MONEY

Ingram launches Gulch center to promote purposeful living

Jamie McGee
jmcgee@tennessean.com

Two Nashville-area entrepreneurs are combining their passions to create a business they hope will help people achieve what many perceive as an elusive quest: living with purpose.

Stephanie Ingram, who helped create Currey Ingram Academy and Vanderbilt University's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, is joining forces with Louis Upkins Jr., an author and speaker on well-being, to create Well Placed Smile. The Nashville business, opening Oct. 16, seeks to help people build a better life and provides a process designed to support them.

"People are living, but they are not living completely," Upkins said. "With an intentional plan, you can have the life you really want versus the life you just kind of stumble upon."

Well Placed Smile will use a curriculum from Lifebook, a life-development business Upkins previously led as CEO, and focuses on 12 aspects of a person's life, such as character, health, career, relationships, parenting, quality of life and life vision. The company is specifically tailored for individuals, corporate leaders, college students and athletes who could benefit from additional focus on their lives outside of the workplace or gym.

Well Placed Smile is located in a former run-down mechanic shop on Gleaves Street in the Gulch.

Local architect Will Meyer transformed the 15,000-square-foot space into a large, open room with tall ceilings, plus long, white curtains and sand-colored couches. Every detail of the design is intentional and is meant to contribute to an atmosphere of peace and calmness, free of clutter and distraction.

At the new facility, participants — referred to as guests — will meet for four days, taking part in group sessions, self-reporting their own visions and struggles and developing tailored plans that will help them achieve their objectives.

Finding direction is a significant challenge for college students, who after years of being on a prescribed path are faced with a wide-open future and often have little understanding of what is most important to them, Upkins said. And, for athletes — college or professional — who are accustomed to even more structure and attention from coaches and fans, navigating life after a sports career ends can be especially daunting.

Similarly, corporations may suffer if leaders or staff are troubled by factors in their personal lives that are often neglected for the sake of the company. If businesses can help employees address their whole life, the company stands to gain, Upkins said.

"People value purchase orders, transactions, titles, money, prestige, but I don't think they put the same set of values on family, legacy, intentionality, until something tragic happens," Upkins said. "You have to be intentional about it."

He points to Melinda Emerson, who has developed a nationally recognized, professional brand as the Small Biz Lady, as an example. She went through a Lifebook program in Chicago last year that prompted her to take ownership of her problems with her ex-husband and has allowed her to be a better mother and enjoy her success more.

"My life wasn't exactly where I wanted it be, even though my business was," she said. "It helped me get in touch with what was really important and what was causing my roadblocks and how to remove it."

The cost of the four-day program is $2,995 for individuals and $4,995 for couples — a price that Upkins says can pale in comparison to the cost of not properly addressing one's challenges (Think divorce, job loss, medical bills or an ill-suited degree). He argues that struggling with purpose is not just the plight of the affluent, but one that is difficult for all income levels.

Ingram and Upkins describe their dreams for the center with earnest enthusiasm and a genuine belief in the curriculum's power. They are hopeful that the center will be well-received locally and nationally, and they also envision it being used as a space for lectures or events, where high-profile thought leaders and authors can share their ideas.

"It really feels aligned with our culture as a city," Upkins said. "We want to be part of the reason people are finding joy in their lives."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.