Becoming Who You Want to Be

Book excerpt: Adversity can be a blessing. That’s a lesson that Gregg Lorberbaum learned early in life when he was diagnosed with a learning disability. He overcame it by developing skills of self-reflection, communication, and relationship building. These tools helped him become one of New York City’s most accomplished commercial real estate brokers, working for the firm formed by football legend Roger Staubach. Along the way, Lorberbaum realized those skills also work for finding love, raising children, sustaining a great marriage, and stiff-arming the tacklers of life. When Lorberbaum became a consultant and coach, he began sharing his unique approaches and concepts that will work to help you become who you want to be. These include— • Living a role-based lifestyle, • Paying it forward to our future selves through acts of kindness, • Doing the things we say we will, and • Learning from our past behaviors by keeping track of our actions. Lorberbaum’s tool kit is easy to use, and one of the most important tools is simply taking a few minutes each day to record a thought or action. If we can look back on our actions, we can and will make better decisions going forward. Because he’s kept daily journals accounting for nearly thirty-five years of his life, Lorberbaum is able to take us on a lively journey back in time—from the corporate suites of Manhattan to the backwoods of the Deep South—that includes his victories, heartaches, set-backs, and casual encounters that resulted in profound ideas. The book’s design allows readers to take in the lessons of Becoming Who You Want to Be while enjoying original art by ELO, an up-and-coming NYC artist, who recently had his second solo show. Anyone who has faced angst over work, love, or simply being alive will be charmed and changed by turning the pages of this wise, funny, and humble book. ​Gregg Lorberbaum is a second-time author, a management consultant and coach, and a father of three, who lives in Armonk, New York, with his wife, Jill.