The Business of Stories (A Mission Statement of sorts )
I am in the business of stories. I create my own, I devour others, I facilitate their creation and, when with young people, I urge the consumption of stories.

Stories are about listening and listening transforms the world; stories are this revolutionary’s instrument of choice. My craft, however, is useless unless my words dance across chasms, through the tight limitations of language and into the hearts, minds, and souls of other people. I wake up long before dawn energized by this compulsion to choreograph the dance, to play once again with these inadequate words, fueled by passion and hope that one day my stories will implant themselves in others.

I write because it is the only way I have found that helps me sort it all out, that brings clarity and insight into the complicated tangle of being alive. What is the purpose of existing? Who am I and what am I and why am I alive? Why is there so much suffering on this planet? And how, God, how can we alleviate the suffering and repair our fragile and beautiful world? In the exhilarating and excruciating process of arranging words I catch fragments of insight that I feel compelled to share.

But they also get worn out and so I venture into the raw material of others where I pillage and plunder, and wipe away Truths and with dictatorial authority I declare new Truths. This is the incomparable pleasure of writing fiction: the unparalleled power. Ever more boldly, I charge into time periods and lives that this body has never approximated and I take, I interpret, I re-create. No one stops me. It is seductive and addictive.
Beware: I am always on the hunt

I am in the business of stories in all of their incarnations and manifestations. When I am not weaving my own tales, I sit down and coach principals and teachers to examine the narratives they have created and those they tumbled into, as well as to construct an award-winning tome. Using a blend of cognitive, transformational, and ontological coaching I coach others to see their stories in through different perspectives and to effectively wield the conductor’s baton.

I create a comfortable space and then we take a close look at the story playing out in front of us. I bring the creator back into the room and offer up a pen. I ask that a decision be made: pick it up and write a different narrative; you can do it. Pick it up and I will stay here and help you build your skill, will, knowledge and capacity to create a place that results in all kids getting what they need and deserve in your school, that infuses joy into learning, and that serves the purposes of healing and transformation, for that is what it is all about: healing and transforming our world into a just, kind, peaceful place for all living beings. We just don’t have time for anything else.

It is a privilege to coach others in this process and an honor to be invited in to listen.

In the business of stories, there are seasons. There are those in which I listen, for coaching is the complementary action to narration, and then there are seasons when the stories come tumbling out. This is my business.