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Life & Times Transcript
1/24/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- They aren't social workers or therapists. They're life coaches. But should they be regulated? Jeffrey Youngren>> When they do things that the consumer doesn't know enough sometimes to recognize that something they're buying is a pig in a poke. Val Zavala>> And then, the food is Italian, the restaurant is in Wilmington, so why are customers paying with pesos? It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> It's the latest tool in our quest for success and personal fulfillment: life coaches. They aren't therapists, but they're more than mentors. They are, well, coaches, and there are tens of thousands of them unlicensed and charging as much as two hundred dollars an hour. Are they worth it? Sam Louie has our story. Sam Louie>> Bob Pranga never imagined life could be so good. He's created a lucrative business doing something he loves. Bob Pranga>> Generally, I'll come over and set up a Christmas tree or we'll do the mantelpiece or we'll do the entire house or we'll do the interior and the exterior. >> "Calling Dr. Christmas. Dr. Christmas, please come in." Sam Louie>> He is a tree stylist to the stars, decorating the homes of the rich and famous for Christmas. Bob Pranga>> I've been managing in my career to decorate for everyone from Bob Hope and Lana Turner, you know, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Andy Garcia, Leeza Gibbons, Shaquille O'Neal, Kate Hudson. Sam Louie>> Bob has even dubbed himself "Dr. Christmas" and he makes a very healthy living. Bob Pranga>> Somebody came in and said, "Well, how much do you charge?" I gave them this ridiculous amount of money and said, "Okay, I'll come over and do that" and they said, "Okay." I thought, "Okay? Cool." (laughter) Sam Louie>> That ridiculous amount can be as much as fifty thousand dollars. But just over a decade ago, life was very different. At that time, Bob was deep in debt as a starving actor. He scraped by on several low-paying jobs in Hollywood as a waiter, department store clerk and tour guide. He felt his life was going nowhere. Bob Pranga>> At thirty-five years old, I panicked. You know, I cannot be a tour guide the rest of my life. I cannot be making minimum wage. I cannot be working three jobs. I'm never going to get anywhere and I'm not even pursuing anything that I really wanted to do. Rick Tamlyn>> "What would it be like if it actually went the way you wanted it to go?" Sam Louie>> So he turned to Rick Tamlyn, an executive life coach based in Studio City. Rick Tamlyn>> The point of entry into a coaching relationship is usually something that has a little bit of an emergency flavor to it like, you know, "My relationship is going sour" or "Oh, my gosh, I just lost my job." Sam Louie>> Rick has spent the past fifteen years as a coach working with both individual and corporate clients. Bob came to Rick looking for help back in 1992. Like so many of his clients, Rick sensed that Bob was feeling lost. Rick Tamlyn>> Hungry for it and what is it? You know, looking around, what is my life about? But sad, confused, overwhelmed. You know, there's a classic song, "Is this what it's all about, Alfie?" You know, there's got to be something more. Sam Louie>> After a few coaching sessions, it became obvious that Bob loved Christmas. Rick Tamlyn>> The Christmas conversations kept coming up. "I love Christmas. Every year I love Christmas." He kept talking about it and it was from his heart. Sam Louie>> So Rick encouraged Bob to set some goals and to follow through with them. Rick Tamlyn>> Thus was born the concept of Dr. Christmas. He started to create a website. He started to realize, "I'm really good at decorating" because he's a great designer, a blended Christmas and designing together. Sam Louie>> To this day, Bob credits a lot of his success to the support and encouragement of his coach. Bob Pranga>> I was so busy trying to build the business and move it along and attain the next goal that I didn't really take the time to be surprised. It just seemed like, "Okay, okay, okay." It happens a lot when you have intention and you have purpose about it. All of a sudden, it just happens. Sam Louie>> What also happens over the past decade is the exponential growth of life or personal coaching. There are now an estimated fifty thousand coaches in the United States along with about two hundred coaching schools that have sprouted up to meet the demand. On average, they can cost up to a hundred dollars an hour. The growth of the coaching industry has led to concern among those in the counseling field. Because there's no official government oversight or certification, critics are troubled because, in essence, anyone can call themselves a coach. Jeffrey Youngren>> My experience has been that there are many people who label themselves as coaches who have very little training in coaching. Sam Louie>> Jeffrey Youngren is a psychologist based in Palos Verdes. He has a doctorate in clinical psychology. Youngren says the public needs to be aware of the difference between psychologists and other mental health professionals compared to life coaches. Mental health therapists must be certified and licensed in the states they work in. But life coaches, on the other hand, are unregulated. Jeffrey Youngren>> Regulation is really to protect the consumer. The reason we have licenses and certifications is to protect the consumer, so individuals that go into unregulated professions may not be qualified. Sam Louie>> Rick says that he would welcome regulation of life coaches. Rick Tamlyn>> I'm a fan of it, yeah. Bring it on. We do need to be regulated. Sam Louie>> But until it happens, he acknowledges that there's nothing to keep someone with little or no training from declaring themselves a life coach. He advises people to try a sample session and be sure that a prospective coach has been through a reputable program. Rick Tamlyn>> We are an organization that is governed by a worldwide regulatory agency called the International Coach Federation. They have a Code of Ethics. We have to sign it if we become a member of the organization. Sam Louie>> But Youngren believes that's not enough. He thinks coaching is close to therapy and should be licensed. Jeffrey Youngren>> There is a strong argument that coaching as a profession already fits under the licensing laws of many states. The definitions for psychology and marriage and family therapy might arguably include the profession of coaching. Sam Louie>> Rick disagrees. He says that therapy is focused on the past while coaching is focused on the future and achieving goals. Rick Tamlyn>> Whether it's weight loss or making money or whatever it is, or making a movie in this town and I want to do something creative. Lots of those kinds of conversations. It's a lot of accountability. Sam Louie>> But Youngren predicts that it's just a matter of time before some life coaches will be held accountable. Jeffrey Youngren>> Some of these people are going to get sued. As soon as coaches start getting sued for coaching or malpracticing coaching, if you will, it will start defining itself differently. Sam Louie>> Critics feel there is so much overlap between coaching and counseling that coaches should have training in mental health. Jeffrey Youngren>> Those coaches need to have some background in psychology and sociology. You just can't declare yourself to be a coach vis-à-vis a program. I think you have to have some, I would even say, post-graduate education in those areas to offer services. Rick Tamlyn>> If I, by the way, started coaching an interaction or a coaching relationship and there's something from their past that is constantly in the way, you know, like it keeps coming up that, "Well, my mother" or "My father" or whatever it is. If it keeps coming up in the conversation, I will say, "You know what? I invite you to go talk to a therapist about that." Sam Louie>> Whether life coaches will be regulated and licensed is still to be seen, but what is clear is that the profession continues to grow fast. Rick Tamlyn>> My phone rings off the hook these days. "When are you available, when are you available?" I can't keep up with the demand. There seems to be some permission to talk to a coach more than to a therapist now. Sam Louie>> As for Bob Pranga, he's met his goal of wanting to be famous at least for a moment. Michael Corbett>> "When celebrities need a prescription for a little holiday cheer, they call the only doctor in Hollywood that still makes house calls, Dr. Christmas." Sam Louie>> I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> Most of us would agree that our teachers are under-appreciated and underpaid, but that's where a twenty-five thousand dollar prize comes in, awarded by the Milken Family Foundation to exceptional teachers. This is their twentieth year of giving out the prize and the best part about it is that the teacher is completely surprised. We went to the big event last year at a school in Long Beach. It's a sunny afternoon at Cecil B. DeMille Middle School in Long Beach. The school band has taken the stage. Students have been told that it's a special school assembly to listen to state education officials, but the real reason for this gathering is a secret that only a handful of people in the room know. This teacher has no idea that he's about to be awarded twenty-five thousand dollars. The prize comes from the Milken Family Foundation. Among their spokesmen is comedian, actor and screenwriter, Robert Townsend, who tells the students how one teacher made a difference in his life. Robert Townsend>> "When I was a little kid, there was a teacher. His name was James Reed. I lived in the worst neighborhood on the west side of Chicago and he would pick me up and take me to speech festivals. One day, we had to read in front of everybody and the reading went like this. "Oedipus, Oedipus." And I read like this: "Oedipus, I pray not thy rage upon thy soul. Oedipus!" And the whole class went whoa." Lowell Milken>> "Good afternoon." Val Zavala>> Then Lowell Milken took the mike. He is co-founder of the Foundation that rewards one hundred outstanding teachers every year. He starts to drop hints about the real reason behind the gathering. Lowell Milken>> "Yes, I know a secret and I've known it for about three weeks now. But I was told that I couldn't tell anyone what that was until I came to your school today. Now does anybody in this room know what the words "financial prize" means? Could you come up here for a moment? Yeah, come on up. Now what is your name?" Karen>> "Karen". Lowell Milken>> "Karen, what grade?" Karen>> "Sixth". Lowell Milken>> "Sixth grade. Do you know what the words "financial prize" means?" Karen>> "Money?" Val Zavala>> Then he asked for some student volunteers. Lowell Milken>> "I want you to know that the person who receives this award receives a financial prize of this. That's right. And the person can use the money for any purpose whatsoever." Val Zavala>> Finally the surprise announcement. Lowell Milken>> "May I have the envelope, please? It gives me great pleasure to present the Milken Educator Award to an outstanding teacher and that teacher is James Orihuela. James, come on down here." [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> James was so stunned that it was hard to get him to the stage. James is from Denver and has been here since 1996. He teaches Spanish literature and he's worked intensely to raise the skills of Spanish-speaking students through a successful dual emersion program. His students have the fewest discipline problems in school and have received the most academic awards. Lowell Milken>> "Congratulations." Val Zavala>> And on top of all that, James organizes a yearly diversity talent show. Lowell Milken>> We're looking for people who are often young in the early part of their career or mid-career who not only have already distinguished themselves, but have the potential to do so much more. Val Zavala>> It took a few minutes for all of this to sink in. James Orihuela>> "The hardest thing is just trying to hold it together here. I mean, when they said it over there, I just about lost it over there. I don't know where this ride's going to take me, but I guess it's the first step and I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it and I've sure enjoyed what I do and I really do love my job. I tell that to my kids. I'm lucky. I'm lucky to do what I do. I'm lucky to have the kids that I work with. I hope it continues to be that way. Thank you for everything." Val Zavala>> Since the Milken National Educator Awards began back in 1987, more than fifty-four million dollars has been given out to more than two thousand teachers and each one has been surprised. Lowell Milken>> I have never been part of an announcement where the secret leaked out, but we've had a few instances where certain of the teachers, I think, may have known. [Film Clip] James Orihuela>> "I'm even now still trying to take it in. My hands are all sweaty and my knees are shaking. Overwhelming, overwhelming." Val Zavala>> "I know it's a little bit too early to ask, but do have any idea what you're going to do with the twenty-five thousand dollars?" James Orihuela>> "No. All I'm thinking is when I go home and tell my wife today." Val Zavala>> Research has shown that the single biggest factor at our schools for student achievement is having a talented teacher. [Film Clip] Lowell Milken>> "Let me ask you a question. Have you told your wife yet?" James Orihuela>> "No." Lowell Milken>> "Do you have your cell phone?" James Orihuela>> "Yes, I do." Lowell Milken>> "Call her right now." Val Zavala>> Finally, as the assembly settles down, it was time for James to make that phone call to his wife. James Orihuela>> "That's right. Let's see if she answers." Lowell Milken>> "Just tell her you won twenty-five thousand dollars." James Orihuela>> "Celia, you're not going to believe this (laughter). Yes, I did, in a sense. I don't even know where to begin. From the Milken Foundation, they came, they found me. The assembly that we're having today that I was telling you about? The superintendent, Jack McConnell, and everybody else? It was because they recognized me. They recognized me from the Foundation and they gave us a twenty-five thousand dollar grant to go with it. No, I'm not kidding (laughter)." Val Zavala>> Winners of the Milken Award get more than a big check. They get to go to Washington, D.C. for a professional development conference. Previous winners were on hand to give James an idea of what was to come. >> "When I tell you that your life is going to change, your life is going to change. In about five or six months when you go to D.C., you're going to be meeting with your senators, with your Congress people. You're going to have influence that you didn't even realize you had because you cared here. They came and found you and you need to like soak that in." Val Zavala>> California is facing a severe teacher shortage that will only get worse in the next decade. So although the spotlight was on James, the award was designed to impress students as well. Lowell Milken>> "I want you to think about becoming a teacher yourself. When you go through school and you think about the different careers that you could have, think of the positive impact that you could make in this community, in your state and in fact our nation by becoming a teacher. Thank you very much." Val Zavala>> One of this year's prizes went to Kim Tredick, a fifth grade teacher at Sulfur Springs Community School in Canyon Country. They say, whether it's Special Ed kids or gifted students, she's able to reach everyone. Congratulations, Kim. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> We're here at Wilmington at what appears to be a typical pizza takeout restaurant, but this company attracted national attention and criticism when it started a new policy. It can be summed up in two words: Aceptamos Pesos, "We Accept Pesos". The idea seemed like a no-brainer to owner, Brett Fielder. The company's target customers are Hispanics. With plenty of holiday trips to Mexico and all those extra pesos, why not spend them on pizza? Did you ever think you would get the kind of reactions it's gotten? Brett Fielder>> We never thought. I mean, we made the decision. We rolled out the program. We talked about it on a conference call on Friday and, by Monday morning, the news trucks were everywhere. Val Zavala>> What kind of reaction was it? Brett Fielder>> The first reaction was just amazement and a lot of press about the fact that, you know, a pizza chain was accepting pesos. Val Zavala>> Just the novelty of it. Brett Fielder>> Yes. But some of the conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingram picked up on the discussion and started talking about illegal immigration and how it was unpatriotic and -- Val Zavala>> -- these are national radio talk show hosts that got hold of the story? Brett Fielder>> Yes. So they started doing actual segments on it. O'Reilly did it on Fox. There were a number of conservative talk show hosts who picked it up, so then it started a discussion of is it unpatriotic? Are we encouraging illegal immigration? Should we not be taking pesos? That was what started the first news cycle. Our response to that, obviously, was simple. We did it as a marketing ploy for us. It was a way to pick up some of those extra pesos that people brought back home. Val Zavala>> Nothing political about it. Brett Fielder>> No, it has nothing to do with illegal immigration. Those are issues that should be discussed and addressed. This doesn't have anything to do with that. When I cross the border into Mexico, I can spend my dollars pretty much anywhere I go there. Our stores are in neighborhoods that are at least eighty percent Hispanic. Our folks are going back to forth to Mexico on a regular basis. They come back home with pesos. It makes perfect sense for us to accept them. Val Zavala>> Fielder points out that Wal-Mart stores, at least the ones along the border, accept pesos. Still, he got plenty of angry calls even to his home number. Brett Fielder>> The meanest was that I was going to be sorry. I mean, I got a couple of those. We were going to be sorry, you know. I had some threats to the people who work here. We increased security for a little while to make sure that things were going to be okay. Val Zavala>> In the meantime, the policy was working. In the first week, twenty percent of their pizzas were paid for with pesos. Since then, it's tapered off. But when we were there, some students came in eager to trade in their ten thousand dollar peso bill for a large pizza with pepperoni, but then a glitch. Brett Fielder>> "So apparently this one's old." >> "This one's old." Brett Fielder>> "It's not going to be any good to me when I take it to the bank." Val Zavala>> It turns out their bill was from 1988. >> They said our bill was old. Apparently, we went to Mexico in the 1980s and forgot we had that (laughter). Val Zavala>> (Laughter) A trip made a long time ago. >> A long time ago. Brett Fielder>> Mexico devalues their currency on a fairly regular basis. We have a chart of bills that are accepted by the Mexican banks, so we only accept those bills coming in. Otherwise, it's just like accepting a counterfeit twenty here. Val Zavala>> So you could not have redeemed the old one. It was worthless. Brett Fielder>> Couldn't have redeemed the old one. They're worthless after a period of time. Val Zavala>> Gotcha. Did you give them a free pizza? Brett Fielder>> Didn't give him a free pizza, but he had a two-for-one coupon, so he got two for one. It's two-for-one Tuesday. Val Zavala>> They use an exchange rate equivalent to what you'd get at a bank, which charges fees. But they're stopping at pesos, despite a demand from an unhappy caller. Brett Fielder>> This woman said to me, "You have to accept euros since you're accepting pesos." That wouldn't make sense for me because I guarantee I'm in a neighborhood where there aren't that many people who are traveling to Europe, so I wouldn't want to deal with another foreign currency. Val Zavala>> Fielder says the national exposure for this young company has far outweighed the negatives, including a big story on the number one Spanish language network, Univision. What's the long-term impact on your business? Has it boosted it or has it settled down? Brett Fielder>> I think it will have a permanent impact on business because brand awareness is very important. It brought a lot of new people into the store. All of the talk, all of the press, all of the conservative radio talk show hosts, they helped our business. They certainly didn't hurt it, so it brought a lot of new people into the store. We feel like we have a great quality product and they'll come back if they come here once. Val Zavala>> Well, Brett Fielder, thank you so much. You're a marketing pioneer here in Los Angeles. Brett Fielder>> I don't know about that, but thank you very much. Val Zavala>> So, should American companies start accepting the peso? We'd love to know what you think and you can let us know by going to our Blog at kcet.org and clicking on the Life and Times Blog. Val Zavala>> Shakespeare once wrote, "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child", and that's what Cris Franco, a member of the baby boomer generation, feels when he looks at youngsters these days. I'll let him explain. Cris Franco>> I recently overheard some twenty-somethings dissing us baby boomers blaming we seventy million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 for all the world's problems like pollution, war, karaoke. To you, I say, "Chill out, you spoiled little rug rats!" We are an excellent generation who overcame obstacles and advanced mankind despite being forced to ride backward in the last row of the station wagon facing the cars behind us. Our accomplishments are many. Boomers test drove today's classic toys like Slip and Slide sustaining paralyzing flesh burns from slipping in a dry spot. We were the first television generation. Long before the flat screen, our innocent eyes were subjected to RCA's rounded color television. "Bonanza", "Flipper", "Bewitched". It was like seeing everything through a fish bowl. It made no sense, well, except for "Flipper". We turned the forgotten war into "Mash", a smash sitcom that lasted three times longer than the actual Korean War. Let's see if you YouTubers can even get "Operation Enduring Freedom" into syndication. Boomers created the infomercials and that special studio audience double-clap that could make six people sound like sixty. But wait, there's more. You kids owe us a lot. Baby boomers served as the first diet soda lab rats sacrificing our taste buds so that you could enjoy today's miracle elixirs like Diet Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero that actually, kind of, sort of, maybe taste good. And we made the world safer by rejecting popcorn over an open flame ala Jiffy Pop and introducing microwave popcorn. Non-fat, low-salt, butter-flavored and all. Still, be careful when you open that bag. It's hot. Technologically, our advances are myriad. Only a few short decades ago, a television took five minutes to warm up. We had to learn the difference between the big hand and the little hand and cords kept us tethered to the phone. Now look at us. Getting tickets for driving under the influence of a cell phone. Cell phones are extremely distracting and they're all over the road with one in four drivers talking on them at any given time. It was baby boomers that ushered in an era of tolerance. We found nothing strange about Bert and Ernie living together. They just felt like it. Get it? Felt? Anyway, so what does all this mean? It means it's time for a truce between boomers and all the X, Y and Z Gens. If you stop blaming us for the state of the world, we'll share our pan-tossed popcorn next time the microwave is on the fritz. Mmmm. Val Zavala>> Oh, no, we won't. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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