About
From paralyzing fear and anxiety to inspiring thousands to lead with more energy, purpose, and discipline…
Before he became an award-winning professional. Before he could produce top rated workshops and seminars. Before earning his second-degree black belt in karate… there was a fragile and timid boy.
Desperate to stay hidden.
Eager to please.
Scared to death of showing up & speaking up no matter how many times he read “The Man Who Thinks He Can.”
School, sports, martial arts & the influence of a dozen mentors…
Hi, I’m David. Becoming a speaker, educator, and facilitator was not natural to me.
While my upbringing was very disciplined, the shift into feeling energized and connected to a sense of purpose was anything but “easy.”
In fact, you’d hardly ever hear me speak.
If I were called to express myself, the knots in my stomach got so tight that I’d feel like throwing up.
I was afraid of most people because I found the world to be scary and dangerous.
I shied away from any leadership opportunity for fear of criticism and failure.
I didn’t believe in creating love beyond my close family because I was insecure.
I wanted to help people, but didn’t know how someone like me could ever make a difference.
I never did take a leap of faith.
Instead, I followed the advice (read: hand-holding) of my earliest mentors such as my parents, Sensei, coaches, and teachers.
They enrolled me in sports. They introduced me to martial arts. They lulled me into student leadership.
Little by little, I started to feel an emerging sense of energy and purpose in life.
By the age of 16, the energy ad purpose was in abundant proportions and just waiting to come out.
Gone was the boy who wanted to stay out of the way.
All that was left was a teen inspiring students through martial arts, empowering children through sports camps, creating change through student council, breaking barriers as a student trustee, and advocating for progress through a provincial educational lobby.
By the age of 17, I was recognized as an Ontario millennium provincial laureate.
Overwhelmed by it all, my body forced me to slow down.
While that year put me through a relentless personal and professional development boot-camp, I experienced a near burnout episode…
No more energy.
No more purpose.
But, still disciplined…
It took months for the acute symptoms to subside…
During that time, I realized that energy, purpose and discipline were nothing without alignment.
… Especially when there was a misalignment with the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of the whole person.
Inspired by it all, I began to study theories of wellness, human performance & leadership development…
At first, I wanted to study from the shadows.
And I did.
I stayed as far from the action as possible because I was afraid of repeating mistakes.
But then, I met the right mentors who encouraged me to get in the thick of it again.
“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”- Bruce Lee
Today you might call it bio-hacking and high performance. Back then, I simply called it personal and professional development.
I studied the models and embodied them to the best of my ability towards the goal of becoming a student leader in a sea of 50,000 undergraduates.
My purpose was to self-actualize so I could serve the student community and elevate student leaders around me.
With a renewed sense of energy through which I could channel my discipline, we ultimately achieved the goals we set. As a result, I became a multi-award winning student leader.
What was I most proud of?
This time, there was no burnout, no exhaustion, and no leaving my core values behind.
I wanted to share my lessons in the “real-world”
In 2012, I began serving the greater community in a different way. No longer as a student leader, but as a professional speaker, educator and facilitator.
At the same time, I began working full-time in higher education. Wanting to test the theories and my past experiences on my “adulting self”, I directed my purpose, energy and discipline to becoming a manager by the age of 24 and a director by age 28.
But it wasn’t for the title. The title was a means of being able to lead teams across multiple portfolios to improve student success, inside and outside of the classroom…
Meanwhile, my partner and I began creating our own love story and sharing it with others through relationshipzen.ca.
Eventually, we became relationship coaches who help courageous couples to co-create vibrant relationship through online education on communication, happiness, and fulfillment.
I share this with you because I wholeheartedly believe that if you align your energy, purpose and discipline, you can achieve pretty much anything you set your path to.
What is it that you want to set your life’s direction to?
Sometimes you just need to feel more energized & clear about your process before you can commit to a particular transformation
That’s where I come in. My transformation was to go from a place of paralyzed fear to a space of abundance.
Those who work with me will see, feel, hear, and benefit from strategies and tactics to pursue their personal or organizational transformation with energy, purpose, and discipline.
Here’s what others have had to say about me as a speaker, facilitator and educator from a 3-day Institute in 2019:
“David was great. Strong handle on content. Good presenter/facilitator. Flexible/highly receptive to feedback from group.”
“David was phenomenal. Very adaptive to the needs of the room, a great source of knowledge.”
“I found David to be a really great Lead Facilitator. He was knowledgeable, had lots of different resources to refer to. He also had many different personal experiences to share. He was flexible and adaptable to the groups needs and made a strong effort to connect with everyone individually.”
“David was wicked smart and able to communicate examples from his experience that added to the meaningfulness of the content. Brilliantly able to flex the delivery to the needs of the group.”
Most importantly, I’m always learning. I’m no expert, but I share a process.
You’ll find that I’m assertive yet flexible and adaptable as a facilitator, speaker and educator. I work with you to customize the educational experience so it meets your specific needs.
It all begins with a conversation.