About Andrew Deutsch

Childhood, at least in theory, is supposed to be a loving, joyous experience, a time where we are trying new things so we can discover what resonates in us. That’s not what it was like for me. I was born into a highly dysfunctional family. My mother was mentally ill and my father had “one foot out the door,” and one day he did leave.

I was raised by my grandparents who meant well but used religion as a controlling device. I learned early lessons about “conditional love” which had to with how well I practiced their form of religion. It was always, “You would make me so happy if you did this ….” I never felt that I was making them happy by just being me. I actually had a bad case of PTSD without knowing it! My whole childhood, it seemed, was a blend of orthodox religion and totally dysfunctional experiences. I would sit in class and just zone out. And, thus, I muddled through childhood into adolescence.

Fortunately, I had an uncle who was successful, and as close to normal as anyone I had known. During my teenage years, he’d drive me to therapy every week after his work and introduced me to positive and loving experiences with his family. Through those experiences, I began to heal.

I moved to Brooklyn, and began hanging around a plant store that my friends owned. Some sales reps who sold items to the store suggested I become a manufacturer’s representative, which sounded better than being a salesman–even though it’s the same thing. After a rocky start, I became a sales star, selling everything from greeting cards to advertising, hitting millions of dollars in sales volume.

Fifteen years ago, I began coaching others by speaking to individuals and groups. About ten years ago I began speaking at and facilitating workshops around the world. The workshops weren’t focused on sales; rather they were focused on helping people get out of their own way and grow into themselves. By creating a discipline of building themselves up, even when things go wrong, they could stay in life, stay in the game. When the workshop participants learned to build themselves up without limits, they would lift themselves out of the past and rise to new heights, and much better lives.