Hey!


Hey everyone! It's ME, Mark West! Thank you for checking out my page. I'm a Chicago-based actor, podcaster, and owner of Tour Chicago. I love food, stories and connecting with other people.

I have always tried to live my life in a simple way and found joy in the seemingly mundane. Full moments and fun experiences have always been important to me. Living is participating! I used to think this way of being was a bit naive and that I wasn't adulting if I wasn't worrying, but I now see how valuable this way of living is and how much it has added to my life and overall happiness. I want to share that with you, my Art of Living. Life is a journey, one we are all on. Instead of you vs. me, I believe the purpose of life is You and Me; we're meant to figure this out together. Life can be difficult. Trauma is real and life is not fair nor equal, but, no matter what is going on around you, there's always a good reason to laugh and have FUN.


Check out Real Talk with Mark West on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you stream your podcasts!

How Broad is your Emotional Vocabulary?

The lists below were developed and used throughout Nonviolent Communication (NVC) training, books and workbooks to help you better express a whole range of emotional states. They can also help you more easily connect to what you need in the moment. This list will help refer to specific emotions, rather than words that are vague or general. Words such as good and bad prevent the listener from connecting easily with what you might actually be feeling. For example, if we say, “I feel good about that,” the word good could mean happy, excited, relieved or any number of other emotions. In turn, in expressing our needs, we can often get tied to mixing up a basic human need like “support” with a strategy used to meet that need like “help with the housework,” (as in “I need support,” versus “I need you to help with the housework.”) Use the list below to practice getting as specific in your expression as possible.

Please visit their website to learn more about Nonviolent Communication.