The Thinking Behind the Work
There is so much talk about “leadership,” “success,” “sales,” and “impact” out there. Focusing on “ends” and outcomes and external measures of success. But to whats ends?
It leaves us feeling drained, conflicted, overwhelmed, hopeless, torn between what is expected of us and what we really think is best, going through the motions… EXISTING instead of BEING
What about focusing on areas of deep-meaning, and exploring
what that looks like in how we live the entirety of our lives?
My Approach to Coaching
I know what it’s like to have overlapping obligations and commitments, be pulled in many different directions, doing what’s needed and expected, trying to catch up, trying to reach the next milestone. No matter how many band aids I put on, I was still living the same life. I did the work, got the job, I accomplished, but I didn’t have a fulfilling life.
I wanted to live in full color, but instead I lived a black and white version of my dreams through outside parameters of what I “should” need, want and do.
Where was that level of deep satisfaction I’ve been looking for my whole life? Where was the full-color version? Was there even one? Could I live a more fulfilling life, based on deep meaning and replete with richly textured experiences and relationships?
The BEING Framework
This insight forms the foundation of my approach. I created the BEING Coaching Model because lasting transformation doesn’t come from surface adjustments; it stems from building a new foundation. Just as the most beautiful building is only as stable as what it rests on, the same applies to how we live our lives.
B
Begin where you are
Not where you think you should be, where you were, or where you wish you were. Lasting transformation begins with an honest, grounded acceptance of what is actually true right now. Clarity about the present is the only reliable starting point for anything that follows.
E
Explore where you’re going
Before developing a strategy, it’s important to gain clarity. This step prompts honest questions about what truly matters, what a fulfilling life looks like for you personally, and which path feels authentic rather than inherited or expected. Not what you “should” want, but what you genuinely do.
I
Identify your options
Most people have more options than they can see from their current perspective. This stage expands the range of possibilities and helps you recognize paths that genuinely align with your values and vision, including those that weren’t visible before.
N
Now Start
Insight without action changes nothing. This stage is about taking the first real steps—not someday, but now—grounded in the clarity that the previous stages have built. Responding with intention rather than just reacting. Choosing deliberately, rather than defaulting.
G
Grow into being YOU
This is the stage where change becomes integrated, where new patterns replace old defaults, and living in alignment ceases to be an effort and begins to be who you are. Not reaching a destination, but adopting a different way of moving through the world.
What Becomes Possible
When the foundation shifts, everything built on it shifts as well. Clients describe feeling accepted for who they are, not just for what they produce. Waking up with a true sense of direction. Feeling, at the end of the day, that the version of themselves they aimed to be actually showed up. Not the absence of challenge, but a different way of relating to it. Facing what comes with clarity and groundedness instead of reacting with overwhelm.
This is what it means to live from the inside out, not the outside in.
The Research Behind the Approach
This work is grounded in decades of research and practice. The BEING framework utilizes several distinct bodies of research and practice, combined in ways that are uncommon at their intersection.
Anthropology
provides a key perspective that identity is not fixed but emergent, shaped by context, culture, and the meanings we give it. This is more than just a self-help metaphor. It is a well-supported conclusion in social science, with a practical takeaway: because identity is enacted, it can be altered.
Positive psychology
provides the evidence base for what truly promotes wellbeing and flourishing, shifting focus from merely the absence of dysfunction to the presence of meaning, engagement, and genuine connection.
Emotional intelligence
underpins the interpersonal aspects of work: the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotional experience, in oneself and in relationships with others, as a key part of living and leading effectively.
Somatic (body-oriented) awareness
acknowledges what research in embodied cognition confirms: that our bodily experience is interconnected with how we think, feel, and create meaning. Lasting change is not just cognitive; it is felt, integrated, and embodied.
Together, these fields point to the same insight: transformation isn't about trying harder within an existing framework. It involves creating a new one. That's what this work aims to do.
After 20+ years of struggle, frustration, and turmoil, I discovered for myself that I could live how I wanted to, with a sense of clarity, ease, and purpose.
My job got easier, and I was doing it better!
Financial concerns flipped overnight!
Personal relationships became deeper and more meaningful!
Life is different when we are intentional about being the way we want to be.
It’s an entirely different experience from just leaving the “how” of our lives up to the Universe to solve.
(Not that the Universe won’t align to offer support, but it’s almost the same as those who are so busy waiting to be “saved” that they overlook every lifeline and opportunity thrown their way… overlooking every opportunity that doesn’t arrive with personalized flashing neon signs).
Being clear about what matters to us, and why, allows us to respond with intentionality instead of simply reacting. we get to respond with clarity in the way that we want to, aligned with our highest values.
How we think about and approach things is how we live a different life. Indeed, given how many things are beyond our personal control, really, life is 10% how we make it and 90% of how we take it.
Life can be so much better when we are able to let go of the rat race.
Imagine:
Being accepted, received, and appreciated for who you ARE, not for what you DO!
Living a life of meaning, aligned with your deepest values & wishes.
Waking up feeling energized.
Feeling deeply satisfied at the end of the day, knowing that the best version of you showed up in all of your decisions and interactions.
A depth (groundedness) and a lightness of being.
Being the version of yourself you want to be.
Life is always going to have new twists and turns, but rather than these being challenging or overwhelming they are easily assessed and responded to.
Acting with aligned conviction and authentically communicating with self and others.
If you want true transformation, you have to go to the essence.
Juggling, prioritizing, scheduling, etc. can all be effective strategies, but cannot actually transform the underlying foundation. Just as the most beautiful building is only as stable as its foundation, so too with how you live your life.
So, no matter how many adjustments you make, it’s not really sustainable if you haven’t created a new underlying pattern. We all default to patterns. So, when to really break one, you need to create a new one. And this new pattern will stick when it’s rooted in what really matters to you, when it’s built on what’s easy and 2nd nature to you. Fighting against your own values/beliefs doesn’t work – even if you’re not aware this is happening.
Book Consult
Testimonials
“My non-profit organization had fallen into a rut of repetition and lack of vision. Working with Jonathan helped us take a step back and reassess our strengths, purposes, and vision for the future. We were totally transformed. Our growth, in a word, has been ‘astronomical,’ in fundraising, mission execution, and diversity of approach.”
Charles Davidson
Ph.D., Founder, Innovations in Peacebuilding International Executive Director, Carter School Political Leadership Academy, D.C.
What I Can Help You With
Coaching
Offering both Individual and Group options for developing and living your most deeply meaningful and fulfilling life
Consulting
Holding up a culturally sensitive mirror to help you decide where you stand and how you want to show up in the world
Speaking
Customized inspirational, strategic, and tactical keynote, workshop, webinar, training, and event speaking with supporting materials.
Still Have Questions?
© Steps Along The Way
