My name is Chris Rupsa and I live with my amazing wife and three children (ages 15, 11, and 7) near Boulder, Colorado. I spent the last 20 years looking for happiness and external validation in the high-pressure corporate world of Big Pharma, with 15 of those years spent in leadership positions. I currently work as a regulatory compliance and strategic consultant to industry.
I was lucky to be born and raised along the coast of Orange County in Southern California. I spent my time surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, cycling, playing basketball and listening to and playing hardcore punk rock music. I still do most of those things (even jump in the mosh pit), but with a lot more stretching, Ibuprofen and the occasional MRI.
I survived 10 years of Catholic school and eventually earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Vanguard University. I briefly considered going to medical school, but it turns out you need good study habits and lots of time and money to become a doctor. I got married to my beautiful wife and best friend in 1998 and we are still going strong. Shortly after the birth of our first son in 2002, we moved to Colorado, which is where we call home.
During my time grinding it out in the corporate world, I was blessed with the opportunity to lead, coach and mentor a large number of talented men and women. At times, my daily work calendar was more booked with mentoring meetings than actual business meetings - I loved it, and coaching and mentoring others energized me!
I have been on a journey of self-discovery for several years now, but like a lot of people, I have my issues and have been seriously stuck in negative patterns and habits that no longer served me. Telling myself the same old story got me nowhere, and I was too paralyzed by fear to make any big life changes. My self-awakening has been a beautiful trip, but at the same time a very emotional and lonely experience as my perspectives on everything in life completely changed. Through this transformation, I developed a strong connection to the natural world around me and all living beings, but with this connection I also see the suffering in people that I was blind to before.
My heart has been telling me the path I should follow for a long time, and I am finally going to listen and put my fears aside and start this journey. I'm excited to see where it takes me and my greatest hope is that it will help and serve others too.
Love and Peace,
Chris
“We are constantly invited to be who we are.”