I mention The Change Companies® often in my posts about aging. Perhaps a little more about this story may be helpful – and hopefully interesting. It’s about a belief, a mission and lots of hard work.
I started a behavior change company over 30 years ago called Serenity Support Services. It started on a shoestring with a total investment of $67,000 provided by a few business friends. The concept was simple: partner with hospital mental health and addiction treatment programs to create Interactive Journals so patients would feel more engaged with their own recovery.
Over the first couple of years, I worked with 32 hospitals dotted across the Midwest. I’d hang out for a week with the staff, figuring out what would work best with their patients. It was 80-hour weeks, lots of travel in cheap rental cars and nights at Motel 6s.
Of course, my interest in the latest research in behavior change grew with each hospital client. I learned a bunch from many behavior change experts, and I attempted to incorporate their work into Interactive Journals.
As our growing staff worked in other industries, particularly justice services, our name changed to The Change Companies®.
That’s it in a nutshell. Now, The Change Companies® has around 4,500 clients and puts Interactive Journals into the hands of over one million individuals each year.
And, from time to time, Motel 6 still leaves a light on for me.