Sasha Zvodinsky - Paradigm Shift Coach
Hi, I'm Sasha Zvodinsky
I am constantly learning and growing, and I want to show you that you can do those things too.
When a person comes to me for help, I work with them to shift their perception of life and become free from the bondage of their habitual thinking. I want them to see life as a gift, as an adventure, as a unique opportunity to experience being fully alive embracing every aspect of living in a human body, welcoming challenges, celebrating successes, enjoying daily routines, being in awe more than they could ever imagine.
My Story
Growing up in Minsk, Belarus, I was an early talker and an early (and voracious!) reader - I taught myself to read “Lenin: Upclose and Personal” “Родной и близкий. Рассказы о Владимире Ильиче Ленине” (a compendium of stories about Vladimir Lenin) when I was four years old, and by age six I was reading 200-page books. In second grade, when the librarian told me that I had read all the books about Lenin in the school library, I got angry because I could see more Lenin books on the top shelf. She told me those books were BY Lenin and steered me toward science fiction, which I quickly dove into and became obsessed with. Both my parents were in the performing arts, my father was a bass player, and my mother was a ballerina. I would hang out in the Belarus Bolshoi when she didn’t have a babysitter. I looked at the world through a hurt child’s perspective - emotionally and/or physically. I felt like if I didn't know the rules of the world, the world would hurt me. The world had a lot of rules I didn’t know about.
I got involved in drugs and alcohol because I wanted to grow up ASAP and have sex with girls. My older brother was drinking with his buddies and I wanted to be an adult like him, so when I got a chance to drink, I grabbed it: he had left an open bottle of wine on the table. I drank alone while nobody was looking. I was 14. The girls wouldn’t date me because I was a short kid, so I would hang out with my best friend’s crowd, which drank regularly in the woods by the city. They’d give me alcohol, which made me feel free, tall and sexy. I was so desperate to grow up, that during my summer break between my junior and senior years, I “willed myself” to grow eight inches. In actuality, I’d had a growth spurt so I guess mind over matter really works! ;)
My older brother and his friends were playing guitar and I learned from them - again to impress girls. One time it actually worked - one girl finally said “ok I will have sex with you,” which for me was the most important thing to prove to my best friend that I was a man, was cool, was “get laid-able”, etc. But the ultimate results of that encounter were… less than stellar. ;)
Naturally, when our high school formed a band, I was one of the first kids to sign up. Musical instruments were hard to come by and of poor quality, so it was really exciting to have access to much better instruments (thanks to the school’s corporate sponsors)!
We played rock music at home because in those days it was still illegal. No clubs were allowed to play it, and we were still being arrested for our long hair. We were of the generation that wanted to be free of the Soviet Regime. Rock & Roll was part of our rebellion, and so were drugs. Underage drinking was normal - most kids were drinking by age 14. The USSR had a Drinking Culture - if you weren’t drinking, then something was wrong with you - you were weak or maybe you were ill. Comedians would make fun of non-drinkers, e.g. “You’re not drinking - you must be a spy. Ha ha ha!”
I didn’t even realize I had a problem until Olga got really bad at age 22. I had gotten arrested for weed, and met some guys in a locked psych ward after I had gotten arrested in a city-wide sweep back in Minsk. One of the guys introduced me to meth. I introduced Olga to it. In less than a year, Olga was heavily addicted. Olga overdosed and started seeing things. A shadow followed her for many years. I got scared because I had introduced her to it, and I felt guilty for the same reason. She quit because of fear, I quit because of shame. I thought I was done with it, but it came back after a few years.
One of the things that changed my life path was when I attended a self-development seminar at Wright Foundation for the Realization of Human Potential. This is where I learned about Neuroplasticity - the brain's ability to change neural connections. Neuroplasticity allows you to keep learning and growing your whole life, not only at a young age.
I am pretty much a natural-born teacher. Throughout my life, I have been unconsciously driven to teach other people things. As a first-grader, I would visit my former kindergarten classrooms and teach those children math and reading skills. Later as a musician and a multi-instrumentalist, I led bands and explained song parts to other musicians. I have always felt very natural while teaching. Even before I had a formal education in pedagogy, I was chosen to be “Teacher of the Month” several times. One day, perhaps five years before I knew what life coaching was, my best friend told me that I could be a great life coach. I forgot about it, and then later while I was actually coaching someone, I realized I had become what my best friend had seen in me. My ease in connecting with people and effectively communicating ideas to them led me to believe that I could be a good life coach.
My superpowers/core strengths include a) the ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms so that people can understand them and use them in everyday life, b) my sense of humor and easy-going nature give me the ability to laugh at pretty much anything (including and especially myself!), and c) I see peoples' good sides first, I trust them, and I accept them the way they are.
No matter what kind of person you are, you can get addicted to drugs and be miserable. Drugs don't solve problems; they make them worse. And Recovery is possible! There are people in the world that live happy, productive lives without using any mind-altering substances.
Enough about me, let's talk about YOU!
Book a coaching session today and begin your journey to your better self.