BIOGRAPHY FROM: http://yestolifecoaching.com/meet-yosaif/

I am a steadfast ally of people who want to live their lives with a greater sense of purpose and meaning.

Henry David Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

I help them bring their song forth – so that they lead their lives with purpose,  passion and possibilities.

I bring all of who I am to my coaching clients: my personal qualities and strengths, my values and, of course, my skill sets. My core skill sets are life coaching and experiential education. My professional life coach training was with the Coaches Training Institute; my experiential education training was with the NY Community Training Instituted (affiliated with National Training Labs).  I’ve honed these skills sets through many years of working with a wide range of people in diverse settings.

I’ve been a community organizer, civil rights activist (in Mississippi and New York) experiential educator/trainer, human resources executive, executive recruiter, organization development consultant, award-winning healthcare innovator, author, song writer/composer, chairman of the board of a non-profit arts organization, NIH-funded researcher, presenter, keynote speaker and, of course,  a life coach.  (For the record, I’ve left out great jobs from my teenage years  like hot dog vendor at Yankee Stadium – and more!)

While the gender of my clients has been pretty equal between men and women, I’ve been keenly involved in issues related to men. Over the past twenty three years, I’ve organized and been a leader and mentor of an annual gathering and spiritual retreat for Jewish men.  I’ve also written about issues of particular importance to men.

It’s been said that life is not what happens to you. Rather, it’s what we do with what happens. I’ve lived a life full of twists and turns, very high highs and very low lows.  From these I’ve learned the importance of gratitude, of relationships, of the ever present possibilities of humor, laughter and play, and the value of perseverance and resilience.

I’ve been fortunate to have been able to utilize what I’ve learned in my life, especially the ups and downs, to help other people on their life journeys. One particularly wonderful example of this was my being able to utilize my learnings from the emotionally difficult breakup of my first marriage to create a workshop that helped other people going through similar experiences. Entitled “Separation Soap” (as in soap opera!), it utilized humor as a healing tool to help them move forward with their lives. This approach was considered so innovative that it was featured in major news media around the world and I had the opportunity of presenting it at international and national psychology conferences. It was at one of these presentations, a psychodrama conference in New York City, that I met my future wife (and dance partner), Tsurah, with whom I recently celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary!

I  carry a wonderful legacy from my parents. From my mother I learned about being bold, stepping up for what you want and being a steadfast ally. From my father, I learned about connecting with people, trustworthiness, perseverance and resilience.

I love what I do and feel privileged to be in a position to bring all of who I am to each moment of coaching.  I’m very musical and love to move and dance. When it is appropriate for a particular client, I draw of these and other modalities (meditation, visualization, music, movement, the visual arts, humor, playfulness) to help my clients to bring their “song” forth in their lives:  to see possibilities, move through stuck places and be more fully alive in all that they do.

In my personal life, I’m blessed with a life partner/wife who is the love of my life, two grown children (and their wonderful mates), two delicious grand children, and a robust group of friends.  I consider myself to be a good friend and pay attention to keeping these important connections alive and well. My wife and I love to dance (we’ve been dancing since our first date 34 years ago!). We love being in the natural world, where we hike, swim and go kayaking.  We also share an active spiritual life.