I want to meet you somehow, rather than just the typical "About" bio. I ask my deepest heart what it wants for you. One thing is for you to know that there are amazing possibilities for the joy in your “higher soul” to partner well with your “boots on the ground” every day life & work & people flow. That who you are and the leadershift you are meant to activate at this time is beyond what your conditioned mind tries to solve. There is a new way to feel better, lead better and discover the root cause of all your desired outcomes.

I promise to meet you right where you are, with whatever goals, challenges and circumstances are relevant. More importantly, I promise to not just talk about all of that with mostly left-brain, “seeker-achiever” strategic problem-solving or socratic coaching questions or positive attitude performance pumping and action-tracking accountabilty or spiritual bypass bullshit.

Humbled and excited by more than 10,000 hours delightfully obsessed with “What does it really take?” the MLA (Mastery of Leadership Arts) is here to blow our minds, activate your infinite heart, connect with your true power source, and crack the codes for your liberated, inspired response-agility.

Inner alchemy & outer abundance operationalized. New Mastery. This requires some leaps in letting go of embedded patterns, and cultivating new trust, inside of you and with us (and fellow MLA champions, if you join the new cohort). So, please do ask me anything and share openly, so we can equip you in the most effective ways (including if something else might be a better fit for you for now).

Jedi trainer, Queen of Powerful Questions, and “matrix extraction expert” are names people have used to describe what I do. Credentials-wise, we can add... 

• Named one of 50 top executive coaches in America

• Award-winning author, featured on ABC-TV, Chicago Tribune +

• Master certified coach, 27 years working with bright leaders/nuanced, multi-layered human beings like you.

• Speaker at Google, Kellogg, University of Chicago, Conscious Business Network +

  Here’s one way to get to know my heart & mind a bit and fuel your authentic flourishing: New MLA podcast and guided power pause audios HERE. This Conscious business magazine interview. Some Articles and Posts.

Imagine your Future Self plugged into an infinite source of authentic inspiration & limitless possibilities. Add an inner “champion team” that LOVES you unconditionally, illogically, outrageously— knows what you are capable of more than your personality brain could conjure, and wants the best for you. What does that energy want for you? And then through you? (in that order.) My job is to help you break free of your normal programming (that’s now limiting, sabotaging) untangle inherited trappings of success, and equip you to activate your essence potential & true prosperity. Not try to climb ladders or chase bliss, but the real Journey Of You.

Are you willing to explore “what do I want? and Why am I here?” like never before?

What’s calling you? Or bugging you? Imagine we’re having coffee. Let’s take a new look at “What do I want?” Don’t worry about being sophisticated or “conscious” or whatever. Just let honest, real wants gurgle up, in whatever shapes, sizes and significance. It’s fascinating how these simple four words can stir up so much. Some people find the question itself not easy to answer authentically. So, be kind to yourself. What do you want?

Your normal thinking and popular, well-intended advice is going to try to help you try to solve the want of “What do I want?” Understandably so. In this new Mastery of Leadership Arts, you’ll experience the radical change in pattern shifting right away with focusing on the “I" - who/what is asking and attempting to clarify and get the wants. This may sound simple, but I promise you it’s life-altering. Beyond just inner game or mindset. We’re activating an axial shift in what’s been running you for decades, uninstalling clever strategies, releasing buried stories, then stabilizing your effective embodiment of the new you. It happens in layers, like beginner to black belt and beyond.

Clients are saying things like, “I know we’ve had many moments over the years, but what we just did was the most profound shift of my life.”

Consider shifting from insidious persona patterns to Infinite potential and then operationalizing this in effective, healthy embodied action. This is not easy. And it’s the omg power-shifting “technology” that changes everything. Just when you think you’ve got it- your’e no longer run by your inner five-year old wound story and adaptive protector strategies, and feel empowered in your new self— another shapeshifting “impersonator” grabs the wheel again. No wonder we call this mastery.

A compassionate, curious heart and sense of humor come in handy often. We could have used this language in coaching calls 20+ years ago. But the new MLA activation keys and ways of equipping you to embody this are radically different now. If you are willing to play in this paradigm-shifting sandbox with me, I will fall into a kind of fierce Love with you, become your devoted Champion, and together we will discover new ways of letting the inspired Truth set you free. It can be a lot of fun. We’re hearing fabulous feedback from MLA clients, their reports, bosses, spouses, and maybe most importantly, their souls. :-)

In the nitty gritty of private conversations and MLA group masterclasses, we will dive deeper and reach higher. We’ll also honor the pragmatic priorities of navigating your days. We always want to connect the profound and the practical for optimal flow. Everything from handling email to emotional resilience to innovation for out-of-the-box revenue growth in uncertain market conditions could be relevant applications of this inner deeper/ higher outer work.

How did I get here? (If you’re curious about my story)

Once upon a time my life appeared as a smash success from the outside looking in. But something started waking me up at 3 am, imploring, Is this all there is? Then my body started beeping with physical symptoms to get me to wake up out of a workaholic, seeker-achiever trying treadmill as an advertising exec in the mid 90’s corporate game- short skirt, high heels, acrylic nails. Can you see her walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago with burgundy pumps and briefcase to match? I pried my white knuckles off that culturally-encouraged, lucrative ladder and took a leap, not knowing where I might land, including possibly going back to that justifiable path, becoming a partner and other shiny objects. 3 months later, my mother died. I took a long beach walk (on a trip to Florida) and a look at the lives of former strivers in this retirement mecca. I pondered the insanity of working our tails off for decades to end up on the sunny side of life someday in an American Dream fairytale. I was 34 and didn’t want to wait 34 more years to end up not really healthy or happy anyway.

I took another look— inside a portal in my heart to something wiser than any of the outer popular or inner programmed voices clamoring for attention.

The ladder got replaced by an infinity loop of “inner deeper” inspiration and “higher outer” flow. Thank goodness some smart people had started a new profession called “coaching” that gave me a way to make a living at what I felt born to do. Since 1996, I’ve had the privilege of working with accomplished leaders to help them wake up inspired into their Authentic Self, and consciously create better lives, livelihoods & leadership. That blossomed into an author-speaker-teacher journey I never could have imagined, and had me singing “I love my life!” I am forever a student, transformational growth lab alchemist and delightfully obsessed with What does it really take?

In 2012, visions of a new inspired leadership academy were percolating when my beloved best friend + brother got a shocking stage-4 cancer diagnosis. I dropped everything and shifted focus to cutting-edge medical research and going for miracles. In despair one night, I tried a dose of “Take me, not him,” but the angel of death didn’t adjust his appointment book. I flew to the ocean to pour out my tears and stood before the mighty water goddess, arms open, asking, “Now what? What do you want? Thy will...”

The ocean replied, Oh, my love, what do YOU want, sweetheart?  

This prompted another beach walk… many more beach walks in Santa Barbara dialoguing with that Great Love and dancing with What do I want-Who’s asking-Who’s answering-What’s selfish or foolish or meant to emerge-What now brown cow??

The life I had known was gone. But I didn't know that yet.

A bigger Yes would not take no for an answer—calling me to let go of all of the familiar safety & sanctuary I had relied on. A lovely 25-year marriage uncoupled. 50 years of living in a certain place and the long-held certainty of familiar anchors released. Come what may, I sang. Let the Infinite Calling sweep me off my feet. Inspired Leadership 3.0 and California here we come.

I won’t sugar-coat with it’s been happily ever after ever since. There was new romantic bliss, business growth, invitations to speak inside of Google and such that had me feel like I had won the lottery and gone to heaven for a couple years. And then a fascinating plot twist ensued. Heart-shattering shock, humiliation, shame, classic dark night of the soul, deeper inner alchemy, Rumi poetry and rebirthing. Then arising out of the ashes with a strengthened soul, truly joy-fueled being, new keys to liberate real source power, learning even more about not giving my power away, and renewed zeal to pay it forward with tools forged from that fire and fine-tuned for many years by now. :-)

These days, you might hear me singing, “Feeling good!” or “May a new flame rise in many more human hearts…a revolution of Joy, each sharing our uniquely needed parts,” and I’m a happy, grateful camper. A compassionate spaciousness holds whatever comes up and I know how to re-source my response-agility more than ever. I’m geeked to witness proof that the MLA practices are producing positive results in my own life and for clients, that encourages me to come out of the closet in new ways with more wisdom gifts and fun tools to share.

Your journey will be yours. At some level we’ll share an old wound story deep down that had us programmed to try to earn worth, approval, feeling secure, getting liked, loved, et al. Our adaptive strategies (pleasing, performing, defending, avoiding…) can work great for a long time and we become applauded achievers, helpful, useful and so on. Your own story—birth, bliss, betrayals, other bumps in the road or yesterday’s triggers hold secret treasures for us. We’ll uncover superpowers in you ready to rise and shine soon.

Early adopter MLA clients are saying, “I’m a whole new person” and we’re hearing feedback from professional & personal folks that enthuse us to keep going with this new approach. So, let’s chat and see if you are meant to have a seat in the new MLA Champion Circle or other ways to revolutionize the way you flourish.

I’m so excited to be “building the school” (and new book +) with the new MLA Academy for your next great leadershift and our future.

You might be surprised at how subtle and sneaky the self-limiting layers are in suppressing your potential flow. We’ll uninstall those outdated programs and keep your talents & skills— for even better, authentically inspired, consciously chosen use! It’s not easy to allow yourself to zag, when your inner subconscious fear conditioning and outer world pressures tell you to zig. But it’s totally worth the patience, perseverance and new kind of tools and support it requires.

You have a choice of who you get to be. You can keep trying to be a good girl or boy.
Or are you willing to wake up to your greatest Joy? - song

Marian has inspired & equipped many lives & missions through her speaking, coaching, teaching, and leadership retreats for clients such as: 

Google • LinkedIn • Kellogg • University of Chicago • Conscious Business Network •Kraft Foods• Impact Engine Startup Incubator •Athena International Leadership Summit •Soroptomist International Leadership Conference • Loyola University Women's Leadership Conference •Leo Burnett • U.S. Government, Department of Education • Ernst & Young •Galileo International • Sara Lee Foods • Grainger • Nalco Chemical Company • CBRE Global Commercial Real Estate • Professional Women's Club of Chicago • Albert Einstein Healthcare Network • American Express • MetCap Bank • W.I.S.E. (Women in Spiritual Evolution) • Infinity Foundation • American Association of University Women • YWCA Leadership Conference • Executive Development Network •Spirit of Leadership Conference and more

 "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."  ~  Joseph Campbell