The Story Behind the Work
About Steps Along The Way
Something shifted for me years into an academic career I’d worked hard to build. By every external measure, things were going well. And yet I kept noticing a gap, in myself, and in the accomplished people around me — between what we’d achieved and how we actually felt about our lives day to day.
That gap became my life’s work.
I’m Dr. Jonathan Marion — transformational life coach, consultant, and speaker. I am an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach (PCC), hold a Professional Fellowship at the Institute of Coaching, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and I’m trained in Emotional Intelligence, Positive Psychology Coaching, Somatic Coaching, Clear Beliefs Coaching, and Group Coaching. My doctoral work in Psychological Anthropology gave me a particular lens for understanding how we construct identity, perform our roles, and, most importantly, how we find our way back to something more authentic beneath it all.
My coaching practice, Steps Along The Way, works with accomplished professionals who’ve built successful lives by almost any conventional measure and yet feel a persistent sense that something essential is missing. These aren’t people who haven’t worked hard enough. They’re people who’ve worked extraordinarily hard, often for decades, in the service of goals that made sense at the time. What they need isn’t more achievement. It’s a different relationship with themselves.
The work we do together draws on decades of research in positive psychology, somatic awareness, emotional intelligence, and anthropology. What this means in practice: we don’t just talk about change. We work with the whole person—thought, feeling, and body—because that’s where lasting transformation actually happens.
Background / Credentials
Ph.D. – Cultural & Psychological Anthropology (UC San Diego)
M.A. – Cultural & Psychological Anthropology (UC San Diego)
B.A. – Psychology & Political Philosophy (University of Redlands)
Professional Fellow, Institute of Coaching (IOC), McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School affiliate
PCC (Professional Certified Coach) – International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Registered Mentor Coach – International Coaching Federation (ICF)
CPC (Certified Professional Coach) – International Coach Academy, Australia
Body-Oriented Coaching, Program Trainer – The Somatic School (UK)
Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner – Genos International (Australia)
Positive Psychology Coaching – Mentor Coach
Clear Beliefs Coaching (L1) – Clear Beliefs Institute
Award-winning cultural anthropology professor and author, including 20+ years of researching, teaching, and publishing on issues related to performance, embodiment, identity, and diversity.
20+ years of learning, studying, photographing, and teaching partnered dance forms, including salsa, ballroom, and Brazilian zouk.
About Jonathan
Growing up in a challenging environment with rigid expectations, I battled feelings of inadequacy and a deep lack of belonging. Unknowingly, I channeled these early struggles into a relentless drive for external validation. For decades, I overcompensated by pursuing academic perfection—earning my Ph.D. in Cultural and Psychological Anthropology, achieving a tenured professorship, authoring multiple books, and leading professional associations. Yet, despite building a flawless resume and successfully jumping through every conventional hoop, I felt an enduring emptiness that no accolade could fill.
My profound turning point occurred during a research sabbatical in Brazil while exploring the community of Brazilian zouk dance. Immersed in a culture that valued authentic human connection over status, I realized that my most cherished relationships were with people who appreciated me simply as Jonathan, rather than for my professional titles. I recognized that at the end of my life, my legacy wouldn't be measured by academic committees or publications, but by the genuine impact I had on others and the depth of my personal connections.
Today, I live and work from a place of intentional authenticity. Stepping back from the relentless pursuit of external milestones, I now combine my decades of academic research with my own journey of self-discovery to serve as a transformational coach and consultant. I am dedicated to helping other highly accomplished professionals bridge the gap between conventional success and true inner fulfillment, empowering them to show up as their best selves and build richly textured, deeply meaningful lives.
Next…
Going to college in Southern California was my first taste of autonomy, connection with Self and relief from my seasonal affective disorder. I could finally decide for myself the type of life I wanted to lead, I was motivated to escape both my seasonal depression and dysfunctional family climate and make my own choices.
Little did I know, however, how deeply I had internalized my family’s patterns and expectations growing up, regarding the need to accomplish, the reverence for intellectual excellence, and near impossible standards of needing to be exceptional. Without even noticing it, proving that I wasn’t the lousy student I’d been pre-college would drive my choices through most of my academic career.
Finishing undergrad, I had a hell of a resume, yet had never entirely lived the “college experience.” I was so busy “accomplishing,” and building up my extracurricular resume, that I missed out on most of the “trying things out” that I saw so many others enjoying. I, who had been the slacker extraordinaire in high school, was the one doing homework in the dorm lobby on Friday and Saturday nights while others were out partying.
After college, I decided to go to grad school to study cultural anthropology. I knew, at least intellectually, that living with meaning was what was most important to me, and for my master’s thesis I chose to explore the construction of existential meaning within cultural contexts.
Needless to say, in grad school and beyond I continued to jump through all the hoops, to live up to all external measures of success, in the form of credentials, good evaluations, academic accolades, and professional leadership.
Continuing along…
I kept going through the motions for decades, finishing my MA, finishing my PhD, publishing my first academic book, being elected to professional boards, starting to teach university classes, being named outstanding lecturer at my university, being elected President of a professional association, getting hired into a tenure track position, writing my second book, winning more teaching commendations, being elected President of a second professional association, publishing my third book, getting tenure, publishing my fourth book, etc.
By all outside measures, I was clearly an accomplished university professor, a published author, respected by colleagues. I was on an upward trajectory to progress in my career.
Yet none of that meant much of anything for me anymore. The further along in my career I got, the emptier, more trapped, and constrained I felt. And none of my accomplishments could fill this emptiness.
Where was that level of deep satisfaction I’ve been looking for my whole life? Where was the full-color version? Was there even one? Could I live a more fulfilling life, based on deep meaning and replete with richly textured experiences and relationships?
12 years after finishing my PhD I spent a semester of research leave in Brazil, exploring and experiencing the birthplace of the dance form and community of Brazilian zouk.
While living with friends in Brazil, I realized that I loved the relationships I had with people simply as me, Jonathan, and not my roles to or for them. This was such a profound realization, that I felt compelled to start changing my life.
I realized that, at the end, looking back, I would not wish I had developed or taught yet one more course, written one more article, or been part of one more committee. I would want to be proud of how I had shown up in my life, the impact I’d had on other people, the relationships I’d built, the memories I’d left behind, and the contributions I had made.
I realized none of my measurable, externally-facing accomplishments mattered. That the most meaningful relationships in my life were with people who didn’t care how good I was at “jumping through hoops.”
Spending a long time in deep, honest self-reflection, I discovered that I was filled with a sense of meaning and purpose when I responded to challenges and situations based on who I really was deep down, and how I wanted to show up in the world, and not when letting external measures of right or wrongdoing count; and when I focused my attention on the relationships with the people who never considered those things important.
Once my direction became clear and I committed to it, the universe conspired to support me in miraculous ways. So many things fell into place, one after another: finding an online coaching program that fit both my crazy schedule and my international interests, an opportunity to sell my house and start minimizing my “stuff,” chances to start teaching and coaching related to my interests in deep meaning and the inherent dignity and value of all.
Now…
I now live how I want to be, aware of considerations, but not allowing them to drive my choices. I am able to identify what really matters, knowing that everything that happens is just part of a story. I jump through far fewer hoops, and when I do, I don’t attach a sense of identity or self-worth to them.
I’ve always loved teaching, and now have the freedom to customize the ‘what’ and ‘how’ to have the most impact. I share lessons from years of research, teaching, and leadership related to cultural awareness and appreciation to broader audiences, collaborating with people who truly care about such issues.
With one foot still solidly grounded in my academic role, now I get to interact, collaborate with, and support a broader range of people in showing up as their best selves and making their best contributions to the world. I tailor my coaching, consulting, and educational offerings to meet people where they are, support a world that recognizes the complete and equal dignity of all people, and facilitate authentic living, connection, and communication.
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