I live in Los Angeles, but spending a year or two in SE Asia, currently in Da Nang. My coworker from LA arrives on Feb 24, and we are off to Hue, Nah Trang, then Bangkok, Bali, Lombok, Gili Islands, Java, and anywhere couchsurfing takes us, Back to Da Nang for another 3 months after Indonesia. Love to meet and stay with other travelers. Hit me up if you wanna hang out. And if you can host me and my friend anywhere, I will host you in Los Angeles, blocks from Beverly Hills and UCLA.

I'm a published author, with a literary agent in San Francisco, so I still do some screenwriting. Was once a barber, then went to University of Chicago, then to film school and worked in TV & movies, produced some stuff for Oprah, also worked as a paralegal, then went to Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, and now i live in LA and work for the state of California in healthcare.

Into travel, friends, books, ideas, people, places, music. Witty, clever, well-traveled, cool, laid-back, geeky.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In the 1990s we only had Lonely Planet books and Couchsurfing, so I surfed across Asia, and made some lifetime friendships. I'm also a fantastic host in Los Angeles, I lived in Long Beach, Hollywood, Burbank, and West Hollywood while working in film and TV, now in Westwood and love being part of this amazing community.

Interests

ideas, books, psychology, science, history. science ai

• animals
• writing
• books
• flowers
• traveling
• music
• backpacking
• history
• psychology
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

love music and books and podcasts

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Wrote a book that sold and was published around the world. It was a textbook at NYU where i guest-lectured, here are a few professional blurbs:

“Concise, accessible, and indescribably powerful.” 
—David Geffen, cofounder of DreamWorks SKG

"The Brain Mechanic keeps the smiles coming."
—Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple

“I feel brighter and better having read it!” 
—Carole Bayer Sager, singer, painter, and Oscar—and Emmy-winning songwriter

“Great book.”
—Sheri Salata, executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show

"Only the brightest minds can distill a complex subject into drinkable parts. Spencer Lord does just that in the ‘Brain Mechanic.’ Drink it up. It goes down smooth, and will change the way you view the world."
—Carole Radziwill, Emmy-winning journalist, author of 'What Remains,' Real Housewife of NYC

“A good brain mechanic is hard to find. Usually you wind up in a chop shop. And the replacement parts are inferior. Spencer has changed all that. He offers a one-stop service and you’re out and running smooth before lunch. This may sound glib, but you’ll feel the same way when you realize how simple it is and how stupid you were not to have realized it before you drove into that wall.”
—Bruce Vilanch, comedy writer for the Academy Awards and multiple Emmy winner

“Mr. Lord uses letters like words, words like thoughts, thoughts like tools, tools like dreams, and dreams like reality...”
—Christopher G. Ciccone, artist, film director, artistic director, dancer,, and author of Life with My Sister Madonna

“Spencer Lord is a not only a mechanic of the brain but a life enlightener and surgeon of the soul.”
—Mario Cantone, writer, comedian, and Tony-nominated actor.

"I was using The Brain Mechanic cognitive skills the very same day I read the book. The elevator in my building was under repair, and I used a Brain Mechanic "alternate positive scenario" to avoid feeling angry about the inconvenience, and actually be happy about taking the stairs. I love Spencer's book, and highly recommend it for everyone.”
—Sally Kirkland, Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning actress

“Spending one night with Spencer Lord’s Brain Mechanic can change your life.”
—Lori Andrews, professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, legal chair for the Human Genome Project, and author of The Silent Assassin

“This is heavyweight psycho-spiritual guidance doled out with a ladle of honey. Spencer is the quintessential affable guru—friendly, approachable, flexible. His ‘emotional algebra’ provides an invaluable formula for liberation, empowering each of us to be our own brain mechanic instead of a sniveling victim to the false self. A ‘should read’ for spiritual seekers—one which I will be using at Columbia College with my Mystical Consciousness students.”
—Elizabeth-Anne Stewart, Ph.D., author and professor at Columbia College

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Indonesia, Thailand, United States