About us

Character by Design is the passion project of two friends who what where when why...

We know about:

Non-Violent Communication & Conflict Resolution
Internal Family Systems Therapy
Hakomi Therapy
Mindfulness & Meditation
Zen Practice
Spiral Dynamics & Integral Theory
Right Use of Power
Difficult Conversations
Conscious Leadership
Influencing and Scaling

Krzysztof Piekarski

Krzys has a PhD in English from University of Texas, Austin and is a Council Member at Appamada Zen Center. He often throws bananas at Nathan with exquisite accuracy.

Nathan Smalley

Nate is an education reformer, teacher, and coach to educational bigwigs across the country. He currently serves as the Chief of Network Leadership development with KIPP and is a PhD candidate at TBD. He is a student at Appamada Zen Center.

Character by Design

CxD is an emotional intelligence consultancy. Design your Life. Develop Character. Stop suffering. Overcome depression, anxiety, anger and procrastination. Evolve your values. Implement conscious capitalism. Learn meditation and mindfulness to wake up. You must change your life. Tools: Zen, Hakomi body-centered psychotherapy, IFS, Spiral Dynamics, Non-Violent Communication, Buddhism.

Your generosity makes this site go. Without you, we starve.

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What is Meditation (And do I have to?)

What is meditation? What is mindfulness? They’re the things you practice if you want a life of integrity and freedom. Are they enough? No. You also have to design your character. Here’s how.

Bill Murray: On how to Design your life with presence

Charlie Rose: Tell me what it is that you want that you don't have.

Bill Murray: Well, I'd like to be more consistently here, you know. I would like to really get on -- I would like to just -- and I know it's not probably maybe possible but because it's so improbable and so impossible, I would just like to really see how long I can last as being really here, you know, really in it, really alive in the moment, you know.

What is Character by Design?

HAVE YOU FALLEN INTO THE TRAP OF SUCK-CESS?

The best definition of success has nothing to do with money or fame. It is the ability to deliberately change one's character. Because what we're born as isn't the most free expression of what we can become. And if we pay attention to the thoughts that shape our actions and the actions that shape our habits and the habits that shape our character, we'll find that character is what shapes our destiny.

Character by Design is about six things:

Character is Destiny

When our lives suck, we will tar and feather everyone around us or buy new distraction-enabling shit instead of maybe thinking we created our own circumstances.

David Bowie: A Changing Question

David Bowie resonates so deeply with us because he made the reality of impermanence seem natural and colorful and fun. Who am I today? Who will I be tomorrow? What was I yesterday? These questions can make one's bumhole pucker up and fill with dread. But wearing the robes of an artist, he asked us to remain playful rather than fearful.

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About us

Krzysztof Piekarski

Nathan Smalley

Character by Design

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