Michael's Story
(If you're interested in a Professional Bio, please scroll on down to the bottom. If you're interested in a story. . .read on!)
When I was about 11, I looked up from a book of Celtic myths and told my parents that I wanted to spend my life exploring the ways story reflects and shapes the culture from which it comes. My parents immediately panicked and sent me to science camp.
For the next 27 years, I found myself caught in a tension between following my curiosity and passion for story and following the well trodden path cleared by my parents, family, and schools.
That tension showed up when I was fifteen and had the chance to choose between two ways to spend my summer. On the one hand, a drama teacher had invited me to be a part of a summer theater production at a mid-sized theater in Washington, D.C.. On the other, my mother had finagled me an opportunity to be an intern in microbiology at the National Institutes of Health.
I wanted nothing more in life than to tell stories and create worlds using my creativity and imagination. So I chose the internship.
With that choice, my life got a little bit smaller.
Six years later, the tension showed up again. I was about to graduate with my MA in Theater and my mentor at school had offered me a part time job teaching acting and Shakespeare to at risk youth in Chicago. And my mother (again) had asked a friend of hers to meet with me and offer me a job as a manager of programming at a new Nature Museum.
I wanted nothing more than to give back to the community and inspire people with art using my hard won skills. So I took the job at the Nature Museum.
Again, my life got a little bit smaller.
These small choices showed up everywhere: career, dating, friendships, even my choices of places to live. Each of them both created and reinforced my core belief that I would never amount to much. That, despite being fairly intelligent and not without talent, my life was destined to be mediocre at best.
For the next 27 years, I found myself caught in a tension between following my curiosity and passion for story and following the well trodden path cleared by my parents, family, and schools.
That tension showed up when I was fifteen and had the chance to choose between two ways to spend my summer. On the one hand, a drama teacher had invited me to be a part of a summer theater production at a mid-sized theater in Washington, D.C.. On the other, my mother had finagled me an opportunity to be an intern in microbiology at the National Institutes of Health.
I wanted nothing more in life than to tell stories and create worlds using my creativity and imagination. So I chose the internship.
With that choice, my life got a little bit smaller.
Six years later, the tension showed up again. I was about to graduate with my MA in Theater and my mentor at school had offered me a part time job teaching acting and Shakespeare to at risk youth in Chicago. And my mother (again) had asked a friend of hers to meet with me and offer me a job as a manager of programming at a new Nature Museum.
I wanted nothing more than to give back to the community and inspire people with art using my hard won skills. So I took the job at the Nature Museum.
Again, my life got a little bit smaller.
These small choices showed up everywhere: career, dating, friendships, even my choices of places to live. Each of them both created and reinforced my core belief that I would never amount to much. That, despite being fairly intelligent and not without talent, my life was destined to be mediocre at best.
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge that I had a pretty great life. In addition to having the basic privilege of being born white in America, my parents loved and supported me. I got a first rate education, fantastic grades, was able to support myself, had friends. I’d acted on stages in Chicago and Los Angeles, some pretty fancy ones. I had built a reputation as a compelling storyteller at events like The Moth even as I pursued a career in nonprofit management; real save the world kind of stuff. On the outside, it all looked fantastic.
But inside, I felt like a misshapen slug. Unworthy of fulfillment. Unworthy of the life I had built around me. Unworthy of love.
Those are heavy beliefs to carry. And when I hit 35, they brought me to my knees.
I had trouble getting off the couch. My friends, to whom I am forever grateful, came over to clean and cook for me. I ate sweets obsessively and experienced a ton of anger, mostly directed at myself.
The clinical term for all this is ‘dysthymia,’ or long term, low grade depression that may get deeper over time. Because of how deeply ingrained the beliefs, the stories, driving the depression were, my therapist advised me that healing could take five or ten years.
I’d wanted a life of magic, exploration, creativity and service. Now I looked into the future and saw endless decades of deskbound drudgery and pasta dinners eaten alone over the kitchen sink.
I didn’t have 5 or ten years. I needed to take action now.
So I did the most terrifying thing I’d ever done: I started to make big choices. I quit my job as a financial management consultant for nonprofits and went to South America to work with indigenous healers. And I dove into a breathwork meditation practice. Each choice, each conscious decision, chipped away at the beliefs that had driven my decisions for three decades.
All of which was nice, but it didn’t pay the bills.
About six months after I left my job, a former co-worker invited me to a collaboration dinner with a group of social impact entrepreneurs. These were impressive people. One had just collaborated with the White House to develop new models for social impact investing. Another had just written an OpEd in the New York Times. A third had founded a company that gave ex-convicts jobs in electronics recycling.
As each person introduced themselves and their work, I felt a growing sense of unease. What would I say when my turn came? ‘Hi, I’m Michael and I quit my job and now I’m trying to figure stuff out and gosh you all are very impressive!’
My mouth went dry; I took a swig of beer.
My turn came. I looked around the table and took a deep breath. Then I opened my mouth and hoped something coherent would come out:
“I’m Michael and I work with amazing people like you and organizations to help them discover and harness the power of story to create change.”
The words hung over the table for a few moments as I tried not to do a celebratory fist pump.
Although I’d had a sense that I wanted to bring my love of story together with a dedication to somehow helping people change their world, I’d never articulated it before.
After what felt like an hour, everyone began speaking at once. They all wanted my card (which I didn’t have because I’d just created the business). I told them I’d run out, dashed home, created a website and started figuring out how to be of service using my creativity, imagination, deep curiosity about people, and love of story.
The journey since then has taken me to the desert on a Vision Quest, to organizations all over the world, and ever deeper into the complexities of the human spirit. My work has grown to encompass storytelling and cultural transformation workshops, consulting, energy and spiritual healing, breathwork and meditation classes, retreats, and keynote speeches. The core beliefs that sit in the center of all this are:
But inside, I felt like a misshapen slug. Unworthy of fulfillment. Unworthy of the life I had built around me. Unworthy of love.
Those are heavy beliefs to carry. And when I hit 35, they brought me to my knees.
I had trouble getting off the couch. My friends, to whom I am forever grateful, came over to clean and cook for me. I ate sweets obsessively and experienced a ton of anger, mostly directed at myself.
The clinical term for all this is ‘dysthymia,’ or long term, low grade depression that may get deeper over time. Because of how deeply ingrained the beliefs, the stories, driving the depression were, my therapist advised me that healing could take five or ten years.
I’d wanted a life of magic, exploration, creativity and service. Now I looked into the future and saw endless decades of deskbound drudgery and pasta dinners eaten alone over the kitchen sink.
I didn’t have 5 or ten years. I needed to take action now.
So I did the most terrifying thing I’d ever done: I started to make big choices. I quit my job as a financial management consultant for nonprofits and went to South America to work with indigenous healers. And I dove into a breathwork meditation practice. Each choice, each conscious decision, chipped away at the beliefs that had driven my decisions for three decades.
All of which was nice, but it didn’t pay the bills.
About six months after I left my job, a former co-worker invited me to a collaboration dinner with a group of social impact entrepreneurs. These were impressive people. One had just collaborated with the White House to develop new models for social impact investing. Another had just written an OpEd in the New York Times. A third had founded a company that gave ex-convicts jobs in electronics recycling.
As each person introduced themselves and their work, I felt a growing sense of unease. What would I say when my turn came? ‘Hi, I’m Michael and I quit my job and now I’m trying to figure stuff out and gosh you all are very impressive!’
My mouth went dry; I took a swig of beer.
My turn came. I looked around the table and took a deep breath. Then I opened my mouth and hoped something coherent would come out:
“I’m Michael and I work with amazing people like you and organizations to help them discover and harness the power of story to create change.”
The words hung over the table for a few moments as I tried not to do a celebratory fist pump.
Although I’d had a sense that I wanted to bring my love of story together with a dedication to somehow helping people change their world, I’d never articulated it before.
After what felt like an hour, everyone began speaking at once. They all wanted my card (which I didn’t have because I’d just created the business). I told them I’d run out, dashed home, created a website and started figuring out how to be of service using my creativity, imagination, deep curiosity about people, and love of story.
The journey since then has taken me to the desert on a Vision Quest, to organizations all over the world, and ever deeper into the complexities of the human spirit. My work has grown to encompass storytelling and cultural transformation workshops, consulting, energy and spiritual healing, breathwork and meditation classes, retreats, and keynote speeches. The core beliefs that sit in the center of all this are:
We all have stories to tell.
The stories we tell the world and ourselves have the power to create (or inhibit) change.
Story and spirit are inextricably linked; they play off of each other in a constant dance.
The more deeply we explore and accept the various parts of our own story, the better able we are to show up with greater humanity and authenticity in work, relationships, and life in general.
The more we’re able to share our stories, and our humanity, the more powerfully we are able to connect with each other.
Powerful connection with self and others brings powerful healing.
Those core beliefs drive big choices and a passion for helping others reconnect with the power of their stories. And I still have the book of Celtic myths.
The stories we tell the world and ourselves have the power to create (or inhibit) change.
Story and spirit are inextricably linked; they play off of each other in a constant dance.
The more deeply we explore and accept the various parts of our own story, the better able we are to show up with greater humanity and authenticity in work, relationships, and life in general.
The more we’re able to share our stories, and our humanity, the more powerfully we are able to connect with each other.
Powerful connection with self and others brings powerful healing.
Those core beliefs drive big choices and a passion for helping others reconnect with the power of their stories. And I still have the book of Celtic myths.
Michael's Bio
Michael Kass is the founder of Story and Spirit. As a facilitator, coach, speaker, and award-winning storyteller, he's passionate about helping people, organizations and communities discover and harness the power of their stories to create change.
Michael has over 18 years of experience working on staff and in the trenches with organizations across sectors including technology, social services, health care, arts and culture, and education. As a facilitator and coach, he focuses on helping clients reconnect with the deep passion underlying their work and address the core tensions and beliefs that may be getting in the way of growth. His work with organizations focuses on facilitating culture shift through storytelling, authentic conversation, and deep listening to foster clear internal and external communication and create thriving communities.
Michael's trainings on storytelling, speaking, mindfulness and breathwork have been featured at events around the world. Partners and clients include The Walt Disney Company, Arts in Corrections, Unique CAMP, The House of Beautiful Business, Joint Idea, The Nomadic School of Wonder, The Well-Being Project, the Center for Nonprofit Management, NationBuilder, Kaiser Permanente, CreatorUp!, Swipe Out Hunger, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and many individual nonprofit and tech organizations. His storytelling has appeared on many podcasts and his solo storytelling show, Ceremony, has toured nationally and garnered recognition including LA Weekly Pick of the Week, Best of Fringe at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, and Outstanding Solo Performance at the San Diego Fringe Festival.
Michael is a graduate of Rice University and Northwestern University. He is an ACC coach certified by the International Coach Federation, a certified breathwork facilitator, and has completed Medicine Wheel training with Rites of Passage Vision Quest. Michael is a mentor with the Creative Visions Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of the Breath Center. He likes brownies perhaps a little too much.
Michael has over 18 years of experience working on staff and in the trenches with organizations across sectors including technology, social services, health care, arts and culture, and education. As a facilitator and coach, he focuses on helping clients reconnect with the deep passion underlying their work and address the core tensions and beliefs that may be getting in the way of growth. His work with organizations focuses on facilitating culture shift through storytelling, authentic conversation, and deep listening to foster clear internal and external communication and create thriving communities.
Michael's trainings on storytelling, speaking, mindfulness and breathwork have been featured at events around the world. Partners and clients include The Walt Disney Company, Arts in Corrections, Unique CAMP, The House of Beautiful Business, Joint Idea, The Nomadic School of Wonder, The Well-Being Project, the Center for Nonprofit Management, NationBuilder, Kaiser Permanente, CreatorUp!, Swipe Out Hunger, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and many individual nonprofit and tech organizations. His storytelling has appeared on many podcasts and his solo storytelling show, Ceremony, has toured nationally and garnered recognition including LA Weekly Pick of the Week, Best of Fringe at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, and Outstanding Solo Performance at the San Diego Fringe Festival.
Michael is a graduate of Rice University and Northwestern University. He is an ACC coach certified by the International Coach Federation, a certified breathwork facilitator, and has completed Medicine Wheel training with Rites of Passage Vision Quest. Michael is a mentor with the Creative Visions Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of the Breath Center. He likes brownies perhaps a little too much.