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Stephen Wurzel – the Man, the Myth, the Legend

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As we wind up our story, I wanted to first give recognition to Stephen’s children. I talked about his youngest in the last piece and how he worked for NCAR. He actually has a master’s degree in  environmental science, not just “a” degree. He is married to Alyssa and has a beautiful daughter named Cadence who is currently 18 months old. Benjamin, his oldest child, has a master’s degree in student affairs and higher education from Colorado State University. He works as a career counselor at the University of Colorado. Hi wife’s name is Miho (an incredible sushi chef) and Chiyo is his five-year-old daughter.

I asked Stephen to take the Dru’s 14 Essential Questions Questionnaire, and here are some of the tales he gave me: When asked how he learned, he said he reads a vast number of books. He stated that he felt like he was a natural at the healing arts. He likes to talk to people, and also teach others. He’ll go to the Reservoir on a full moon and teach people how to meditate. He learns by just “jumping in” and by sense of touch. He trusts his intuition and can quiet his mind through meditation. Every day he wakes up and sets his intention before he gets out of bed.

When asked what his Code of Life is, he had a simple, yet beautiful answer: “Be open to everything and everyone.” (Mine is a long paragraph. I loved this!)

Stephen’s vision is to “Live in the Now. And live for the Future. Become one with whatever’s in front of you. Go through trying times by keeping your center.” As a former martial artist, I appreciate this sentiment. Our lives seem to center around center, or what the Japanese call Hara. It literally means soft belly, but an extension of the meaning in a spiritual sense is that Hara refers to a person’s true self, or who they truly are as a human being. It’s seen as the unification of a person’s physical, spiritual, and psychological dimensions (Mind, Body, Spirit).

I asked what is the big picture for him? He said, being with his family and friends and having that community connection is the most important aspect of his world. (Stephen works for Sister Carmen to help those in need. He also works with Feed Forward through Unity Church to hand out warm burritos for the unhoused folks in Boulder.) And he runs a meditation class every Saturday morning at the Louisville Recreation Center. How cool is that? I am looking forward to attending this class.

Stephen says his biggest fear is losing his wife. They are indeed true partners in every sense, and he worries about this sometimes. “How do you feel?” is my classic question for everyone. I took it from the Star Trek IV movie where Spock’s mother asked him this question. He literally was dead, was reborn, and taken back to Vulcan to relearn everything. He is only half Vulcan and his mother is human. Since the Vulcans suppress their emotions, he was constantly on the alert. (Okay just look it up!) At the end of the movie, he tells his father to tell his mother: “I feel fine.”

Stephen’s response to “How do you feel?” was “I feel in the flow and have been at peace for fifty years. He feels right now that everything is perfect in his life. He still has to work at it, but it’s like body surfing through life. He told me not to stop at the sand, just keep going.

Finally, I asked him what would his perfect day be? He told me that right now, every day is perfect. But, if he had to pick, his perfect day would be to continue with Soul Massage, and the people that he can work with, walking with his wife, hanging out with his family, and going to the hot springs. How can we get any better than that? Stephen hopes to continue his life by living it spirit-filled, living moment to moment.

“Man is a mystery. It needs to be unraveled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, don’t say that you’ve wasted time.”—Fyodor Dostoevsky.
I hope this story inspires you to live your best life and unravel your own mysterious secrets. People are out there listening. It just takes a little effort to find them.

If you are interested in taking the Questionnaire and being interviewed by me, feel free to contact me at dru_tieben@comcast.net. Please do not send any mean/hate emails. I will not respond. Everyone has a remarkable story to tell. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Love to all!

The Journey of Stephen Wurzel: From Sales to Entrepreneurship

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We continue our story in Part IV of Stephen Wurzel’s life. After their seven months tour of the USA, Stephen and his wife came back to New York and stayed with Janice’s parents who lived in Port Washington. It was a small town on the North Shore and had a laid-back country feel. Stephen’s father-in-law was an old-fashioned country doctor and still made house calls. They lived in a brick house, with the Doctor’s office in the basement.

Stephen got a job with Panduit Corporation, which was out of Tinsley Park, Illinois. According to their website, Panduit Corp. develops and provides physical infrastructure solutions, networking equipment for businesses. The Company manufactures cabinets, racks, cable ties, copper systems, fiber optic systems, grounding systems, identification and labeling systems, and installation tools. Stephen became a traveling salesperson for the company and had a territory which included New York. They bought a small house in Tuxedo Park NY which included an acre of land with tall trees, close to a golf course. Their family began there with the birth of their first-born son.

In 1984, Stephen’s dad worked for Tridon Automotive parts, and they built a plant out in Nashville Tennessee. His dad asked him to come to Nashville and be his sales manager. Stephen said he was fairly good at it so went to talk to his wife. After much discussion, he and his wife decided to move there. Janice would miss her family and friends, but she agreed to this next step in their lives. She was pregnant with their second child at that time. They bought a house there and when they were driving out, they were 45 minutes out from the city and the baby was coming! They had their second baby in the car on the highway! They raised their family and developed so many friends over the 35 years that they lived there. While in Nashville, Stephen’s dad started another company and bought out his partner. Stephen started a media company and became the salesperson for Marketforce Media. He learned how to shoot commercials for scripted ads for automotive parts companies. He collaborated with companies to purchase time for scripted ads for television and became known for this talent. People came from all over the world to learn and shoot commercials with him. In 2012, his parents died within a brief time of each other, and he sold the company. Stephen was able to help quite a few people in the auto parts and media business related to this industry, so much so that he was able to retire at 62.

Stephen worked in Chattanooga at an office that was above a Yoga studio called SISU (meaning Strength of Will) and he learned about emergence care and soul massage. His youngest son was living there, and he had a small apartment. He practiced with the people of this studio and survived the pandemic. Stephen’s youngest son got his degree in Chattanooga at Suwanee University in Environmental Science and moved out to Colorado. He is at UCAR in Boulder. Stephen’s oldest was also in Colorado practicing and working, so after 35 years, Janice and Stephen decided to move here. The move was more dramatic as they left so many friends behind, but it was meant to be. The boys got married and Stephen and Janice are now grandparents. It’s hard to fathom how a young English Literature and Philosophy major from SUNY became an entrepreneur and so much more.

No matter where we come from, we all have so many opportunities to be good at something even if don’t think we are, and then thrive with our choices. I hope you take this example of a great person and live your life to the fullest!

Concluding in Part V tomorrow!