About the Method
What
Cognitive Curation Training (CCT) is an interdisciplinary management methodology for increasing self-awareness, curating cognitive elements, and making effective decisions under uncertainty.
It's my own brand of tools and techniques designed to help people and organizations increase self-awareness and maximize performance results. And all with my personal insights on how to build resilience along the way.
Why
I believe in the power of stories. Specifically, the stories we tell ourselves.
Those stories are the most powerful of all.
I developed CCT because years ago, I identified the stories that I was letting influence my life and felt how they only brought me confusion and pain. So I learned to rewrite them. The Method is rooted in my deep desire to make sense of my internal and external space; to bridge worlds. After years of testing on myself and sharing it with others, I'm finally ready to share it with everyone.
CCT encapsulates my life's work of exploring and curating my own internal space with memories made, lessons learned, and insights. In the end, it's truly a personal journey that has taken me to my darkest depths and brought me through to the highest heights. And now, I'd like to share it with you.
How do I know if The CCT Method is for me?
The CCT Method was developed with very specific people in mind:
Aspiring Communicators
Whether you are a creative or a scientist, if you are bursting at the seams with thoughts, ideas, passion, and inspiration.
If you have a message you want to communicate but you've spent all the time perfecting your craft and now you need help in communicating it, the CCT Method can help you do just that.
Individuals in Life or Career Transitions
Transitions can be scary.
A lot of society growing up does not prepare us for uncertainty. However uncertainty became part of my life at a young age and I've since developed various tools and mechanisms for not only surviving but thriving under uncertainty.
Working with me will equip you with these skills and insights which I've spent the last 15 years developing and past 3 years studying deeply.
Creatives Seeking Business Advice
One of my first clients was a dear friend of mine who is a professionally trained illustrator. He studied at the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, New York City and always voiced his desire to break out on his own to create his own comic books and help others to do the same.
Over the course of a few calls, I helped him assess his skill sets, audit his work flows so he could see where he needed help, and experimented with business models so he could go on to test the market with his first comic book run, build a successful kick-starter campaign, and continue to build his dream to be a freelance creative.
His work now speaks to his community and has a loyal following.
If you are a creative who is looking to learn more about business so you can build wealth doing what you love, reach me via the form.
Current or Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Business People
Like sees like, and entrepreneurs might as well be a species of their own. Almost endlessly creative, chronically curious, life-long learners, and thrill seekers, entrepreneurs are a special breed and their lives can frequently fall out of balance causing friction between family, friends, or themselves.
As an entrepreneur myself, I feel like I’m speaking to my own when I say finding this balance can be really hard. But I’ve developed a few rules and techniques over the years that have helped to keep me on course.
I don’t claim to have it all figured out. But I know for a fact that community building for one, is a great place to start.
High-Performance Individuals
The world has never been a more distracting, unsettling, and stimulating place. Noise abounds and the ever-increasing attention economy pulls mercilessly at our minds trying to irritate, agitate, and convert us.
High performers must learn a particular set of skills which involve the ability to calm their minds, tune out the noise, and take calculated risks. They need to make decisions they can be proud of later. The "Training" In CCT really starts here when you learn how to do just that.
Therapy Skeptics
The benefits of therapy have been well documented and passed the test of time.
However, many people find themselves unsure if therapy is for them. They have heard only horror stories and are uncomfortable with the power dynamic frequently had in the therapist's chair. They may feel alone, isloalted, unsure, and even unable to properly communicate their feelings.
I'm very grateful to state that CCT's ability to help people put words to their emotions is one of my proudest achievements.
Therapy "Survivors"
Therapy is a practice and I've often come across people who had terrible experiences with therapists who were too passive, too aggressive, or outright indifferent. CCT puts you in the center and lets you to lead the conversation.
My Values
I. The future is co-created, not predicted.
The last few years of my research have taught me many things but perhaps the most convincing is that people love to collaborate and work together. We are after all social beings albeit simply at different intensities.
But by and large, the research across business and behavior points to the reality that we almost always opt to co-create.
A co-created future is a shared one.
"It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future" - Niels Bohr; Quantum Physics Nobel Laureate
II. The past is for reference, the present is for action, the future is none of your business
I do not believe a person is defined by their past. While past behavior can inform future results, I have seen time and time again what is possible when an individual rises to meet their life at a much higher level of self-awareness. You cannot know what will happen to you on any given day, but you can decide how you will react to it and to what extent it will form your character.
Start with the day.
Win the day.
"Not everything worthwhile can be measured, and not everything that can be measured is worthwhile." - W. Edwards Deming; American Polymath
III. There is no-thing.
It does not take long for the thinking mind to see the interrelated nature of nature. Ultimately there is no one (singular) thing; anymore than there is black without white or sound without eardrums.
Everything exists because it is in relation to something else. Accepting this and learning to interpret these relationships is the beginning of wisdom.
“The greatest illusion is the illusion of separation” - Buddhist Proverb
IV. You mustn't lose your madness
The first topic I ever studied formally was the role of psychological resilience and perhaps nothing supports resilience better than a good sense of humor. Few topics are as close to me as the topics of mental health, and yet nowhere is it more important to keep a sense of humor than in the darkest hours.
I grew up loving comedy and amazed at the superhuman abilities of the modern bards to take the seemingly ordinary and make it hilarious. In the most trying times of my life, I looked to humor to help me through it and I learned one vital lesson:
When you laugh, you win.
“You’re only born with a spark of madness; you mustn't lose it.” - Robin Williams
Testimonials
I've worked with dozens of clients over the years and my list keeps getting larger. More detailed client testimonials can be found here.
Where
While I prefer to work in person, my practice spans several countries and is growing by the week. I am happy to coordinate sessions both online and in person as needed. Travel arrangements can be made for group work or business clients.
The Podcast
The CCT Method Podcast is where I proudly host some of my favorite people coming from all walks of life who bring their wealth of experience from theory and practice to bear.
My goal with this is podcast is to help people gain valuable perspectives that enrich their quality of work and life by helping you make better decision and build resilience.
Carpe those diems!
Subscribe to get full access
I believe in universal access to education which is why the subscription to my general content will always be free. No great society was ever based on ignorance.
Your subscription will get you full access to all posts and a weekly newsletter. The newsletter is a general digest of my insights from the week in several areas of life including but not limited to the latest in business, peak performance practice, fitness, research ideas, philosophy, food, and fun.
Important Note - I hate to be bombarded by newsletters and material that isn't relevant to me or that I'm not interested in. While I hope you will find the content and newsletter full of value and insight, please write me to unsubscribe if you wish. No hard feelings.
About me
I’ve been fascinated with philosophy and human behavior for as far back as I can remember. I hold a bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Psychology and German Studies as well as a Masters in Business Administration from accredited US-American and German Universities.
My undergraduate studies focused on the neurobiology of psychological resilience. My graduate thesis focused on the decision-making processes where I explored the role of effectuation and behavioral economics on how we make decisions under uncertainty.
I worked for two years in the printed media industry in Soho, New York where I helped to coordinate projects for prominent clients. I then had a brief stint in finance at the largest term-life insurance provider in the country where I served dozens of families and individuals to help them achieve their financial goals. It was here I first learned about how to build and manage wealth.
In 2015 I founded and managed a marketing collective that I ran out of my mother’s apartment in Queens, NYC - my first entrepreneurial venture at 26 years old. I moved to Germany in 2017 to pursue graduate studies and returned to a small and quiet but beautiful historic city where I thought I could make something of myself. Thankfully I was right.
During my graduate studies, I worked as a business researcher at a German venture capital firm and then as a market researcher and business development strategist at one of their start-ups.
Presently, I am fully devoted to serving private and corporate clients with CCT and building out the podcast. (Among other entrepreneurial activities)
I’m a ravenous reader, chronic writer, and amateur cook. When weather permits you will find me biking, hiking, and climbing like a mountain goat.
Ready to meet?
Schedule a free discovery call via the form below and let's explore what I can do for you or your organization.
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