We were lucky to catch up with Alfred Long Sr recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alfred, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?
Growing up, my only aspiration was to survive the streets of Chicago. Addiction to drugs, alcohol and the streets combined to guarantee me an early death. At that time, who would have thought I’d retire from AT&T as a Lead Training Manager responsible for training and coaching managers at call centers around the world?
My training at AT&T equipped me to empower our Managers on the basics of leading, motivating and gaining the respect of their sales teams.
When I retired, I became certified as a Life Coach and decided to start my own coaching business, “Renewed Mind Life Coaching LLC”.
After many starts and stops I decided to niche with the over-50 populace. Those who are retired or looking to retire and want to begin a new chapter in their lives.
Corporately, I help Churches and other organizations start and maintain Prison Ministries. I use the same strategies I learned at AT&T.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
It was not until 1998, when I finally decided to surrender my life to Jesus Christ, that the trajectory of my life took a drastic turn.
Before then, in 1976, I moved to St. Louis from Chicago after completing a one-year Christian recovery program (Teen Challenge). 1978, I married, and the Church I attended ordained me as an Elder. However, I wasn’t ready to settle down. I felt I had missed something because of my earlier years as a drug addict and alcoholic. In 1984, I left the Church and eventually divorced my first wife. For 14 years, I embarked on a journey to find what I thought I had missed from my youth. I started drinking again, married a second time, and watched as my life slowly started unraveling. I started working for General Motors, which has great pay and benefits. Yet, I couldn’t save money. 1994, I took a $100,000 buyout from General Motors, yet I squandered that money. Soon after that, I divorced my second wife, and my life continued to spiral downward. I drove a cab to supplement my income and to have the freedom to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering. In the summer of 1994, two young gang members stabbed me in the neck in a botched attempt to murder me.
I survived that yet continued on my downward spiral until 1998 while driving another cab, I drunkenly was involved in a head-on accident. In the middle of that crash, with the windshield shattering and the noise of twisted metal, I heard a quiet voice say, “This is what it will take for you, Al.” Even in my drunken state, I recognized God’s voice. Broken, I finally surrendered to God’s purpose for my life. I became active in Church again, resumed Prison Ministry, and conducted Addiction Recovery meetings. God blessed me to start a career at AT&T. I quickly moved up the corporate ladder and, after 19 years, in 2017, retired as a Lead Training Manager.
The life obstacles I overcame built a resilience in me that combined with my corporate training makes me an ideal Coach. I specialize in helping others build resilience in their lives by overcoming the mental, emotional, and spiritual obstacles that we encounter in the later seasons of life.
I have over forty-six years of experience in the Prison Ministry. God blessed me with the opportunity to initiate thriving prison ministries in two churches. My corporate training gives me insight and patience to navigate the administrative maze that oftentimes accompanies starting ministries in our penal institutions.
Renewed Mind Life Coaching LLC’s byline is that we “build resilience and encourage breakthrough”.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
After my retirement from AT&T I started experiencing several health challenges, In 2019 I contracted Hodgkins Lymphoma.
On the heels of that, I had a stroke caused by afib problems followed by another bout with cancer. This time salivary gland cancer.
In between all of that I had hip and shoulder replacement surgeries.
Through all of that God gave me the resilience to “keep it moving”.
I maintained my spiritual, mental and physical health by the disciplines of prayer, meditation and consistent physical exercise.
Most of all, I have resilience refined by the fire of afflictions.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Other than training/knowledge I think compassion and empathy is most helpful in succeeding in my field.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://renewedmindlc.com
