After many years in the biotech industry, I discovered that my life’s purpose was no longer to develop or market new medicines; it is to help people master well-being and avoid disease, on a large scale. Now the company I started ten years ago - Wellcoaches - is the standard-bearer for professional coaches in healthcare worldwide.

At heart I am a coach. I spend most of my days building Wellcoaches where we have coached thousands of nurses, fitness professionals, dietitians, therapists, and physicians to become coaches. Every month I present on coaching, most weeks I coach a leader, and I demonstrate coaching in session podcasts for my blog by working with clients who do not pay. Now I'm embarking on a wider coaching conversation on becoming Well-Beings and exploring the DNA of Well-Beings.

All of us, really, are leaders, whether we're executives, parents, or programmers, serving as role models for our families, friends, colleagues, and communities.

Why is it critical that we, leaders all, strive to become Well-Beings?

First: Finances and health. It is difficult to save enough to retire or slow down. If we continue to work past 65, by necessity or by choice, we need to be well. Worse, it will soon cost us more to have a chronic disease, many of which we have the power to prevent.

Second:  The workplace. Even though some companies have learned that the well-being of leaders and employees is a competitive advantage, there is too little cultural approval for self-care. People feel guilty about exercising at lunch or going home at six for a home-cooked family meal. On the other hand, working Well-Beings are more energetic and innovative, and improve the bottom line.

Third:  Our closest relationships. It is not self-indulgent to be energetic and well. We have a responsibility to be role models for our children, families, friends, and neighbors.

Last, being a Well-Being is cool. It's also contagious - it's a virus worth spreading.