Meet Dr. Judith Wright

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Judith Wright. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Judith below.

Dr. Judith, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

How did I find my purpose? It’s a tale of waking up to what purpose really is.

My journey to my purpose—to be conscious, present, and alive and empower others (especially women) to live present, passionate, and fully engaged lives—began in childhood.

I always wanted more. Even as a girl, I sensed there was something more to life than what I saw around me–but I didn’t know what that really was or how to achieve it. I grew up in Flint, Michigan, a factory town, where most of the grown-ups I saw worked in the factory. The monotonous work provided good pay and good benefits. But I noticed how most people lived for their days to end so they could get home, kick back with a beer, or watch some TV, or find some another way to numb before returning to the factory the next day.

I craved something else, something bigger than that, but I didn’t know what that was or how to go about getting it.

I decided that one thing I could do was study and become a good student. I was valedictorian of my high school class, held student government positions, won many awards, and spent my after-school hours in dance and music and volunteering. In short, I became an over-achiever, thinking that working hard, doing good deeds, and achieving my goals would bring me what I was searching for.

But academic achievement wasn’t celebrated where I grew up and people with big dreams were often mocked. So achievement didn’t bring a sense of accomplishment, reward, or satisfaction.

I left my factory town for college and graduate studies that I excelled in, and then shot to national prominence in two different careers, but something was still missing. I began to realize that “achieving” wasn’t necessarily a ticket to self-fulfillment and actualized living. Let me explain. I was grateful for my wonderful academics and career, but still felt empty and as if I was merely sleepwalking through my life. Others could not understand–as I had been recognized in my field for developing model programs for people with disabilities and families of children who were developmentally disabled. I had a life that many others could only dream of. So why the angst?

I thought I had the formula for a good life, but it didn’t feel that way….
I felt so empty, so numb. I tried doing more of everything that I had been doing– thinking if I had more success, lost more weight, had the perfect body, did everything perfectly, bought cooler stuff, partied more…then I’d be happy. But my emptiness accelerated too.

I was in despair – I kept feeling that there must be more than this! I couldn’t imagine living 60-some more years like this.

Luckily, in my work with people with conditions such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, etc.—I was learning about the power of the human spirit and what really mattered.

I had thought the purpose of life was to be perfect. If I have perfect circumstances, a perfect body, and a perfect mind, then I’d have a good life. I thought setting and meeting goals, achieving, being good, being nice, being perfect, hiding vulnerability and weakness, and not making mistakes led to the perfect life. Yet, many of the people I was working with–who definitely did not have perfect bodies, minds, or circumstances–were happier than I was. I learned a lot from them as I watched them negotiate their lives with grace and gratitude. They showed me the power of presence and feelings, that I often hid or stuffed deep down. They expressed their raw pain, trembling fear, deep sadness, rage at their struggles–as well as raucous joy and celebration of successes.

I realized that I was chasing and succeeding at a formula that didn’t work. I had the wrong formula. What I was doing–all the achieving and numbing and keeping up appearances–was exhausting, unsatisfying, and empty.

I finally declared to myself:
I’m sick of sleepwalking through my life! I don’t want to live the rest of my life this way. I’m going to feel and experience my life and be conscious!

I had no idea how to do that, but I was determined to find out.

This became what I now call My One Decision–a commitment to live consciously, awake, and alive (that also became the title of my second book.) That decision started to guide all the smaller decisions of my life from what I ate to what I wore to what I did in my free time, who I hung out with, how I related, how I spoke, etc. My life started to shift. I began to value my emotions and being present. My lifestyle started to change. I ate more consciously; I didn’t fill my time with soft addictions (which became another pivotal piece of my work). I became more real, vulnerable, genuine, and transparent.

I was feeling my life, no longer sleepwalking through my days. I was much more nourished and guided, as my life tuned into my internal GPS. I started to discover that I had much deeper yearnings inside that I had been covering with surface activities and ways of being. And when I felt those longings and followed them, I was nourished, satisfied, and lived with much greater meaning and purpose.

I realized that following this path– of consciousness, being awake, following the longings of my heart–WAS my purpose. Living purposefully in the moment was the point, not just having some overarching BIG purpose. I didn’t need to hide out in the Himalayas or meditate in a cave or save the whales (unless that was my calling), but that I could live each day/moment with more purpose, following my yearnings–which led to more purposeful living and a greater purpose in the world. I realized that my yearnings were the yearnings we all have – to love and be loved, to be known, to belong, to connect, to matter, make a difference, etc.

I could fulfill my yearnings in the moment. I didn’t have to wait until I accomplished something, or achieved a goal, or saved the planet. Following my yearnings led me to living my purpose and discovering greater and greater purposes in my life.
The more I lived this way, the more it influenced my work, my relationships, my lifestyle, my research, my service. This led to meeting my husband and partner, Bob, a kindred spirit who shared these values. We wanted to share what we were learning, to conduct research to shed light on the process and results, to design and deliver trainings and coaching, and to write books and develop products to share these skills with others so that they could live the lives they were meant to live. This became my life work, my passion, my unfolding purpose.

And the more we saw the impact of our work in our student’s lives as they transformed in their relationships with themselves, their loved ones, their careers, and their leadership, the more it fueled our mission to share our rich discoveries and curriculum with more people than we could serve directly. In partnership with my husband, Bob, we started a foundation, an accredited graduate university, wrote books, did public speaking, conducted large format seminars, developed programs and products in social-emotional intelligence, leadership, relationship success, purposeful living, and more. And now we’ve formed our new business, LiveWright, providing coaching, consulting, training, products, and publishing to share what we’ve learned and empower others to live lives of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment and contribute to a world that works for everyone.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

At LiveWright I love to support people to live the very best lives they can. Each person has unique dreams and gifts. Through our coaching, training, and retreats, we help others to feel entitled to dream big and to discover their passions and follow them. This is especially important for women who tend to give and do more for their families and others, while putting their own needs and desires aside. My upcoming book: Answering the Call of Sofia: 10 Gifts of Feminine Power (& How to Reclaim Them for a Joyful Life!) is dedicated to thousands of women I have worked with in my career.

We all deserve to have satisfying intimate relationships, meaningful lives, fulfilling careers, expanding leadership, and to be empowered to express our feelings and needs openly. When we can be seen, heard, listened to, and supported, hearts heal, dreams expand, and lives blossom. As each of us develops and utilizes our gifts, we become stronger and more willing to speak up and act when called for. We become greater agents and positive influences in our world. I like to see it as all of us learning, growing, and transforming ourselves. And as we grow and transform and step into our personal power, not only do we create great lives for ourselves, but we can also contribute to a world that works for everyone.

At this time in my life, my husband and I have formed a new company, LiveWright, based upon decades of practice, research, developing curriculum and training and coaching. We’ve integrated the best of human emergence technologies from Freud to neuroscience, cutting edge research, psychology, existential philosophy, and more into practical life skills. We’ve had the unique opportunity to coach and train couples, business leaders, and individuals throughout their lifetimes. We’ve worked with people for years, some within the arc of their relationships from dating to marriage, to child rearing to empty nesting. We’ve helped others within careers from finishing MBA’s to building a business to expanding and selling, to startup entrepreneurial leaders, to climbing corporate ladders, and more.

We’ve seen, served, and researched so much that we know what works. And we want to share that with as many people as we can.

We’re now coaching visionary leaders–people with missions and greater purpose–empowering women leaders, providing relationship coaching, training, and lifestyle support, as well as writing, speaking, and developing products to share the wealth of curriculum and skills we have to share with more and more people.

We are currently launching Relationship tune-up coaching groups, vision-based leadership development coaching, lifestyle coaching, women’s leadership support, and online LiveMore social emotional intelligence training. We love to know what people’s dreams are and what they would like to experience in their lives as it’s our passion to craft our services and products to respond to their needs and desires.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

What I’ve learned from my life experience and from my research with people who live great lives is that there are three interrelated elements that are key to living a good life, having fulfilling relationships, career success, positive influence and becoming whom you can become:

1. Yearn and Engage.

2. Revelate and Liberate

3. Rematrix and Dedicate

I’ll expand here:

YEARN–Life isn’t about getting what you want or meeting your goals; it’s about following your deeper yearning.
I was good at meeting goals–being a good student, succeeding at my career, losing weight–but meeting goals didn’t make me satisfied and happy. It was only when I learned to guide my life by the yearnings underneath my goal-chasing–to love and be loved; be seen, heard, known, touch and be touched; to matter; to make a difference–that I was fulfilled. Rather than waiting to achieve a goal, I could meet my yearnings in the moment–and, ironically, I accomplished more goals!

ENGAGE-Follow your yearnings. Be present. Be messy. Get hurt. Make mistakes. Be embarrassed. Risk. Be made fun of. Be in the moment, be spontaneous, live unedited.
As a recovering uptight person, I can tell you that life is more fun when you live it full out. Being good, being right, looking cool, and not making mistakes aren’t the secrets to happiness. Life is a playground– play hard and be willing to get hurt, screw up, be out there, and have fun. Engaging fully in life (our relationships, work, moment-to-moment interactions) is how we learn and discover who we are and get hints of who we can become. Be as alive as you can be, play full-out. Live in the moment–don’t wait. Live as if there is ‘no later’.

REVELATE–Look for your “BS”–your bulls#*t and your faulty Belief Systems. Wake up and live consciously.
We all have limiting beliefs that keep us from fulfilling our potential and rationalizations, excuses, and indulgences in soft addictions that dim our consciousness and keep us stuck. (My culprits: my mistaken belief of I have to be perfect to be loved and my (former!) soft addictions of over-shopping and watching TV.) Uncover your unconscious programming and habits that keep you from the life you yearn for. Challenge your limiting beliefs and behaviors–open up, seek out tough feedback, and live consciously.

LIBERATE–Break free from mistaken beliefs. Become free to be YOU! Live Bold. Break the Rules.
I tried hard to obey the rules, be good, be nice, and not make waves, but it was only when I was willing to break rules, overcome limiting beliefs, and not strive to conform and fit in, that I broke free to live my dreams. People who live spectacular lives make growth choices, not safe ones. Risk being censured and attacked. Say the unsayable, do the impossible. Be bold, daring, audacious.

REMATRIX–Change your mind and your brain, and you can change your life.
I needed to do more than change my mind–I had to change my brain to change my life! To make lasting changes we have to activate our brain’s neuroplasticity to build new neural circuits–to build new beliefs, feelings, actions–and that takes intention, focused attention, stretching at the edge of our ability, and continuous repetition. Take charge of your life and reprogram yourself with empowering beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. Consciously engage in your own transformation!

DEDICATE–Commit to becoming whom you can become. Embrace all of life
I used to think that only the good stuff mattered–when things worked out, I did well, or I was happy. Now I know that everything is part of the transformational journey–ups and downs, successes and failures, fear and joy, hurt and love, despair and bliss. Embrace all life’s experiences and feel them fully–cry tears, tremble with fear, shake with anger, and bubble with joy. If you can deal with your feelings and encourage yourself through the challenges, you don’t need to avoid life. Dedicate to a constantly evolving, fully-lived life!

There is greatness in all of us, yet we need to activate and develop that greatness to become who we could become. When we do, life is an exciting adventure of perpetual transformation, great love, fulfillment, and service.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client is someone who wants to live with more meaning and purpose, have more satisfying relationships, and expand their influence and leadership–and is willing to do what it takes to do/have that.

I love working with people who are hungry for more in their lives and want to live the best lives they can.

My ideal client can look many different ways, come from diverse backgrounds, whether age, culture, religion, nationality, gender, race, etc. but what they have in common is yearning for more, however they express it.

They may be someone in transition such as a job change, divorce, empty nesting, or other life changes. Others may be at a place where they ‘have it all’ but feel empty, and desire more meaning. Others may lack direction, or are hungry for more in their relationship(s), or have a vague dissatisfaction, a problem to solve, a goal to achieve, or simply want more out of their lives.

I specialize in helping women discover their feminine power. This can look like empowering women leaders or supporting women who are overwhelmed and stretched with too many demands, or guiding women to create satisfying relationships. I help women lean into their feminine essence: their feelings, intuition, value, worth–so that they can live lives that feel more in alignment with their desires, power, and with more satisfaction and fulfilling relationships,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://livewright.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjudithwright/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJudithWright
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjudithwright/
• Twitter: https://x.com/DrJudithWright
• Other: My books can be ordered here:

Image Credits

Daniel DuVerney