Philip Richard Blue: A Life Coach Dedicated to Bringing Out Human Potential

After graduating from college in the United States in 2011, Philip Richard Blue went on a pilgrimage to try to figure out his next step in life. After deciding to come to China, he worked tirelessly to study Chinese. In 2012, he started his graduate studies at Peking University’s School of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences. 5 years later, he received his doctorate degree.

During college, he would often ponder such philosophical questions as the meaning of life, the meaning of studying, and how to become a better person. He came to a conclusion that, in order to learn about human psychology, he would have to study China. With the largest population in the world, he considered China to be a very important subject.

After coming to China, he managed to master Mandarin in a very short period of time while also better his understanding of Chinese culture and Chinese thinking.

When asked about his secret to learning Chinese, he said, “ the best way to learn Chinese is to memorize Chinese elementary school textbooks, from Deng Xiaoping to Lei Feng.” Apart from special occasions like international conferences, he basically did not speak English for 6 years.

Eventually, Philip’s hard work paid off, and he was accepted into Peking University. As a PhD student, he published numerous papers with his professor in major journals.

After graduating from PKU, he went back to the United States. He is currently a life coach at the Wright Foundation, and is dedicated to his research into bringing out human potential. He said, “life coaching is not about helping people achieve their goals, it’s about helping them become more themselves”.

Philip said, “A life coach is not a psychologist. A psychologist looks more to your past. It helps you figure out certain traumas or certain problems, whereas a life coach is more looking forward. It seeks the innate capacity and potential in human beings.”

He is our guest on BeidaRen today: Philip Richard Blue