John Murphy - Global Business Consultant, Speaker, Spiritual Mystic, "Zentrepreneur,” and Award-Winning Author
John Murphy
John Murphy is a global business consultant, speaker, spiritual mystic, "zentrepreneur,” and award-winning author. He’s also the Founder (1988) and CEO of Venture Management Consultants, Inc., a firm specializing in creating lean, high performance work environments. They specialize in helping people and organizations worldwide achieve and sustain peak performance through effective deployment, development and implementation of best practice techniques. Their services include leadership education and mentoring, change design and management, team training and development, and inspirational presentations and workshops.
As a business consultant, Murphy has delivered services to some of the world’s leading organizations, including ADP, AlliedSignal (Honeywell), BMW, Chase, the CIA, GE, GM, GSK, Hilton, Lockheed Martin, Merck, the Michigan State Senate, Perrigo, Prudential, Raytheon, Spectrum Health, Target Stores, Teva, and the US Navy. As an educator and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Murphy has trained thousands of people from over 50 countries, including Fortune 500 executives, project leaders, military leaders, managers, and black belts. He has mentored dozens of project teams in Organizational Development, Operational Excellence, Business Process Innovation and Lean Six Sigma applications. As a speaker, Murphy has delivered keynotes and seminars worldwide. A critically-acclaimed authority on peak performance, transformational leadership and healthy mind-body-spirit, Murphy is a best-selling author who has published 19 books and appeared on over 400 radio and television stations and his work has been featured in over 50 newspapers nationwide.
I’m so excited for you guys to connect with John, check out his work and his books, and follow along as he continues to offer guidance and lessons to help people to shift their thinking and get out of their own way!
I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.
My name is John Murphy and I live in Palm Beach, Florida. I also spend several months a year in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1988, I founded a consulting company by the name of Venture Management Consultants, a firm specializing in leadership development, teambuilding, process improvement and transformational change. I also write about these topics and am now coming out with my 20th book, Miracle Minded Manager. This has led to speaking engagements, workshops, seminars and process improvement events all over the world. I have now trained thousands of executives and team-members from over 50 countries. Currently, I am working on the release of my new book, scheduled for publication in October 2019. I am also partnering with an innovative firm in Europe to deliver “Empower Your Life” events across North America. My passion is to help people “get out of their own way” and live with more peace of mind – especially during turbulent, uncertain times.
How did you get started?
I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1982 with a degree in Finance and immediately went to work for a large company based in Chicago. After discovering that Finance wasn’t my lifelong passion, I moved to Grand Rapids and took on a role in Human Resources, taking a significant cut in pay and essentially starting all over. I found this new role challenging and exciting and I excelled in it over a four-year period, ultimately becoming the head of Human Resources. Then, in 1988, I was dismissed from my job after an international acquisition. This left me wondering what to do next. So, despite the odds against me, I started my consulting practice.
What inspired the work that you're doing?
There were a lot of reasons for me to notstart a consulting company at the age of 28. I was the sole income earner in our household. My wife was pregnant with our second child. We had little savings and significant debt. Add to this the fact that I had very little credibility, education and experience in the consulting field and you get a recipe for disaster. My two original business partners thought so, too. They both threw in the towel within three months of incorporation. This left me scratching my head and looking for guidance. My intuition was telling me to stick with it. This is what I was meant to do. My logic was wondering how. My early attempts at getting clients and earning an income were near fruitless, so I prayed for help. And I listened. Soon, several “signs” appeared that inspired action. I was told to teach, so I developed a public workshop. If I wasn’t successful knocking on doors, maybe I could get prospects to knock on my door. I was also told to write. Maybe a good book and a few articles could boost my credibility and lead to more client engagements. I was told to focus on givingrather than getting, so I searched for ways to give the gifts I had been given – things like imagination, creativity, leadership, strategy and inspiration. This paradigm shift resulted in a sense of spiritual “flow” that has guided and energized me for the past 31 years. Rather than chase a paycheck, I discovered how to get a paycheck to chase me.
What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?
My biggest passion is helping people live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. We often say when people die, “Rest in peace.” I love seeing people livein peace, which is not dependent on external factors. It is a state of mind. I also love teaching, speaking and writing – simple methods for sharing helpful information. So, yes, I am most certainly living my passion and purpose. I have essentially written my own job description using my heart and intuition as editors.
What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?
I love it when people give me feedback on how something I wrote or said has helped them in some way. This reminds me that I am connecting with others and serving them in a useful way. I also like things like music, dance, creative writing, meditation, stargazing, exercising and social events.
How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?
I live intentionally by starting everyday with a meditation, gratitude, and a nutritious smoothie. I also set “mini-goals” for the day – simple things I can do to move in a positive direction. These include being mindful about what I eat, drink, think, say and do. I find it helpful to have things in front of me to look forward to. This might be an article to write or a few chapters in a book. It can also include reading or researching something new to advance my knowledge. It could be meeting with someone, traveling, or giving a speech. It might even be a concert or dance class I want to attend that day. These “mini-goals” help me channel Source Energy through me in a meaningful direction. The tools I use are simple because I like to keep my life simple. So, I use meditation, post-its, a calendar, a laptop, a suitcase and a phone. I also use Earthing to stay grounded – literally, and a Bemer (medical technology) to improve my physical flow (circulation).
What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?
My younger self would probably say “Wow! Nice job.” My kids say this, too.
Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?
I have a few mantras. One of them is “Let Be, Let Go, Let See, Let Flow!” I call this the Ring of Peace. It is from a channeling I did for my book Beyond Doubt: Four Steps to Inner Peace, awarded “2010 Most Inspirational Book of the Year,” Allbooks Review, Toronto. It translates into be present, let go of emotional baggage and ego attachment, see the world anew, and flow with Spirit (or the Tao). Another mantra I have is from A Course in Miracles, “I am Spirit. I am free. I am still as God created me.”
What is your biggest dream?
My biggest dream is to continue emerging as a writer, teacher and speaker. I want to expand my audience and help millions of people around the world.
To learn more about John and his work you can connect with him on his website https://www.johnjmurphy.org/ and on Facebook here Instagram @jjmurphy13 Twitter @sageleader Linkedin here and on YouTube here
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