About Me
From Survival to Self-Leadership:
A Journey of Transformation
About Me
From Survival to Self-Leadership:
A Journey of Transformation
Joe Conen
J.D., ACC, PHR
I’m Joe Conen, a transformational coach, advisor, and speaker who helps leaders and organizations evolve beyond achievement into authentic, purpose-driven leadership. I integrate emotional intelligence, strategic insight, and deep personal transformation into all my support, so your success isn't just measured by results, but by alignment, fulfillment, and freedom.
The Beginning: Forged in Chaos
I was born in Iran during the Revolution and raised in disorder. My childhood was marked by instability, abuse, and constant relocation, and I lived in more than a dozen cities before I was grown. I never felt I belonged anywhere. By seventeen, I was homeless, with “struggling” tattooed on my arm as a declaration of my status and a cry for help.
Eventually, the LA County Jail became one of many rock bottoms. Then my brother was murdered, and something inside me went numb. I had learned to shut down, but hadn't yet learned to live.
I didn't know it yet, but that moment would become the seed of my awakening.
Choosing to Live Empowered
It didn't happen overnight, but eventually I reached deep inside and made a decision: I would not remain a victim of my story.
Rehab was the first doorway, and the place where I began to confront the chaos within me. From there, I returned to school, earned a college degree, and then a law degree. I built a successful corporate and consulting career, yet beneath the surface, I was still searching for wholeness.
The deeper healing began when I turned inward. I explored therapy, somatic work, and intentional psychedelic plant medicine practices that helped me heal deeply, reconnect with myself, and see life from new perspectives. I also participated in many transformational programs, with each one uncovering something new, removing another layer, and expanding my awareness of what’s possible.
Over time, I discovered that transformation isn’t an event. It’s a practice and a way of meeting yourself again and again with truth, humility, and compassion.
The Awakening: Redefining Success
For years, I built what looked like success. I had status, stability, and accomplishment. From the outside, it looked like a great life, but even as I checked every box, something felt incomplete. Empty. That’s when I began exploring what success truly means when it’s aligned with purpose and authenticity.
I came to understand that mindset, strategy, and emotional wellbeing are inseparable. You can’t build a thriving business from a burnt-out nervous system. You can’t lead others when you’ve abandoned yourself. Like an executive who looks confident in the boardroom but lies awake questioning his purpose, I understood that high performance without inner peace is unsustainable.
The Work: Transformation in Motion
My work helps people see what they can’t yet see, including the unconscious beliefs and emotional patterns that hold the keys to their next level.
Over the last decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of high-performing individuals, including executives, entrepreneurs, elite professionals, and transitioning military leaders. My clients include leaders from Google, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, AT&T, and Navy SEALs moving into civilian life.
No matter their background, the patterns are universal. The very traits that once created success begin to limit it. Perfectionism turns into pressure, control becomes confinement, and old narratives quietly drive decisions.
When those unseen forces become visible, everything changes. Clarity replaces confusion, presence replaces performance, and leadership becomes an expression of truth, not an act of survival.
The Philosophy:
Integration Is the Path
I’ve trained with world-class transformational teachers and completed some of the most rigorous leadership programs in the world. Through all of it, I discovered that no single modality has the answer. True growth is integrative, and it honors both the strategy and the soul.
That’s why my work bridges:
Leadership and human potential
Psychology and spirituality
Strategy and emotional intelligence
Purpose and performance
Because you can’t separate who you are in business from who you are everywhere else. When you align them, you unlock a level of authenticity and energy that ripples through every part of your life.
The Mission:
From Survival to Purpose
Today, my mission is simple. I'm here to guide leaders and organizations from survival mode into purpose-driven expansion. To help them trade self-protection for self-leadership. To create success that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.
You don't need to "fix" yourself, because you're not broken. The change you're seeking is about remembering your wholeness. When you operate from that truth, you lead differently, build differently, and live differently.
The Ripple Effect
When a leader evolves, the world around them transforms. Teams shift. Cultures heal. Families reconnect. I’ve witnessed executives rediscover joy after burnout, entrepreneurs fall back in love with their businesses, and parents become the leaders their children deserve.
Perhaps my most important leadership role is raising my daughter. She reminds me daily that leadership is less about control and more about presence. It’s not about being perfect, but it’s always about being real.
Let’s Connect
If you’re ready to lead from a place of clarity, truth, and purpose, let’s start the conversation. No pressure. Just possibility.