Matt Perelstein, M.C. P. entrepreneur, provacateur, instigateur

My Mission:

• To bring the joy and wonder of Emotional Intelligence (EI) to the world!

EI really is the key to both Happiness and Success in life.

	Co-owner of 3 businesses:
Directions Unlimited	computer consulting, project mgt & database programming
New Directions	intensive Emotional Intelligence break-through workshops, plus writing & life coaching
EucProducts.com	sales and shipping of fresh Eucalyptus leaves and branches for birds, sugar gliders and other pets

Directions Unlimited Database Consulting

• Detailed Resume is here (in Adobe .PDF format)
• I've been a database programmer dude for over 20 years now.
• I'm officially a Microsoft Certified Professional (so my initials are: MCP, M.C.P.)
• I do database design and development, Business Process Engineering & Project Management
• My current day job.
• Doing analysis and initial design of a large Animal Health database for the CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture. Work part-time, at home, year-long contract, interesting work, great people.
• I haven't taken many computer classes, but I've taught a few, some at the college level (College of the Redwoods here in Fort Bragg and Heald College back in Sacramento)
  
• 

New Directions Emotional Intelligence Workshops

• About every 6th weekend, we teach a powerful in-your-face, get-to-the-heart-of-it workshop called New Directions. The workshop and teachings have changed so many lives, and so completely, it's amazing! I've been blessed to be able to teach so many people, learning tons and tons about myself and what makes people 'tick', and have chosen to spend my life screaming from the rooftops about the joy and wonder of Emotional Intelligence!
  • We've personally taught over 200 weekend workshops, in 4 different states.
  We have over 2,000 happi(er) graduates over 20 years... and some still hang around with us!
• There's something about ND... it's not just me or Paula... it's the teachings, plus the love, plus some honesty, and courage. The healing concepts are simple yet profound. And best of all, they Work!
• Hundreds have hugged me and told me, "You have helped me feel better about myself and my life."
• ... and more than one person has hugged me and said "You have saved my life."
• Testimonials about this awesome workshop (I'm constantly amazed - Probably the proudest I am of anything in my life) Clearly, this is my calling here.
  
• Advanced Relationship Training (ART class): our year-long, 6-weekend EI course that teaches more "advanced" relationship skills in the same weekend immersion format. Huge life changes happen here. Another course is starting in April, 2008.
  
• Emotional-Intelligence101.com - my writings, quotes, tips -n- tricks, and research all on how to take control of your Feelings & Emotions
  • Stats as of March 11, 2008: Posts: 715 | Lifetime page views: 84,700
    
• I am the manager of an active online Support group with over 100 members who TRULY try to support each other as best they can! People actively loving, trusting, encouraging, empowering and pushing each other, in a safe, kind, empowering environment, in a way in which EVERYONE WINS. The group has been going since 2002 is managed by myself and Shannon Rahn, one of our HUGEst success stories to date. This is the best way to see how successful our teachings can be.
  
• I've edited 3 books now, all by my mentor M.K. "Doc" Downing, Ph.D, LMFT
  • "Taking Control of Your Life", 233 pages
  • "Taking Control of Your Life, the workbook
  • "PARENTING: The Early Years"

EucProducts of California

• EucProducts.com -We sell fresh Eucalyptus leaves & chew sticks to birds and sugar glider owners and breaders.
  
• We found out that Eucs are really good for birds, and sugar gliders and, are you ready for this... Walkingsticks (yes, the little, super-skinny insects eat nothing but fresh Euc leaves). For some pets, Eucs help them physically, they keeps fleas out, they smell GREAT, help in breeding, act as an anti-oxidant --there are all kinds of magical properties about Eucs! many, many testimonials are here.
  
• For me, the products we sell are totally 100% free (COGS = $0.00), as we have at least a hundred Eucs right on our property -some babies, some 100+ feet high. The biggest expense is shipping, and the customer pays that. Even the boxes are free from the US Post Office. The rest is just my time.
  
• It's not big bucks, but profitable enuf to be a legitimate side job. I've always wanted to offer a 'product' along with all our many 'services' (teaching and consulting). I'm learning a ton about packaging, shipping, eucalyptus, growing and especially, marketing on the internet, which I believe I will have as a BIG part of my income throughout my life! We've done over 400 orders in 3 years.
  
• Most traffic comes from Pay-per-click visits generated via Google AdWords, and recently Yahoo, too.
  
• coming soon (someday): Night Time Redwood Products (www.NiteTimeRedwoodProducts.com)- Redwood burls, stepping stones, art frames, bark, ground-cover, live trees, etc.

Site Recap

• Fresh Eucalyptus Sales | http://www.EucProducts.com
• Life-changing Emotional Intelligence Workshops | http://www.NewDirectionsWorkshops.com
• The most loving emotional support group on the planet | http://groups.msn.com/2GetHelp
• A rough draft of our soon-to-be-released emotional support site | http://www.2GetHelp.com | http://www.2GiveHelp.com
• Teachings, trainings and how-to's on the most important subject there is | http://www.Emotional-Intelligence101.com

Personal

We have 3 kids (16, 23, 36) and 4 grandkids (9, 11, 12 & 14) all of whom live with or near us (except 1) and they are the joy of our life!

In 2001, we moved to Fort Bragg, on the the Mendocino coast of Northern California to open a B&B. It didn't work out, but we stayed on, as I was either a) able to telecommute, or b) willing to travel.

In 2003, we bought some land in the woods, 1/3 mile from the ocean, cleared some trees and installed a double-wide manufactured home (see pic below).

From 2006-2008, Paula and I have been building a 2-story, 1600 sq. ft. garage / office / workshop off our house (mostly ourselves, by hand). We're about 95% done now -- structure, roof, and all walls are in place -- some flooring, siding, drywall, cabinets, and painting still to do. Wow, what a project it's been!

On March 5, 2008 (a few days ago), we celebrated our 7-year anniversary living on the Mendocino coast.

Misc. Info

• Song: "Lose Yourself" -Eminem, "8 Mile"
• Song: "Love Can Build a Bridge" - Bette Midler
• Song: "Love of My Life" - Dave Mathews and Carlos Santana, Supernatural
  
• Favorite Movie: "Finding Nemo" -Disney
• 2nd Favorite Movie: "Cars" -Disney
• Movie: "Tombstone" - Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp
• Movie: "Braveheart" - Mel Gibson as William Wallace
• Move: "Roadhouse" - Patrick Swayze as Dalton, the baddest bouncer on the planet.
  
• Item: the hat I'm wearing in the picture above says "coach" on it and was personally sent to me by the coach himself, one of my few real heros, the late, great coach t (Thomas Leonard)
  
• I found out last year that I have ADHD, so I'm learning how to work with it, and succeed in spite of it. Rather than feeling 'labeled', I think it's nice to know that my scattered-ness is a just a 'condition' and it's comforting to know that others experience the same thinking patterns. That means people have put some thought into tips, tricks and ideas on how to best deal with it, which I can learn from. I believe I have managed to turn it around to use my ADHD to my advantage, and asset, which I will use to kick butt in my life! (actually, i like me pretty well, so this is just another interesting aspect of who and what i am.)

7 Steps to Healin' your Feelings (Doc did 2-4, I expanded it to 7, including the 3 R's)

1 Awareness that you do Feel
2 Knowing what your body Feels
3 Allowing and accepting your Feelings
4 Expression of Feelings, in productive ways, as deeply as they are felt
5 Release of negative Feelings
6 Replacement of dark with light, gloom with bright
7 Rejoice! and celebrate life, love, pain, the whole enchilada.