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Certified Executive/Life Coach, Dr. Jeffrey Hull, MBA, Ph.D.

About Jeffrey Hull: Jeffrey Hull, MBA, Ph.D. is a writer, psychotherapist, and certified executive/life coach whose clients range from single individuals in private practice to multinational Fortune 500 corporations. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Hull has worked with hundreds of individuals, organizational teams, and community groups, and is widely recognized as a pioneer in the fields of performance coaching for executives and life coaching for individuals.  A former Director of Human Resources at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Dr. Hull has worked with senior executives at AT&T, Banque Paribas, Bankers Trust, MasterCard International, TD Ameritrade, and HSBC.

Over the past decade in private practice, Dr. Hull has created an innovative approach to healing and personal growth called The Life-Shifting Method ™ that synthesizes the most up-to-date methods of life coaching and psychotherapy.  He works with clients in every domain-mental, emotional, physical and spiritual-addressing the full spectrum of life's challenges.  His new book, "Shift! How to Let Go of Fear and Get Your Life in Gear" will be published by GPP (Globe Pequot) books later this year.

An avid meditator and yoga practitioner, Dr. Hull is a certified Vinyasa yoga instructor and regularly leads retreats and workshops for East/West Living, One Spirit Interfaith Alliance, The Forge Institute and SpiritJourneys, Inc.  Dr. Hull has been featured in the NY Times and IBD (Investors Business Daily) and has published numerous articles in the New York Jung Institute Journal, Quadrant, and the San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal. He has appeared on NBC news and was featured in a story on "Creativity in Business" for Good Morning America on CBS-TV.  You can learn more about Dr. Hull and the Life-Shifting Method at www.life-shifting.com.

LM: At what point in your life did you say, "I'm going to become a life coach and help people find joy in their lives"?

JH: I'm not sure that I ever did say such a thing specifically.  I started "coaching" people as a natural outgrowth of my job as a Human Resources Director for Booz, Allen & Hamilton, back in the mid-90's.  My favorite part of the job was interviewing candidates, asking them about their dreams and talents, and holding meaningful "career discussions" with the consulting staff.

It was always so gratifying to help someone experience that "aha" moment of awareness around their passions, interests and talents.  I'm not sure exactly how it came to pass, but one day I found myself in a workshop with Thomas Leonard, the founder of Coach University, and lo and behold, discovered that one could actually make a living counseling people and supporting them in manifesting their dreams.

LM:You are recognized as a pioneer in the fields of performance coaching for executives and life coaching for individuals.  Can you expound on the key components for both Performance Coaching and Life Coaching?  Are there any key similarities between the training you provide in these two fields?

JH: In my work, "performance coaching" specifically refers to supporting executives in "raising their game" as leaders.  In the corporate and professional worlds, I work with leaders who are interested in developing their skills, talents and capabilities as strategic thinkers, creative collaborators, and team builders.  It is crucial, especially in today's challenging economic environment that executives and professionals of all kinds constantly seek out opportunities for personal growth.  "Performance coaching" can be a powerful contributor to this goal.

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Executive at Play

For me, the critical success factor for "high performance" almost always comes down to

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About Jill: Jill Blakeway is the Clinic Director of the Yinova Center in New York City. A licensed and board certified acupuncturist and clinical herbalist, she specializes in the care of women and children. A gifted acupuncturist and herbalist, Jill's skill is in taking a system of medicine that is 3,500 years old and focusing this wisdom on the problems of modern women living in New York City. Women come to her for help with a range of conditions from PMS to menopause and New York Moms appreciate her safe, natural solutions for a wide variety of childhood ailments from constipation to bed wetting. In 2005, the New York Times named Jill as one of the top acupuncturists of the year, referring to her as a "fertility goddess," as Jill is known for her work enhancing the fertility of women who are having trouble conceiving... "When women consult me about getting pregnant my first task is to reconnect them with their reproductive cycle" says Jill, "I teach them how to recognize their most fertile period and give diet and lifestyle advice. From there I begin to help them improve their general health, balancing hormones, building the uterine lining, eliminating premenstrual symptoms and regulating the menses. Often this is all that is needed for conception to occur. If assisted reproduction techniques are needed, however, research has shown that acupuncture can increase the efficacy of IVF by up to 50%."
Jill divides her time between New York City and Upstate New York where she lives with her husband Noah, daughter Emma and their dog Louie.
-- LM: As a gifted herbalist and acupuncturist, how did you get interested in Acupuncture and Asian Medicine initially? JB: Years ago, I struggled with a chronic medical condition, swallowing antibiotics for six months with no improvement. My doctor said he was out of options, and finally sent me to a Chinese medicine doctor. Just a couple weeks of acupuncture and Chinese herbs sorted out the problem. My whole world turned upside down! This was a completely different paradigm than I'd ever been exposed to. That it worked at all was, frankly, a bit hard for me to believe, even though I'd experienced it myself in such a profound way. But I was drawn to understanding it better. I started reading everything I could get my hands on, and asked a lot of questions. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know, and ultimately I went back to graduate school for a M.S. Degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine. LM: What type of acupuncture training/education did you receive prior to obtaining your license? JB: I complete a four-year M.S. In Traditional Oriental Medicine at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, California. LM: Was there a defining moment or experience that showed you your path, or did it come about gradually? JB: While in school I went to a lecture by a doctor who changed my life again. She was trained in China in both conventional gynecology and in acupuncture and herbology, and so she talked about what Chinese Medicine could do that Western medicine couldn't. But she also covered what Western medicine could do that Chinese medicine couldn't. This vision of collaborative medicine excited and inspired me, and I've strived for that complementarity in the way I've worked ever since. I have worked in several hospitals including San Diego Hospice, Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, NY and Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, where I founded the inpatient acupuncture program. This experience gave me insight into how to integrate Chinese medicine into a Western medical system and how to communicate with doctors in a way that helped them to understand Chinese medicine better. My patients appreciate that I regularly consult with their doctors about their case. I want to keep the doctors apprised of what I'm doing, and I want to fully understand their plans. I want to be sure our efforts will work together well. There are herbs I won't give, for example, if I know a woman is taking drugs that function in a similar way. Most doctors are very receptive to working with me, and I believe that's because my hospital training means that I speak their language. So I don't call up and say "I'm treating So-and-So for kidney yang deficiency with blood deficiency." I translate for them just as I translate for my patients, talking about hormone imbalance, and how herbs and acupuncture can level the hormones out. Doctors' biggest complaint about alternative medicine is

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Robin and Michael Mastro are the leaders in the field of Vastu Shastra. Through their vast experience, they have created a unique system that offers life-enhancing yet simple principles. This exciting technique is presented in their groundbreaking award-winning books, Altars of Power and Grace and The Way of Vastu. By following these dynamic tools anyone can transform their life and make their dreams a reality.

Robin Mastro instructs people worldwide to enhance living and working environments through Vastu Shastra . Her work in this inspiring field took her to Egypt and India, where she studied ancient concepts of sacred space and Vastu Shastra. In 1998 she received her masters in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University, combining systems theory and creative design to develop transformative tools for environmental harmony and personal growth. Robin is dedicated to adapting the wisdom of ancient systems to enhance the reality of modern life. She is the creator of AltarWear, a jewelry and clothing line based on Vedic teachings. We recently had the distinct honor and privilege to speak with Robin about the life enhancing work she and her husband have been doing in the area of Vastu.

LM: Over the past several years Vastu Shastra has become a very popular phrase, yet only a few have a true understanding of the meaning and philosophy behind it. Can you explain what the basic principles of Vastu Shastra are?

RM: By aligning our homes and workspaces with universal energy that is alive and ever-present we experience nature's support. The basic principles of Vastu Shastra, the science of building, are