Kurt D. Bruckmann Sr. is a leader in the understanding of Core Energy Dynamics. As a child, he experienced several untimely tragedies in the loss of his father and other family mentor figures. He turned to his teachings for them to embrace nature and its ever-guiding lessons of continual growth while in a continuum of change. As his life evolved Kurt went on to build and establish his own company while becoming one of the world's top precious metals traders on the floor of the commodities exchange in the World Trade Center. He is a two-time survivor of WTC attacks. He delivers his expertise of energy as the founder of ContInuum Core Coaching. Kurt teaches and guides people in understanding their core energy. "From Impossible To I'm Possible"
Kurt D. Bruckmann Sr., Core Energy Dynamics Master
What are some of the lessons you learned in your younger years?
I was born the middle of five children, which put me on a pathway to understanding how to relate to both older and younger generations. I also learned to spend time on my own. My childhood years were spent growing up in a wooded community, where I spent many hours each day playing in the woods, discovering nature’s many wonders and wildlife, which became my passion. Some of my fondest memories were going on hikes with my father. He would introduce and explain to me what it meant to be a part of the natural world. He made sure I understood not to fear animals or harm them but to respect them and their habitat.
My father was an accomplished athlete who made sure I played all sports, beginning at age five. His intention was for me to learn what it meant to play each game with all my heart and energy. His deeper message was that, no matter the outcome, win or lose, I would grow from each experience. He taught me to be a respectful athlete and not a sore loser or a boastful winner. He emphasized always doing my best and appreciating my teammates, coaches, and even the opposing team, regardless of the result.
I went on to play many different sports, eventually settling on ice hockey. It was through this journey as an athlete that I came to appreciate the discipline required to achieve a winning formula.
What did you do before becoming a Core Energy Dynamics Coach?
After my studies at the University of Delaware, I took a job on the floor of the Commodities Exchanges in the World Trade Center. The excitement of the marketplace, with hundreds of people standing shoulder to shoulder, yelling, waving their arms, and screaming back and forth as the split-second-changing prices of the world’s gold, silver, and copper markets unfolded, became my calling.
I eventually went on to start my own company, Bruckmann Trading Group (BTG). I was fortunate to secure the first billion-dollar trading fund, the Mint Group, as well as many of the world's leading central banks as my customer base.
Leaning into lessons I had learned from my father, my athletic career, and my college education, I was blessed to build one of the leading independently owned commodity floor trading companies in the world. I led my team with a fundamental understanding of the importance of working together diligently with kindness, respect, and belief in one another.
We learned to move from "The Me, to The We, to The Us." This mindset became the energy we adopted throughout the hectic ups and downs of the trading world. We embraced the energy of the moment and, to the best of our abilities, stayed focused on the now.
In 2012, the commodity industry became the first of all major businesses to transition from floor trading to an entirely online, computerized world. As a result, we were forced to close Bruckmann Trading Group.
Transition was in full bloom for my employees and me. Though we had to go our separate ways, we have all kept in touch to this day, often reminiscing about the constant energy we shared in the chaotic and stressful world of commodity trading.
How did your experience on the trading floor influence your approach to business development and leadership?
Spending twenty-eight years working in the trading pits of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The floor had thousands of people at a time running around, executing the prices of the world’s precious metals and other commodity markets. The intensity of the energy was in constant motion and extremely vibrant. It reminded me of looking at an ant hill, watching hundreds of tiny working ants, seemingly frantic, with endless energy, yet finding order in building their nest.
In chaos, there is an orderly method of finding calm and purpose in life. Understanding our core energy in times of stress is a powerful discipline that allows us to execute to the best of our abilities. As head trader, I would search for opportunities to find the right price that fit the needs of the client. I focused on taking the right action at the right moment, much like the discipline of core energy dynamics. Though daunting and challenging, the energy on the floor was intense, similar to moments we all face in troubling times in life.
Proper leadership was essential in keeping myself centered while fostering teamwork to stay focused and successfully accomplish each task. Just as in daily life, when we experience stress and crises, we need to remain fully aware so we can work through our situations to achieve the desired outcome.
When trading errors occurred, some of which could be financially costly, it was essential that my employees and I pulled together with a collaborative attitude to correct the error immediately. We refrained from judgment or pointing fingers at who caused the problem.
Time was ticking. We united and corrected the issue so we could keep moving forward with strength. Perseverance was a must.
These are some of the tools I acquired while working on the trading floor. Lessons I was taught years before became major tools that I apply in my business life to this day. I called upon them in every moment while working as a floor trader. I knew then that working intimately with energy and understanding its dynamics was a gateway to navigating life’s many challenging and difficult moments.
What motivated you to pursue a Mastery in Core Energy Dynamics from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC)?
I had heard of the coaching industry many years before it started gaining traction. I found it intriguing. I kept my eye on it, but I wanted something more than what it was offering. I was still enjoying my commodities business but remained curious.
After the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, I was offered a position as a hockey coach for a local high school, Rumson-Fair Haven in New Jersey, which I had played for as a student. I initially turned it down because it didn’t fit into my schedule with my commodities business. At the time, it seemed like too much. I was fully committed to my employees and team, particularly after we survived the WTC attacks.
The opportunity presented itself again in 2002. At that point, with the help and full support of my employees, I was able to maintain my business with BTG while commuting to the ice rink in time to take on the coaching position. Having gone through two attacks on the WTC, I found it to be a spiritual calling. The ice rink became my place of sanctuary.
I had a fantastic six years coaching the players. We formed a bond that exists to this day. I was able to deliver many life lessons through the constant transitions that occur in the game. It’s filled with collaborative playmaking and play-disrupting, with co-creative play and recovery.
Hockey is a game of constant motion. It’s fast-paced, much like the trading floor and the world we live in. My life was in a continuum of high-energy flow. I’d go from the trading floor to the hockey rink. The days were filled with constant energy. I had found a zone of continued growth through the combination of being involved with both. So-called Heaven for me in many ways.
After the 2008 hockey season, I stepped down from my coaching duties. As I continued to focus on BTG, the floor trading industry was hearing rumblings of being taken online. Sure enough, in 2012, the trading floor closed. I went on to spend a few years trading from an office atmosphere. The energy was very different from the trading floor, and I began to lose interest in the trading industry. I took some time away and did some soul-searching. This is when I looked into iPEC. Energy was calling me again.
When I discovered their Mastery Program of Core Energy Dynamics in Leadership, Wellbeing, Performance, and Transition, and that only a few people in the world had completed the Mastery of all four, I had found my home. I knew then that my true calling of "helping people help themselves" through the understanding of how core energy dynamics work was a must.
I felt that all of my life transitions had culminated into a format that I knew I would apply wholeheartedly for the rest of my life, most importantly, to the world around me. I had a very clear moment when I realized that this concentration in coaching was meant for me. I had been living it since the day my father first started educating me on how energy shows up in all we do. I knew the understanding of energy was never going to leave me, and I would never leave it.
How did your work with the New Jersey Titans Hockey Team exemplify the impact of your Core Energy Dynamics Program?
In March 2022, during the regular season, the New Jersey Titans North American Hockey League (NAHL) team heard about the success I was delivering with the Core Energy Dynamics Program. They were very interested in learning more. Once I sat down with the owners, management, and on-ice coaching squad and explained the program to them, they hired me on the spot.
The players, ranging in age from 18 to 21, were striving to advance to the professional level or Division I college hockey. Applying the Core Energy Dynamics Program, I taught the coaches and players to embrace the core process. They learned to apply the principles of awareness, acceptance, validation, creating opportunity, and making conscious choices, while trusting the process, into their transition, ultimately meeting their transformation as individuals and as a united team. They quickly engaged with the program, making it part of their everyday practice, creating their success formula.
The coaches and players embraced the program and applied it first to their personal lives, then to their roles as coaches and athletes. Working with this new knowledge of self-awareness and acceptance, the team became resilient and created new opportunities, trusting each other through their continuum of change, both on and off the ice.
The Titans went on to win in epic and historic form. In the last game of the regular season, which they needed to win in order to make the playoffs, they were behind by one goal. With just one second left in the game, they scored to tie it and send it into overtime, which they won.
Now in the quarterfinals, and once again in a must-win game to advance to the semifinals, the Titans were behind by one goal in the final seconds. Again, with just one second on the clock, they tied the game, sending it into overtime once more, and won, securing their place in the semifinals.
The entire league, including opposing coaches, players, and fans, was intimidated, shocked, and spooked. Talk spread quickly about how the Titans seemed filled with magic. The Core Energy Dynamics Program was in full swing.
The energy in the Titans' locker room was no longer in question. They all knew they were experiencing something that would live in them forever. As young men, they had learned life-altering lessons in believing in themselves, trusting their process, and taking full action, knowing that no matter the obstacles, they could overcome and conquer while achieving their desired outcome.
Now, they were in the semifinals. With one minute and forty-seven seconds left in the game, once again, they were behind by one goal. They went on to tie it, putting the game into overtime, which they won to reach the finals.
The New Jersey Titans then faced Alaska for the championship. All of the NAHL and its followers were on the edge of their seats in disbelief. Still cast as the underdogs but unfazed, they went on to defeat Alaska 3-1, securing their first National Title and the coveted Robinson Cup.
By accepting, believing, and taking action in the Core Energy Dynamics Program, the Titans learned to understand the energy of moving from "The Me, to The We, to The Us." The team had become a proven, impenetrable “Success Posse,” empowering them to stay present, execute with full energy, and trust the process. They found their complete zone and flow together, achieving undeniable, sustainable success.
What is your work inspired by?
The inspiration that drives me in life, work, and my business career is "Helping People Help Themselves." Ever since I was a young boy, I have been empathetic and compassionate toward others. I have always found tremendous gratitude and comfort in helping people who are struggling in one way or another.
I am drawn to listening to others with a sympathetic and constructive ear.
I have experienced my fair share of trauma and difficult transitions in my life, which have inspired me to help those who are going through the same or similar moments, including feeling uncomfortable, defeated, lonely, hurt, or stuck in dark thoughts and places. Helping the corporate world, entrepreneurs, and athletes of all walks, as well as people battling addictions and seeking recovery, while finding solutions to stressful issues, including breakdowns in performance and communication skills, is part of my calling.
Having been blessed with the innate ability and desire to understand that our core energy and its dynamics drive how we react to all things in life is my power. I am fortunate to help people believe in and trust their process so that they may "Strive and Thrive" while taking action, going "From Impossible to I'm Possible."
