Loreley Leonard
Understanding the long odds that face anyone burdened by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and other life traumas, Loreley has personally refused to be a victim. She learned to not only SURVIVE but THRIVE by overcoming. Using her personal and professional experience as a psychotherapist, Loreley Leonard is now one of the world's most sought after motivational speakers, mentors to executives and others in leadership positions, business consultants, personal relationship therapists and one of the world's top licensed micro expression trained practioner as well as a leading American body language expert.
Based in the Phoenix area but jetting frequently all over the world (when she's not Skyping with clients), she has shared her natural gift of encouragement to enrich the lives of people throughout the U.S., Italy, Germany, France, Hong Kong, China, Mexico and other countries.
Driven by her lifelong passion to understand human motivation, the former psychotherapist led a recovery group early in her career called "Women Helping Women" - an experience that proved the catalyst to her deepest calling: to empower women to respect, embrace and celebrate the awesome power of their femininity, rather than see it as something to overcome. Having walked too many miles in their shoes, she brings empathy to single clients and small groups alike as a personal empowerment coach, helping business people, married couples and young women find hope as they negotiate troubling circumstances and teaches them to take the moments on the brink to moments of breakthroughs.
"When it comes to empowering women, I have learned that nobody can give you what you need, and you really have to give it to yourself," Loreley says. "You have to love yourself first. Society teaches us that if we have big breasts, are skinny enough, have the right man, that's going to make us happy. And that's not true. When you love yourself, you get rid of the people who are negative and harmful. The first step for many of my clients is to keep a journal and pay attention to the signs that people are hurting or helping you along your life's journey. I also encourage clients to 're-parent' themselves if they, like me, had troubled childhoods. Recognizing that most parents do the best they can with the tools they have, it was easier for me to see them as flawed individuals who did their best. I've never forgiven my abuser but he has no power over my life today.
"Living a full life includes spending time with people who make you feel good and running away from the drainers, who I also refer to as emotional vampires," she adds. "I suggest little things like having sticky notes that say, 'I'm good enough.' It's important to have positive affirmations if we weren't lucky enough to get those as a child. I help my client to start paying attention to what makes them feel good and bad. Therapy is a journey and it can take months to start having an impact - but in the end, it's worth it."
Long considered by clients and colleagues alike as an Interpersonal Communications expert, Loreley hosts a wide variety of seminars, where she teaches her students the secret to unlocking their inner potential and living their dreams by coaching them to read body language and communicate for results. The popular events she holds include Mastering Your Relationships, Relationship Boot camp, Polish Your Pitch and Body Language: the Most Important Secret Weapon in Business, all of which feature her intensive coaching and unique strategies of personal transformation.
Loreley's skills as an entrepreneur have earned her fortunes, and clients of means (including Wall Street stalwarts aiming to up their personal game) pay her well for her 24/7 array of personal coaching services. But her love of helping people and compassion for all makes her just as likely to counsel clients of lesser means on a sliding scale. Because such organizations as the Department of Human Services can only help hurting people so much-and aware that most people's insurance plans don't cover mental and emotional health issues to the extent many in crisis need-she tries her best to commit a significant percent of her practice to people of modest means.
"My writing, speaking and counseling work centers on the goal of empowering individuals, especially women, to enjoy more fulfilling and health relationships," says Loreley
"Mental health shouldn't be considered separate from the rest of our body, because everything interacts with everything else. The money in my bank account doesn't matter to me as much as what I call my paycheck of the heart. For me, this comes when I see the light in the eyes of a woman or girl who was in pain when they came to see me but is no longer in that dark place."
One of the keys to Loreley's success in working in a counseling capacity with high-end business people is her own background as a groundbreaking entrepreneur. The co-founder of a consulting and media group that negotiated joint ventures with American media-like NBC's Access Hollywood-to provide content from Hollywood to Asian markets, she and her partner were the first American women to take a Chinese Company public on Tokyo's Motherboard (Japan's equivalent of the U.S. Stock Exchange). New China Media was the first and the only Western-based company to have Chinese negotiated television station landing rights that reached into all homes in Mainland China. Loreley and her partners were so successful that Rupert Murdoch attempted to purchase her company.
Before turning the company over to her partners, Loreley negotiated joint ventures with NBC, and, along with prominent figures such as Olympic icon Carl Lewis, helped secure a Nike Sponsorship for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Returning to the U.S., she became one of the investors that bought September Films, famous for producing the long running WE TV series "Bridezillas." As per her trademark m.o., she sold her shares in the company after helping franchise the show around the world, including in the UK allowing her time to focus on her passion of understanding and reading micro-expressions and body language.
Another unique gift that Loreley brings to various aspects of her multi-faceted career is her specialized language. She travels the world doing presentations on the importance of reading body language in counseling, sales and business environments-and how to become more effective at it. Her late 2013 schedule includes a seminar date in Vienna, Austria and a conference of over 500 psychologists in Las Vegas.
Loreley's expertise in this realm has also put her in high demand in the entertainment world. She was a mentor and coach working with multiple award winning director, property master and set dressing foreman Garry Pastore, who has won over 40 awards ("Spiderman," "The Sopranos") on the set of the documentary "DeStressed"; she is also scheduled to work on another Hollywood movie, "The Wedding Planner" next spring. Loreley's warm personality and quick wit also led the director to create a small speaking role playing herself in the film. Pastore has hired her to coach and mentor his crew to help them get their "micro-expressions" down and get their body language consistent with their line delivery.
"Micro-expressions are harder to master than regular body language," she says. "Doing body language and mico-expression coaching is similar in the counseling and film worlds, because in both cases you're trying to resolve the way someone's physical expressions and body language don't correlate perfectly with their words. Congruency is key."
Loreley's whirlwind schedule involves a lot of interesting multi-tasking as she puts her micro-expression and body language skills to work in a variety of settings. Two of her Wall Street clients came to the set of "DeStressed" to meet with her at separate times while she was on a break from her work on the film. She also lectured on Patient Advocacy at the 2013 NYC Business Expo to a crowd of more than 500, in honor of her niece Ella Sophia Cersa, who was killed by medical negligence this past July.
In November, Dr. Leonard will be appearing on America's Premier Expert's Television show with the legendary Brian Tracy Because both she and the clients have packed schedules, her counseling involves a lot of online communication and calls. But those clients with the time and wherewithal will stay at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale when they visit her in person and she will negotiate the ideal coaching package for the client which has included joining them on a private jet and yacht.
Her basic start up with clients includes a free initial face to face consultation, a discussion about what she can help them do and what she cannot do, and about the level of investment they can and are prepared to invest in themselves once an agreement about counseling/coaching/mentoring is in place.
Elaborating about her personalized boutique services, Loreley explains, "My clients meet with me in person, talk about half a day with me or however much time they need, and then I am available 24/7 by email (within reason), by phone and Skype. Clients seek my counsel on a lot of issues - 'Is my husband cheating on me?' 'Is he abusing my daughter?' 'Is my partner embezzling funds?' "What deception etc do you detect in investors/partners in a start up"; 'Can I really trust this guy I want to go into business with?' I deal a lot with people's character and help clients understand the tell tale expressions of dishonesty.
"I believe that those I work with usually already know the answers they seek, but my job is to guide them and help them read the important signs related to their questions," she adds. "Sometimes if it's possible I will have people bring their significant others or business partners to meet me. For other exclusive clients, Loreley will schedule and meet with the individuals her clients are considering doing business with and report her findings, gut feelings as well as the due diligence she is well known for doing in the corporate world. I'm not a financial adviser but I can tell you if someone is hiding or concealing something. I also offer clients the option of having me do undercover field work to meet the person they have uncertainties about, which is a small investment to prevent significant future problems or provide that very important piece of mind. I will make appointments with these people to talk general business and then give my clients full reports with my assessments. But they understand I'm not a fortune teller and am simply using my best judgment."
Loreley is also a best-selling author collaborating with the esteemed Dr. Nido Qubein. Her most prominent books are "Blessed By A Broken Heart," featuring stories about finding a blessing in what we thought was a curse and getting through those growing pains to a better place; "The Secret of Seduction," exploring the physical and emotional aspects of relationships; "Empty Cradle," and the short book "Seduction Secrets of Sex Sirens: How To Win and Keep Your Man." In these books, she draws upon her wealth of experience to shed light on some of the key questions of self-empowerment and fulfillment. Her work as an author has won her an invitation to the 2014 Expert Speakers and Writers Award Gala in New York City in April as well as an invitation to the Garden Film Festival in Hollywood where she'll be recognized for her work mentoring and coaching on Hollywood sets.
"My writing and speaking endeavors all center on empowering individuals to be the best version of themselves by developing confidence in their ability to powerfully and persuasively communicate," she says. "Clients who learn to communicate with power enjoy more fulfilling and healthy relationships. When you see that light go in a 22 year old mother with kids and an abusive husband with nowhere to turn-and I can connect her with social services and offer her other options-that is what is meaningful. Of course, being recognized by her peers is rewarding as well; in September, Loreley will be honored at the National Academy of Best Selling Authors Summit and Gold Gala in Hollywood.
"What gets me up in the morning and motivates me every day," she adds, "is knowing I have the potential to draw on my life experiences, including past traumas and my years of training as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Psychotherapist, which gives me the unique experience to make a difference in the life of a child or victim and help them not only survive but thrive,. I want to scoop them up and get them out of their circumstances by showing them life does get better, one can learn the skills to overcome, and show those that life has injured a path to a better life."
Understanding the long odds that face anyone burdened by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and other life traumas, Loreley has personally refused to be a victim. She learned to not only SURVIVE but THRIVE by overcoming. Using her personal and professional experience as a psychotherapist, Loreley Leonard is now one of the world's most sought after motivational speakers, mentors to executives and others in leadership positions, business consultants, personal relationship therapists and one of the world's top licensed micro expression trained practioner as well as a leading American body language expert.
Based in the Phoenix area but jetting frequently all over the world (when she's not Skyping with clients), she has shared her natural gift of encouragement to enrich the lives of people throughout the U.S., Italy, Germany, France, Hong Kong, China, Mexico and other countries.
Driven by her lifelong passion to understand human motivation, the former psychotherapist led a recovery group early in her career called "Women Helping Women" - an experience that proved the catalyst to her deepest calling: to empower women to respect, embrace and celebrate the awesome power of their femininity, rather than see it as something to overcome. Having walked too many miles in their shoes, she brings empathy to single clients and small groups alike as a personal empowerment coach, helping business people, married couples and young women find hope as they negotiate troubling circumstances and teaches them to take the moments on the brink to moments of breakthroughs.
"When it comes to empowering women, I have learned that nobody can give you what you need, and you really have to give it to yourself," Loreley says. "You have to love yourself first. Society teaches us that if we have big breasts, are skinny enough, have the right man, that's going to make us happy. And that's not true. When you love yourself, you get rid of the people who are negative and harmful. The first step for many of my clients is to keep a journal and pay attention to the signs that people are hurting or helping you along your life's journey. I also encourage clients to 're-parent' themselves if they, like me, had troubled childhoods. Recognizing that most parents do the best they can with the tools they have, it was easier for me to see them as flawed individuals who did their best. I've never forgiven my abuser but he has no power over my life today.
"Living a full life includes spending time with people who make you feel good and running away from the drainers, who I also refer to as emotional vampires," she adds. "I suggest little things like having sticky notes that say, 'I'm good enough.' It's important to have positive affirmations if we weren't lucky enough to get those as a child. I help my client to start paying attention to what makes them feel good and bad. Therapy is a journey and it can take months to start having an impact - but in the end, it's worth it."
Long considered by clients and colleagues alike as an Interpersonal Communications expert, Loreley hosts a wide variety of seminars, where she teaches her students the secret to unlocking their inner potential and living their dreams by coaching them to read body language and communicate for results. The popular events she holds include Mastering Your Relationships, Relationship Boot camp, Polish Your Pitch and Body Language: the Most Important Secret Weapon in Business, all of which feature her intensive coaching and unique strategies of personal transformation.
Loreley's skills as an entrepreneur have earned her fortunes, and clients of means (including Wall Street stalwarts aiming to up their personal game) pay her well for her 24/7 array of personal coaching services. But her love of helping people and compassion for all makes her just as likely to counsel clients of lesser means on a sliding scale. Because such organizations as the Department of Human Services can only help hurting people so much-and aware that most people's insurance plans don't cover mental and emotional health issues to the extent many in crisis need-she tries her best to commit a significant percent of her practice to people of modest means.
"My writing, speaking and counseling work centers on the goal of empowering individuals, especially women, to enjoy more fulfilling and health relationships," says Loreley
"Mental health shouldn't be considered separate from the rest of our body, because everything interacts with everything else. The money in my bank account doesn't matter to me as much as what I call my paycheck of the heart. For me, this comes when I see the light in the eyes of a woman or girl who was in pain when they came to see me but is no longer in that dark place."
One of the keys to Loreley's success in working in a counseling capacity with high-end business people is her own background as a groundbreaking entrepreneur. The co-founder of a consulting and media group that negotiated joint ventures with American media-like NBC's Access Hollywood-to provide content from Hollywood to Asian markets, she and her partner were the first American women to take a Chinese Company public on Tokyo's Motherboard (Japan's equivalent of the U.S. Stock Exchange). New China Media was the first and the only Western-based company to have Chinese negotiated television station landing rights that reached into all homes in Mainland China. Loreley and her partners were so successful that Rupert Murdoch attempted to purchase her company.
Before turning the company over to her partners, Loreley negotiated joint ventures with NBC, and, along with prominent figures such as Olympic icon Carl Lewis, helped secure a Nike Sponsorship for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Returning to the U.S., she became one of the investors that bought September Films, famous for producing the long running WE TV series "Bridezillas." As per her trademark m.o., she sold her shares in the company after helping franchise the show around the world, including in the UK allowing her time to focus on her passion of understanding and reading micro-expressions and body language.
Another unique gift that Loreley brings to various aspects of her multi-faceted career is her specialized language. She travels the world doing presentations on the importance of reading body language in counseling, sales and business environments-and how to become more effective at it. Her late 2013 schedule includes a seminar date in Vienna, Austria and a conference of over 500 psychologists in Las Vegas.
Loreley's expertise in this realm has also put her in high demand in the entertainment world. She was a mentor and coach working with multiple award winning director, property master and set dressing foreman Garry Pastore, who has won over 40 awards ("Spiderman," "The Sopranos") on the set of the documentary "DeStressed"; she is also scheduled to work on another Hollywood movie, "The Wedding Planner" next spring. Loreley's warm personality and quick wit also led the director to create a small speaking role playing herself in the film. Pastore has hired her to coach and mentor his crew to help them get their "micro-expressions" down and get their body language consistent with their line delivery.
"Micro-expressions are harder to master than regular body language," she says. "Doing body language and mico-expression coaching is similar in the counseling and film worlds, because in both cases you're trying to resolve the way someone's physical expressions and body language don't correlate perfectly with their words. Congruency is key."
Loreley's whirlwind schedule involves a lot of interesting multi-tasking as she puts her micro-expression and body language skills to work in a variety of settings. Two of her Wall Street clients came to the set of "DeStressed" to meet with her at separate times while she was on a break from her work on the film. She also lectured on Patient Advocacy at the 2013 NYC Business Expo to a crowd of more than 500, in honor of her niece Ella Sophia Cersa, who was killed by medical negligence this past July.
In November, Dr. Leonard will be appearing on America's Premier Expert's Television show with the legendary Brian Tracy Because both she and the clients have packed schedules, her counseling involves a lot of online communication and calls. But those clients with the time and wherewithal will stay at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale when they visit her in person and she will negotiate the ideal coaching package for the client which has included joining them on a private jet and yacht.
Her basic start up with clients includes a free initial face to face consultation, a discussion about what she can help them do and what she cannot do, and about the level of investment they can and are prepared to invest in themselves once an agreement about counseling/coaching/mentoring is in place.
Elaborating about her personalized boutique services, Loreley explains, "My clients meet with me in person, talk about half a day with me or however much time they need, and then I am available 24/7 by email (within reason), by phone and Skype. Clients seek my counsel on a lot of issues - 'Is my husband cheating on me?' 'Is he abusing my daughter?' 'Is my partner embezzling funds?' "What deception etc do you detect in investors/partners in a start up"; 'Can I really trust this guy I want to go into business with?' I deal a lot with people's character and help clients understand the tell tale expressions of dishonesty.
"I believe that those I work with usually already know the answers they seek, but my job is to guide them and help them read the important signs related to their questions," she adds. "Sometimes if it's possible I will have people bring their significant others or business partners to meet me. For other exclusive clients, Loreley will schedule and meet with the individuals her clients are considering doing business with and report her findings, gut feelings as well as the due diligence she is well known for doing in the corporate world. I'm not a financial adviser but I can tell you if someone is hiding or concealing something. I also offer clients the option of having me do undercover field work to meet the person they have uncertainties about, which is a small investment to prevent significant future problems or provide that very important piece of mind. I will make appointments with these people to talk general business and then give my clients full reports with my assessments. But they understand I'm not a fortune teller and am simply using my best judgment."
Loreley is also a best-selling author collaborating with the esteemed Dr. Nido Qubein. Her most prominent books are "Blessed By A Broken Heart," featuring stories about finding a blessing in what we thought was a curse and getting through those growing pains to a better place; "The Secret of Seduction," exploring the physical and emotional aspects of relationships; "Empty Cradle," and the short book "Seduction Secrets of Sex Sirens: How To Win and Keep Your Man." In these books, she draws upon her wealth of experience to shed light on some of the key questions of self-empowerment and fulfillment. Her work as an author has won her an invitation to the 2014 Expert Speakers and Writers Award Gala in New York City in April as well as an invitation to the Garden Film Festival in Hollywood where she'll be recognized for her work mentoring and coaching on Hollywood sets.
"My writing and speaking endeavors all center on empowering individuals to be the best version of themselves by developing confidence in their ability to powerfully and persuasively communicate," she says. "Clients who learn to communicate with power enjoy more fulfilling and healthy relationships. When you see that light go in a 22 year old mother with kids and an abusive husband with nowhere to turn-and I can connect her with social services and offer her other options-that is what is meaningful. Of course, being recognized by her peers is rewarding as well; in September, Loreley will be honored at the National Academy of Best Selling Authors Summit and Gold Gala in Hollywood.
"What gets me up in the morning and motivates me every day," she adds, "is knowing I have the potential to draw on my life experiences, including past traumas and my years of training as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Psychotherapist, which gives me the unique experience to make a difference in the life of a child or victim and help them not only survive but thrive,. I want to scoop them up and get them out of their circumstances by showing them life does get better, one can learn the skills to overcome, and show those that life has injured a path to a better life."
