Anthony Cotter knows what it’s like to be at the bottom of the barrel, without a roof over his head, wandering the streets with no clear direction, to turning his life around through conscious lifestyle choices.
Choices that included giving up drugs and alcohol, becoming vegan, receiving specialized training and certifications and starting a company called Whole Life Goals.
At Odds with His Upbringing
Readily admitting he had a strong foundation for conscious living due to his mother’s impact early in life, Anthony’s father had the opposite impact.
Anthony health-conscious mother and party-friendly father raised him and his older brother in Queens, New York. His mother taught her boys yoga, meditation and raised Anthony vegetarian from birth.
His mother and father divorced when Anthony was five, and he and brother lived with an abusive stepfather for the next few years. After his mother’s passing on Christmas Eve, Anthony and his brother moved in with their drug-addicted father. His brother would wind-up in Rikers Island, later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
This was just the start of a downward spiral for Anthony. Escaping the abusive home environment, Anthony felt safer on the streets, fending for himself from the age of 15 than living under the same roof with his stepfather.
Being drawn to drugs and alcohol, Anthony hit rock bottom with no direction, money, home or self-respect.
Turning His Life Around
Anthony’s life turned around through a series of experiences including giving up all mind-altering substances, tapping into much of what his mother taught him as a child including yoga, meditation and eating a diet void of animal products.
He was determined to live a productive life, obtaining certifications in several modalities including food, mindset, yoga and finances. From there he started Whole Life Goals.
Whole Life Goals connects certified professionals to people seeking to increase their health, wealth and happiness.
A turning point for Anthony was the book, Diet for a New America by John Robbins. Until he read the book Anthony had not connected the dots on what he ate with animal suffering. Although raised to not eat meat, the spiritual connection hadn’t occurred until he read the book.
Around the same period, he was introduced to raw eating. After hearing world renowned raw food expert David Wolff at a conference, Anthony decided to go completely raw in his eating. As a result, his yoga and meditation practices improved.
Benefits of a Plant Based Diet
There is plenty of evidence that a plant based diet will improve one’s health. Whether it be scientific research, medical results or simply from those who have chosen this way of eating, plant-based foods are far more effective in giving us a healthy lifestyle than virtually any other protocol.
For Anthony, his most obvious benefits are:
• Clarity of mind
• Focus
• Energy
• Consistent energy
As a result of improving his mindset, focus and energy, Anthony put his attention to creating resources that would benefit others.
In addition to becoming a certified yoga instructor, certified food chef, meditation teacher, Anthony also became a certified financial broker. All of his life choices contribute to the vision of Whole Life Goals.
Whole Life Goals Four M’s of a Fulfilled Life
At Whole Life Goals, the focus is on matching providers with individuals seeking specific services. All providers must be certified professionals.
From the Whole Life Goals website…
“Whole Life Goals is about connecting certified professionals to people seeking to increase their health, wealth and happiness. We have created a community in which all of our members communicate and flourish for the betterment of all.”
The four areas of emphasis are:
• Movement
• Meals
• Mind
• Money
The overreaching goal is to give people the resources to live a healthier life.
Recommended Reading
Anthony recommends people educate themselves on healthy eating and live. One of his favorite authors is Gabriel Cousens M.D.
Dr. Cousens is the author of Conscious Eating, Creating Peace by Being Peace: The Essene Sevenfold Path among other books on a more spiritual way to live with food as a foundational aspect of our spiritual well-being.
Most of Dr. Cousens’ books are available in Kindle format on Amazon. CLICK HERE to access.
Both Anthony and I recommend, Diet for a New America by John Robbins as well as The World Peace Diet by Dr. Will Tuttle.
The Connection is Real
There is a definite connection between the foods we eat and our ability to meditate, connect with source, practice yoga and have a deeper connection to purpose.
As an ethical vegan, Anthony Cotter would love to see more people become fully aware of their food consumption and how it connects to their spirituality.
Anthony’s goal is to do all he can through Whole Life Goals to achieve this out.
For more information on Whole Life Goals, whether as a provider or member, visit http://www.WholeLifeGoals.com