As I continued my education, I asked Dr. Noah to be my doctoral dissertation advisor. He graciously accepted. I have to admit that my doctoral dissertation turned heads at the university and one staff member stated that it was one of the all-time top three! When I told Noah, he only grinned.

The last person I saw in Los Angeles before I drove up to the Seattle area in 2012 was Dr. Noah. I wanted to pay homage to my hero before his looming death from blood cancer. He fought a heroic battle but knew he was at the last leg of the race. I will occasionally read the articles he wrote to me before Facebook and other social media sites. Within his mind was knowledge, compassion, and of course his patented tagline: “Treat yourself and others with kindness.”

Twelve years up here and this was the first year my business was profitable. My sister said it best: “As a therapist, you are top-notch, but as a businessman – not so much.” Thanks, Kim, but she was right. I wasn’t trained in business I am a counselor and my feeling was – and still is – the business will manage itself. Well, not really, but I’ve learned how to at least keep our doors open.

How do you rate a successful year? The amount of money in your account? The number of people you have treated? Success rates (which are very arbitrary)? I like to rate it in seeing the improvements in my clients, as well as the confidence in the trainees, the happiness of my staff, and of course – how clean my fish tank is.

I remember asking a fellow student at the University of Santa Monica, in 1995, when will the money come. I was so sick of living paycheck to paycheck and he was an older man who had this shit-eating grin on his face all the time. He told me that he pushed hard in business for years, then suddenly when he was in his late 40s he realized that he could afford to buy a home, drive a nice car, and wouldn’t ever have to worry about money again. Well, with me now at 67, I realize that this may be describing me as well, but I don’t want to jinx it. Money has been an elusive thing for me, so I opted to at least have a good time in life, help people out, share my wisdom, and maybe one day I could at least do some traveling around the world. This next year may be that time.

All is good as I turn on the Christmas lights in the office, see all the opposite hand drawings that are being displayed on the walls, and knowing that there is a lot of healing that takes place in this office.  

When I drove away from Dr. Noah’s apartment and saw him waving me goodbye from my side view mirror, I knew that this was our last engagement. The laughter, the meals we shared, the crisis interviews we conducted together, and sharing our passion for music were now a thing of the past. The sadness enveloped me. It wasn’t easy driving away from not only him but from friends and family. I was now on my own. Well, it was really me and my Nissan Pathfinder from now on and we were cruising down the freeway on a new adventure. I believed in me. But, would that translate to people that lived in the Pacific Northwest?  

When I arrived at my destination 1,000 miles away, I was met with love. Old clients who asked to go into business with me had eagerly anticipated my arrival because I could build shit with my carpentry background. That and my quick wit went immediately into high gear. We all wondered if we had any clue of what was needed next. All I know is that for the next 3 months, it was constant preparation until the doors opened for business. This was where my life re-began and 12 years later I finally feel like Everett and Kirkland are my new homes.

To answer my question, yes, this was a successful year, and yes, it was the best year ever, but it is only a start. There are more people to help, more opportunities to explore, and more traveling to do. I think that Germany and Italy may be next on the horizon.

May 2025 be incredible for you and yours and if not, come on in, and let’s work on this together. I guess I act like Dr. Noah to you, but nobody can ever replace him.