Specialists in insights that engender healing cosmic laughter

What’s the key to happiness and success? Is it hard work? Connections? Talent? Luck? The factor that’s invariably overlooked is self-knowledge.

Not knowing ourselves makes us prone to ten-thousand maladies — from indigestion to unhappy marriages, from troubled sleep to ill-advised career moves. It also results in shortsightedness, the type that led to the current economic crisis. Self-knowledge may seem intangible, but when it’s lacking the results can be calamitous.

Fortunately, insight into ourselves can save us from a host of costly mistakes. And reward us with a balanced and joyful life.

As a philosophical counselor and life coach, I’ve been consulted on everything from relationship conflicts to business problems, from work/family imbalances to midlife crisis. I’ve discovered that life’s maladies can have many causes, but one stands out — a lack of knowledge. Specifically, a lack of insight into: 1) oneself 2) other people 3) life itself. The purpose of my counseling is to help you acquire this vital knowledge.

Of course, you may feel that you already know these things. But we all have our blind spots. That’s why some of the most powerful leaders have had trusted advisors. Alexander the Great, for example, had Aristotle as his teacher and political advisor. And American presidents have had their “brain trusts.” My life coaching and counseling belongs to that tradition.

Were you to enlist my counseling services, our conversations would focus on your present challenges, at work and at home. Our talks would illuminate all aspects of your life. You might discover, for example, that…

• Your food preferences express your relation to other people and to the universe.
• your life has been a replay of your favorite childhood TV show.
• your dreams encapsulate your business problems.
• a haunting melody is reminding you of an area, in life, that you’ve neglected.
• your golf swing reveals your management style.
• everyday annoyances — from broken copier machines to coworkers from hell reveal your vision of God, truth, and reality.
• your aches and pains can be important clues in your quest for knowledge.
• even your favorite joke can be pregnant with meaning and a source of insight.

When we’ve gathered enough clues, to see how it all fits together, your hair will stand on end from amazement! Self-knowledge will heal your soul, liberate your spirit… and free your energy! Energy is like money. If it’s no longer tied up in an outworn life narrative, your “inner liquidity” and “personal cash flow” will increase. The freed energy will be automatically reinvested in creative new enterprises.

The life coaching and counseling that I offer is not psychotherapy. I am neither a psychologist, not a psychiatrist, nor an MSW, nor the usual sort of counselor. I neither treat emotional disorders, nor do I help people to become normal, nor do I offer some other form of psychological treatment. Those who have a lust for life — and I suspect that includes you — have far loftier aspirations. They wish to become self-actualized, to soar like an eagle. I am dedicated to helping my clients make signal progress in that direction!

But is it enough to know ourselves? Sun-Tzu contends that: “He who knows himself and knows the enemy will not be in danger in a hundred battles.” Machiavelli would agree that we need to know our enemies too. But, success in the game of life requires also knowing our coworkers, customers, and competitors. As well as our family members! I’ve designed a counseling and executive life coaching program to help you gain insight into all of these key players.

Finally, it’s important to understand life itself. Grasping the big picture frees us from taking ourselves and the world too seriously. And it increases healthful laughter. I’ve been engaged in philosophical counseling for over twenty years. The counseling that I offer is steeped in that tradition.

My headquarters are in upstate, New York, but most of my clients reside in other parts of the country. Counseling and life coaching sessions are held over the telephone, supplemented by e-mail, and occasional face-to-face visits. This counseling arrangement has proven to be very convenient for my busy clients. They can contact me, at a suitable hour, directly from their office.

And please note that confidentiality is key to my counseling and life coaching! There’s no telltale health insurance records, nor other recordkeeping required. That’s a benefit of life coaching and philosophical counseling. In truth, our conversations would be philosophical; there’s no stigma involved with speaking with a philosopher, as there would be if you were seeking the usual sort of psychological treatment for stress, social anxiety disorder, depression, or some other psychological disorder requiring treatment from a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker. On the contrary, consulting a philosophical counselor or life coach or executive coach is a sign of class and distinction! In any case, your privacy is my utmost concern.

Here’s a gift: a Free Exploratory Session,

Think you may be interested? If you’re interested in receiving this unique form of counseling and life coaching, you can reach me at: (607) 723-2664 or toll free: 1-888-737-5724 Or send me an e-mail at: mdillof@verizon.net.
I look forward to hearing from you!

Mark Dillof, Ph.D.
President of Plato’s Attaché

Are you pursuing the big questions? Or are they pursuing you?

P.S. The telephone can allow for an intense conversation. Why, then, drive to a session — in the rain, snow, cold and dark — spending money on fuel? There’s less stress on you and your car, when you call from your home or your office.

No matter what part of the globe you inhabit — from New York City (NYC) to Los Angeles CA, from London to Tokyo, from Boston MA to Chicago IL, from Brooklyn to Queens, from Binghamton to Ithaca, from Scranton PA to Syracuse NY, from Vestal to Endicott, from White Plains to Westchester, from Rochester to Buffalo, from Nassau to Suffolk, from Louisville KY to Cincinnati OH, from Indianapolis IN to Hartford CT, from Hollywood CA to Miami Beach FL, from Minneapolis MN to Madison WI, from Portland OR to Washington DC, from Seattle WA to the Bronx NY, from Toronto to Vancouver BC Canada, from Albany to Manhattan, from Hempstead to New Rochelle — distance is no barrier to an illuminating counseling and life coaching session!