I used to go to all the meet-ups and network marketing events when the business first opened. Desperate times lead to desperate measures and I found myself in a very social situation almost begging for customers of any type. Yeah, people avoided me like the plague until I met a man at one of the events who told me he asked people how he could help them out. This was my first clue on how to attract business. To get business I had to give it away and I started to give out free sessions which began to attract a steady flow.

On 7/17/24 we celebrated our 7^th year of outpatient service. 7 years didn’t pass that fast at all. You hear people say, “Where did all that time go?” Oh, I know where it went. It was daily action steps, staying positive, taking on difficult clients that others tossed away. It is hard to believe that we made it through year one but my best friend kept checking in, asking me to go the distance and if the company lasted two years it would be solid for years and years to come. This turned out to be true.

I glanced down at our master client list today and noticed that close to 700 clients were listed on the ledger. That is 700 different people and each of them has had 1 to 100+ sessions. That is a lot of therapy that has been going on here. I want to thank the clients for leaving such incredible reviews. The majority of people who come in do so after reading the heartfelt recommendations they see on Google. 

I am at retirement age and have no thoughts of stopping. I like what I do, have faith in what I do, and enjoy the people who entrust their lives to us.

I guess that is all I have to say right now as the sky continues to provide one incredible light show this evening. I guess I will leave with a real-life story, and I guess this time it will be a story about me.

My first exposure to psychology came in 1989 when I attended an Insight Seminar. The training was entitled “The Awakening Heart Seminar.” I attended to do something about my high anxiety and maybe meet a girl, or a dozen if I played my cards right. Well, I knew I was in trouble when I pulled up to the old Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, right before they were going to tear it down. If you don’t know about this hotel, think about the Shinning where Jack Nicholson is famous for wielding an ax and saying, “Here’s Johnny.” The place was ancient, falling apart, and for good reason. A horrible event took place there about 15 years before that sent this whole nation into mourning.

Back in the day, the Ambassador Hotel was known for being the top club in Los Angeles. Its heyday was during the big band era, where all the top bands played. On the walls of the men’s room were photos of the era now gone with dancing, music, and people dressed in suits and dresses. I showed up wearing jeans and a Dodger t-shirt, but thought I looked cool, kind of like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

What sent the nation into mourning – this was the hotel where Bobby Kennedy was shot dead while campaigning for the presidency.

I walked into the seminar room knowing this hotel, dreading being inside of it and shaking. I wondered what they were going to do to me, were the ghosts of this place going to go on the attack? So I sat in the far back corner next to the exit, waiting for an excuse to sprint out of there. I was at the beginning of an elongated panic attack that lasted the whole five days spent there, but there was one big thing that happened, that I celebrate to this day – I stayed in the room. Yep, Mister Chicken, who would freak out if someone talked too loud remained inside. This became my theme when, like an idiot, I signed up for the next training, and the next, and then something happened one day that amazed me – I calmed down.

The biggest heartfelt thank you I need to tell, is to myself. Thank you 1989 me for remaining in the room. It changed your life and led you on this path that you cherish each and every day.