I have guided thousands of professionals from all walks of life and their families across the “Badlands” of addiction, stress illnesses, and burnout to the lives they were created to have. For 23 years, I was the Executive Director of The Center for Professional Excellence (CPE), which I founded in 1996. CPE was a powerfully effective treatment center that helped thousands get recovery of their hearts. Since 1991 up to the present, I have also had the privilege of getting to share the purpose and life-changing benefits of the Spiritual Root System with countless others through consulting, mentoring, speaking and writing. Those people, in turn, have helped thousands awaken to the lives they were created to have. I want us to have impact for ourselves and the society we can benefit. Together we can do more than we could ever do apart.  

The Spiritual Root System (SRS), I developed in 1991. It is a simple and effective way of seeing how we are made, and integrating how we are made into the lives we desire. The SRS’s starting point states that we are created as emotional and spiritual creatures, created to live fully through relationship with ourselves, others, and God.

I wrote The Voice of the Heart in 2001, which teaches the importance of feelings as tools and gifts that can assist us in living fully. This seminal work continues to impact people’s lives all over the world. Each successive book, Needs of the Heart, Keeping Heart, The Perfect Loss, Anthem to the Invisible (a novel), Parenting with Heart, Hope in the Age of Addiction, and How Are You Feeling Today? (children’s book), all speak to our desire to live a full life, love others well, and lead lives that benefit others.

In 1990, I completed my Ph.D. in Counseling at the University of North Texas and beforehand, attained my M.A. in English from the University of Mississippi in 1985. While in Texas, I cofounded Bent Tree Counseling Center in Dallas. I served as the Clinical Director until moving to Tennessee to continue work with organizations, professionals, and their families.

Sonya and I married in 1983; we found each other in high school. We have two grown sons and we currently live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, our hometown.