Greg Marcus has worn many hats in his time. He has a PH.D in biology from MIT and worked for 10 years as a research scientist. Later he became a marketer in the genomics industry for almost ten years, and had to overcome a workaholic lifestyle. Then, he became a stay at home dad, writer, and coach.
Today, Greg is a practitioner, facilitator, and innovator of American Mussar, a 21st century spiritual practice for an authentic and meaningful life. He also is a Rabbi-in-training at AJRCA, and officiates at Jewish funerals after doing an internship as a grief counselor at Mission Hospice and Home Care.
Practitioner
Mussar has absolutely changed my life. My spiritual journey started the day that I realized that I turned my employer into a false idol. I cut my hours by a third without changing jobs in less than a year. Mussar taught me why I was a workaholic, and gave me the tools to bring healing and balance into my life. I am indebted to Rabbi Jennifer Clayman for first introducing me to Mussar, to my teacher Alan Morinis for his books and wisdom, and the organization he founded, The Mussar Institute, for my ongoing mussar education.
Want to start your own Mussar journey? Take the free Soul Trait Profile Quiz.
Facilitator
I started teaching and facilitating Mussar groups within months of starting to practice it myself. There is no better way to learn something than to teach it to others, and I owe a debt of gratitude to all of my former and current students, who joined me on this journey of personal transformation. First, I created my own curriculum, in which I selected Soul Traits that I thought were particularly relevant for work-life balance. My first class was called “Achieving Work-Life Balance Through the Practice of Mussar.”I taught five classes, added five more, and then five more. What started as a short project became a year long course.
In January 2015, I enrolled in the Manchim training program at The Mussar Institute. and in October I started facilitating the TMI class A Season of Mussar. I organized my first live event in May 2015.
In September 2016, I created a Mussar Parenting class to help me deal with my teen daughters. You can get a Mussar Parenting Curriculum here to launch a lay led program in your community here.
Please sign up for our email list to get the zoom link to the American Mussar Weekly Community gathering. Since March 2020 we’ve met weekly on zoom. No background needed.
Innovator
For almost ten years, I worked as a marketer, helping guide cutting edge technology for genetics research to market. I loved helping invent new ways for people to do things, and to help create new markets. I felt a bit like Santa, giving the gift of a problem solved. Today I help empower Jewish organizations to innovate too.
I started innovating almost as soon as I started teaching Mussar. (Mussar has a long history of innovation, going back at least as far as Rabbi Israel Salenter who started the Mussar movement in the 19th Century.) It started with spectrum diagrams for each Soul Trait, and progressed to the development of American Mussar. My second book “The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions: Finding Balance through the Soul Traits of Mussar” is available now on Amazon.
Since 2019 I have been enrolled in the Rabbinical Program at the Academy of Jewish Religion California, a trans-denominational institution.
Greg Marcus Biography
Greg Marcus has a BA in Biology from Cornell University, and earned his Ph.D. in biology from MIT. Greg uses he/him for gender pronouns. He worked for ten years as a marketer in the Silicon Valley genomics industry, after which he became a stay-at-home dad, writer, life balance coach, and biotech consultant. Greg’s first book, Busting Your Corporate Idol: Self-Help for the Chronically Overworked, is a five star Amazon best seller. Greg resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two cats, enjoying visits from his young-adult daughters when they are in town.
See Greg Marcus Blog Posts Here
Greg Marcus Media Appearances
Greg Marcus was a frequent guest and cohost of Cooking with Ryan Scott on KGO 810, and has appeared on radio programs and podcast coast to coast.
Hear Greg talk about Mussar with Rabbi Sol Solomon on “Dave’s Gone By” hosted by Dave Lefkowitz. April 4, 2015. More info
Greg describes Mussar in the JWeekly article Study more, be a better person — the way of Mussar by Drew Himmelstein. March 26, 2015. Read now
Former Silicon Valley workaholic now leads others in Mussar way of life by Drew Himmelstein September 30, 2016 JWeekly.
Selected Greg Marcus Podcast Interviews
Mindful Parenting in a Messy World with Michelle Gale Podcast
To schedule Greg Marcus for media interviews, Email him here.