Inner Work Coaching
”Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.“ – Bruce Lee
With this deceptively simple line, Bruce elucidated an approach to life that asks each of us to discover who we truly are. We can try techniques and approaches developed by others, but ultimately, it’s up to you and me as an individual to connect to our own wisdom to understand what’s useful, useless, and empower ourselves to uniquely develop our own special sauce for living.
Knowing and developing ourselves, however, is a project that rarely flourishes in a vacuum. Personally, I have leaned on teachers, friends, parents, mentors, books, myths, coaches, spirituality, movement practices, integrative medicine, and more in order grow… And you know what? After all that searching around, the main thing I’ve learned is a very simple, mundane truth: I am responsible for the obstacles in the way of my happiness, my joy, my success, my relationships.
I’m interested in working with self-reflective explorers who are interested in understanding the breadth and depth of who they are and what they have to offer. People who have the humble intelligence to recognize that they need to get out of their own way… Reflections like the following might resonate with you:
What causes me to get stuck in unhelpful patterns that are deviously difficult to diagnose and address?
Instead of pointing outside yourself to blame the world or a situation, you admit: “the way I'm seeing a situation or relationship is unhelpful… How can I approach it differently to have a more harmonious outcome?”
Who am I really? What do I truly want? What is my authentic truth?
If I assess myself honestly, I fall prey to faulty thinking often. I forget to act from my highest wisest self. I get angry, frustrated, disappointed, and reactive. That being said, I have spent the last 16 years dedicated to Self-understanding. That’s a capital “S” for a reason.
Wisdom traditions and spiritual disciplines the world over have different language for the Self, but they all point to the same thing: a sense of inner peace. A clear compassionate confidence to charge on despite difficulties and a faith that despite the need for improvement, we are ok just as we are.
Inner Work is all about identifying the obstacles that stand in the way of abiding in that peaceful, strong, confident, equanimous state of being that lives within each of us.
That’s the core of my coaching.
I’m not here to optimize your performance or maximize you. It might seem like a subtle shift, but it’s massive: I’m here to support you in realizing your potential for peaceful performance. To ground you in your sense of Self.
From that place, problems unravel. Relationships resolve. Peace proliferates. You evolve.
My own Inner Work has been a syncretic, multi-modal approach informed by:
Deep coaching training and certification through the Co-Active Training Institute.
Having the distinct privilege of serving as a Team Experience Specialist at Tuft & Needle, a DtC start-up known for its award-winning culture and disruption of the mattress industry.
Rock climbing around the world. Memorable ascents: The Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, an epic failed attempt on Triple Direct, adventuring up Hasse Brandler while jetlagged, a multi-season project to climb Hands Across America.
Meditation practice since 2013. (Emphasis on “practice.” It took me 7 years to finally be consistent).
Graduation with the 4th cohort of the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program developed and led by mindfulness luminaries Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield.
A 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training certification and on-going continuing study of yoga as a spiritual practice.
Learning to thrive without medication despite being labeled by big pharma as “Bi-Polar Type 2.”
Laughter Yoga teacher certification (LY is essentially practical application of positive psychology that could be summed up as ”Joy for No Reason”).
Becoming a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda through Ananda Sangha.
Walking with my father through a 10-year journey with stage 4 prostate cancer. Our relationship had always been a challenge, yet we arrived at a place of peace and love prior to him leaving the body on September 16, 2024. Thank you for encouraging me to be my own person, Dad.
Working with and integrating non-ordinary states of consciousness via plant medicine and entheogens since 2018.
In my collaboration with you as your coach, I draw on these experiences and the diverse skillsets they afforded me to unfailingly see and believe in your best.
I primarily coach three types of clients. Click the one you feel most aligned with to zoom down the page and see about teaming up.
Heart-centered leaders
Individuals on a path of awakening (🚧Under Construction🚧)
Journey Work (🚧Under Construction🚧)
Heart-Centered Leaders
Leaders who care more about deliverables than their team need look elsewhere.
If you’re looking to scale your company, improve the bottom-line, or dominate the boardroom, I’m also probably the last coach you should consider. There are plenty of coaches who have expertise in those realms. They’re not my zone of genius.
So what am I any good for? Well to be 100% transparent with you, often times, my inner critic asks me that exact same question. So for starters, if you’re wrangling that jerk/asshole/mother-f*ckr (choose your level of profanity), I am adept at helping clients evolve that voice into something more helpful.
If you nod your head, or better yet, have a resonant gut, heart, and head feeling with some of the following criteria, we probably have some synergy cooking and I encourage you to reach out for a conversation:
Firstly, and probably fundamentally, you a leader who truly gives a damn about cultivating an environment of care. IE: Does it frustrate you when policy or profit comes before people?
You want to discover and fully embrace a true-to-you unique style of leadership that lights you up from the inside out (and thereby your team 💃🕺).
You want to achieve your next milestone of success and impact, but don’t want to lose yourself along the way.
You recognize that an even-keeled mood, equanimity of mind, and balanced collaboration are more effective than forceful juggernaut-esque charging.
You’re tired of falling into cycles of performance / burnout. What could sustainable productivity feel like instead of extractive self-sacrifice?
You are ready to unleash your inborn creativity in new, surprising, astonishingly helpful ways.
Your perspectives. Your attitudes. Your habits… Not all of them, but have you noticed some are crucially flawed? That how you’re showing up at work is the problem that needs addressing not the organization, not your team, not the shareholders, not the market, [insert other external factors here]. Not to downplay those factors, but they are often outside your locus of control and therefore irrelevant to how you can exert influence in your world.
You are optimistically growth oriented à-la The Beatles’ Getting Better.
Artwork by Andy Jones
What people say about working with me
“I had such an awesome coaching experience with Wei-Ming. He is an expert at helping guide people through their issues, leveraging careful questioning, fun thought exercises, and really getting you to go outside of your normal thoughts/lens in order to help work through anything that you bring to the table. I loved the initial 360 Leadership profile as a starting point, and I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for an awesome coach! It was so helpful to have an impartial person to help bounce ideas off of, and to work through so many of the issues that leaders face. ”
“Wei-Ming has the unique ability to quickly grasp what matters to you, even when you may not realize it yourself. For someone often pulled in many directions, this aid in focus was invaluable. Through my sessions with Wei-Ming, I was able to completely change the way I viewed issues at work and begin working from a much more effective place.”
“In our work together, Wei-Ming created the curious and compassionate (and fun!) space I needed to uncover ways in which I was getting in my own way, sit with them, experience what it was like to move beyond those internal blockers, and identify ways to integrate that experience and learning into my day-to-day ways of being. The learning and growth that Wei-Ming helped me cultivate genuinely and meaningfully continue to serve me.”
“I believe people should feel empowered to design and direct their own lives, just as an athlete is in charge of their own training and performance. And just as an athlete benefits from the perspective and guidance of a skilled coach, so too can a professional coach offer us valuable insights into our own careers and lives. Wei-Ming brought his intuitive point of view into our coaching sessions and worked with me to understand and approach obstacles in new ways. Wei-Ming asked great questions, offered wise observations, and—most importantly—was patient, positive, and easy to talk to. Through his listening, exercises, and support, Wei-Ming empowered me to more genuinely embody my personal values while pursing my goals. Thanks, Wei-Ming!”
“Working with Wei-Ming allowed me to be honest with myself. I learned how to give myself permission, and most importantly, our sessions helped create structured time and space to plan, dream and develop action items. ”
“Working with Wei-Ming has been fantastic. I met Wei-Ming when I was in a period of transition and I was trying to hold on to everything. Together we learned what was important and what wasn’t. We then came up with ways to nurture what was important and let go of what wasn’t. Now I feel empowered to build great things! ”
“Working with Wei-Ming is a breath of fresh air. I spent eight sessions with Wei-Ming this summer, and it was an absolutely awesome experience. If you’re looking for a thoughtful, attentive and supportive partner to help bring some clarity to your life or career do yourself a favor and get in touch. He’s an amazing coach and an even better human. 10/10 would recommend 👍”
“Through his guidance and insights he has helped me find my own path to personal growth. My relationship with my family, my teammates, and myself has grown exponentially in the short time that he’s worked with me. Whether helping motivate me to finish up a web app or giving me a paradigm shift in how I relate to my children, Wei-Ming continues to be a catalyst in helping me accomplish tasks I’ve always wanted to do and becoming a person I’ve always wanted to be.”
“Wei-Ming is inspirational. He picks up on voice cues and words used to bring out insights about me that I didn’t realize. His sessions are productive, rewarding and motivating. I learned about myself in every session and he always ended on a positive note for closure. Wei-Ming helped me see my value to others, to the world.”
“True happiness/contentment is like a tight rope. We try and try again but always seem to keep falling. When you find the balance of all the things in your life, you’re able to make that journey. Whether slow or fast, you get to the end. Wei-Ming encouraged and pushed me to let myself be ok with my falls and to be honest with myself. To appreciate the small victories and know mistakes are a part of the process; a part of being human. To find my balance in life was the journey I embarked on. That’s the Middle Wei.”
Let me put my coach hat on
With me you’ll get an approach that can adroitly switch between breadth and depth, intensity and spaciousness. I am both doggedly committed to your goals and stoked to celebrate you each step of the way.
I pair some of the most comprehensive coach training available at the Co-Active Training Institute with an indefatigable human curiosity and a background that spans the practical to the spiritual. I specialize in cultivating mindfulness and integration for those who may have found “success” but are ready to live the lives they’ve always wanted to.
I love a good quote
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”
– Henry David Thoreau