My Bio in Written Form

Summary

Originally from Oakland, California, I have evolved into a renaissance man; I am a creative writer, entrepreneur, and life coach. I know how to connect with millennials on all levels on an array of topics, especially through writing and speaking. I am widely known for my metaphors for daily living, insights on creativity, prolific poetry, and tools found on my high-trafficked blog, Reminders To Myself, where I publish 2-3 times per week. I am positioning myself to be the world leader in purpose-finding and personal development for the millennial generation.

My Purpose
My purpose is to help as many people as possible reach their full potential by helping them making a living doing what they love and in the process of doing so achieve my own. My time is my most valuable asset and I will use it wisely by focusing my energy toward the fulfillment of my purpose. Ultimately, I want to eliminate the need for Alcoholics Anonymous for my generation by creating experiences where people can find community, find meaning, and find a spiritual connection.

My Projects

1. Driving School for Life: a one-day motivational experience designed to jump start your life. The day consists of thought-provoking group activities, discussions, and writing exercises to make it easier to navigate life. Participants gain insight about their passions and strengths, develop a personal GPS system so they don't feel lost, and meet new friends while having fun.
2. Mylinia.com: an online community and search engine designed to help people explore their passions with people who share their passions by organizing websites, books, organizations, and other opportunities according to people's passions.
3. Potlucks:a monthly dinner party and space for positive people to connect with one another and to be fed physically, mentally, and spiritually
   
4. Reminders To Myself Blog: a place where I document and share the lessons I learn on the journey of life so that I don't forget and so that you can learn from them too.

My Wish List

• A technology partner willing to consider equity instead of cash
  
• Investors to help finance Mylinia
• A connection to a book publisher or agent

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Background

Education

I graduated from UCLA in 2003 with my bachelor's degree in business economics. While at UCLA, I studied under Chip Anderson (another bio), one of the lead researchers for the Gallup StrengthFinder, the technology behind the New York Times bestseller Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath. In 2007, I received two masters degrees from Stanford University; one in business administration and one in education. While at Stanford, I worked closely with William Damon, the nation’s lead research on the formation of purpose during adolescence. Damon’s academic definition of purpose is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of intended consequence beyond the self. More can be found in his upcoming book The Path to Purpose, which will be published by the Free Press in April 2008, or at the annual Purpose Symposium he founded and leads.

Career

SHAPE: Upon graduating, I served as the director of the UCLA African Student Union's SHAPE Program. SHAPE stands for students heightening academic performance through education. SHAPE has been serving the youth of Inglewood and Los Angeles for 10 years with free college counseling and life skills development. In 2007, I received two masters degrees from Stanford University; one in business administration and one in education.

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT): As the national talent recruitment manager for Management Leadership for Tomorrow’s undergraduate Career Prep program, in 9 months, I was able to develop a 4,000+ prospective candidate database and launch a grass-roots campus-based marketing program. Known as the CP Ambassadors Program, 20+ Career Prep fellows established chapters at their campuses to build MLT’s brand, which inevitability lead to a 50+% increase in applications, skyrocketing the applicant pool from 375 for a class of 162 to 600 for a class of 240. I also managed the launch of MLT's new website, facilitated the national offices culture development, and created and presented on various skill development areas to the fellows.

Writings

Blogs: Currently, my weekly blog at,"Reminders to Myself", has 900+ readers (450 subscribers ) and addresses topics such as purpose, love, creation, and careers. My audience is primarily millennials between the ages of 20 and 33. You can also find my poetry, speeches, art, songs, articles, book and movie reviews, and videos there.

Newspapers: I have been published 4 times in UCLA's NOMMO magazine. NOMMO provides coverage of political, cultural, and social issues in the African American community. NOMMO was the first news magazine sponsored by the UCLA Communications Board, publishing its first issue on December 4, 1968. My articles can be found on my blog.

Speeches: I have addressed two audiences of 1500+ as keynote speaker at the UCLA African American Graduation in 2003 and the Stanford Black Graduation in 2007. I have had countless smaller speaking engagements, ranging between audience sizes of 10-200 where I addressed primarily millennials in workshop, retreat, or conference spaces.

Online:
Speeddate.com: How To Differentiate Yourself on Speeddate.com
-12/16/08
DowntoBusiness.com: The Only Two Things Employees Really Want - 12/15/08
DowntoBusiness.com: How To Attract Talent With No Money - 12/8/08
KenBillups.com: Working With vs. Working For - 12/5/08
DowntoBusiness.com: The Importance of Vision: Attracting & Retaining Great People - 12/4/08
The Stanford Business Reporter: The CEO of You -6/4/07

My Bio as a Screencast Video


My Bio as a SproutBuilder Widget