To me, philosophy is not merely studying ancient and contemporary thinkers; it is exploring yourself and the world around you.

My days are dedicated to creativity.

Flaubert said one must be boring and routine in life to be wild and original in their work. This is exactly how I live, embracing an organized life that allows me to unleash the wilderness in my work. During the day I work with a collective of charities (including The Paul Hodges Trust) for whom I’m running a marathon, consult, do podcasts with my mentors (including Alex Grimwade, CIO of Disney Television), engage in writing articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries etc. (including for Wiley Blackwell and The Daily Eye), sustain a healthy regime of reading before contributing to philosophical dialogues (including hosting Interintellect Salons), and finally coach both philosophers and non philosophers. The combination of physical, intellectual and moral stimulation leaves me breathless by the end of each day and I fall into the deepest, sweetest sleep early each night.

I coach like a servant in the court of a King or Queen

Philosophy coaching falls somewhere within the domain of music, art, and poetry in the sense that it may be therapeutic to engage with even though it is not therapy. I paint pictures of your thoughts by listening carefully and with precision to the answers you give to the philosophical questions I pose, all of which are based on and guided by whatever need you may have. If you are stuck, I offer philosophical options and encourage you to use your intuition to track which option rings true to you. This process enables people to see their own thoughts more clearly, as though I was a painter composing a portrait of your mind for you.

I know the darkness

The philosopher and psychologist William James said some people are born with a “bottle of champagne in their pocket.” By this he meant some people simply are born into joy and never know the struggle others go through to find their freedom and delight in life. I am not one of those people. After a series of difficult passages in life, which I write about in my book, I ended up spending three years in a mental hospital. I carved a new life out of a shattered existence. So if you are struggling in life, and want to talk to me, the first message I have for you is that you are not alone and will not find a fool in me. I am not ignorant to how difficult tolerating existence can be, and yet I know there are paths to freedom even if they seem implausible. The philosopher Ibn Sina said “the power of your thoughts can cause you either illness or recovery.” I know both sides of that equation and I have been healed by better thoughts, more love, and a commitment to following the right path.