new.
I’ve worked with bestselling authors, startup founders, global executives, Fortune 500 companies, Buddhist teachers, and artists across disciplines—helping them write books worth reading, build brands worth remembering, and step fully into who they’re becoming.
I am a recognized sifu (師傅) and lineage holder in Norther Kung Fu, an ordained Zen priest, and have been doing men’s work for nearly two decades, integrating the polarities of life, love, ambition, success, embodiment, and awakening.
CEO² is a leadership coaching firm I co-founded and now run, helping transform leaders into agents of change.
Bi-monthly, I host The Integral Edge, through Integral Life.
TRAININGS
Ordained Zen Priest who teaches Mondo Zen and Integral Zen under lineage of Junpo Denis Kelly Roshi and Doshin M.J. Nelson Roshi.
Certified Practitioner — Polarity Partnerships: using the Polarity Map®, principles, the Polarity Assessment™, and the 5-Step S.M.A.L.L.™ process.
Authorized Zen Sensei: this signifies a deep understanding and embodiment of Zen principles as well as proficiency in guiding and instructing others. (The title sensei is not granted lightly in Zen; it reflects years of dedication, meditation and study, as well as a deep commitment to the spiritual development of others.)
Kung Fu Lineage Holder: was given the title of sifu (師傅) and made the lineage holder in 2014 under Da SiFu Master Jong Hoon Jeon in the White Tiger lineage. Additional and ongoing trainings in western boxing, grappling, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Jingua Hard Qi Gong, Iron Body, Tai Chi, and more.
Certified Mondo Zen Facilitator: helped to co-write a book on Mondo Zen and contributed extensively to the creation of this modern Zen koan process, created by Junpo Denis Kelly Roshi and continued by Mondo Zen.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Award-Winning Author: 5 books, 2 fiction and 3 non-fiction. A Heart Blown Open won the Nautilus Award for Silver and was a finalist the Foreword Book-of-the-Year Awards
Award-Winning Copywriter: I was selected as one of JD Supra’s “Top 1o Authors” in their Reader Choice Awards (out of 34,000 other writers) for blogs I wrote for a client on corporate compliance.
Men’s Work: Lead twice-yearly retreats for men looking to up their game; have been in the same men’s group, with the same men, for nearly 20 years.
Integral Theory Expert: comprehensive knowledge of the work of Ken Wilber, Robert Kegan, Terri O’Fallon, and others, and application in day-to-day life. I worked for and with Ken Wilber from 2006-2009 and he has endorsed 4 of my 5 books.
Jin Gui “Golden Shield” Qi Gong: 12+ years training of this “iron style” of hard Qi Gong.
Somatic-Based Meditation: trained in and worked with Reggie Ray and helped build his community and extend it into the digital world.
