Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Johnston.
Doug, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in West Houston as the youngest of four brothers in a rough-and-tumble household where excellence in both academics and sports was fully expected. I was not a great athlete, so I focused more on the areas I could excel in, like schoolwork and languages, where I learned Spanish and German. I ultimately graduated from high school as President of the Student Body at St. John’s School, which is often rated as the #1 prep school in the South. I majored in finance and business at Washington & Lee University in Virginia and moved into commercial banking. I became one of the youngest bank presidents in US history at age 29 (approved after a personal interview with the Texas Commissioner of Banking). Much of my adult career was in California and Europe, where I helped to create and build Platinum Equity, LLC, which is involved in mergers & acquisitions and is now the largest private company in LA. In 2014 I began my involvement in an LA-based community give-back organization called Youth Business Alliance, where I taught scores of AP (Advanced Placement) classes at charter high school across Southern California. It was about that time that I began to articulate my deep interest in emotions, and began the 10-year research that led to Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart (375 pp – December 2025) which has been cited as the most comprehensive reference on emotions in the English language, and which covers 272 different emotional states through 8,000 quotes and phrases from thought leaders from all walks of life across 25 centuries. I am passionate about emotions, which have been chronically under-defined through the ages.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were plenty of struggles along the way, including two divorces. I learned a lot and often the hard way. But my daughter survived and thrived and was asked by the college faculty to give the Commencement Speech at her own graduation from Nursing School in May 2025 in Nashville. I adore her.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have an uncommon level of financial acumen, and I now serve as an ‘expert witness,’ hired by elite law firms across the US to assist them with complex high-stakes business disputes. My days alternate between consulting on these legal projects and my work in advancing the book. Aside from my daughter’s successes, I am most proud of the book. I am blessed with a remarkable memory and a remarkable ability to concentrate. How else could I write a 130,000-word dictionary?
What makes you happy?
Being with my daughter and writing are two things that make me very happy.
With my daughter, I love seeing how she creates her world. In writing, I can create entire worlds just sitting at my desk.
Pricing:
- Choosing Emotions on Amazon $18.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://choosingemotions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choosingemotions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Choosing-Emotions/61586310792690/
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Choosing-Emotions-Thinking-Acting-Heart/dp/B0G64F6TRD
