Michael Alan "Mickey" Singer (or Michael A. Singer; born 6 May 1947) is an American author, journalist,

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

, and former

software developer Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

. Singer is best known for his writings on

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, and

New Age philosophy New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

, and two of his books on the subject, ''The Untethered Soul'' (2007) and ''The Surrender Experiment'' (2015), were ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Singer established the Temple of the Universe, a yoga and meditation center in Alachua,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, in 1975. Singer is also involved in the medical software industry. In 1981, he co-founded Medical Manager, now called Greenway Health, which marketed software that helped medical practitioners manage and

digitize Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ ...

their billing records. In 2002, Medical Manager and its subsidiaries were bought by

WebMD WebMD is an American corporation which publishes online news and information about human health and well-being. The WebMD website also includes information about drugs and is an important healthcare information website and the most popular cons ...

, in an acquisition valued at roughly $5 billion. Singer continued his work in physician software strategies at WebMD, before resigning in 2005. In 2010, Singer was prosecuted in relation to

Life and career

Singer was born into a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, but grew up in Miami. His father was a stockbroker. He earned a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Florida in 1969. An early marriage ended in divorce in 1971. Singer studied economics at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and was awarded a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1971. While working on a doctorate program, Singer reportedly had a spiritual awakening and went into seclusion to focus on meditation and yoga. After refusing to write a dissertation, Singer wrote and submitted his first book, ''The Search for Truth'', to his professor instead. One professor on the committee got Singer in contact with a publisher, Shanti Publications, which published ''The Search for Truth'' in 1974. This experience inspired him to establish the Temple of the Universe in 1975, a meditation center in Alachua,

, open to all men and women regardless of religion. That same year, Singer published his second book, ''Three Essays on Universal Law'', exploring themes of

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

, fate, and love. In 1981, he co-founded Medical Manager, which marketed software that helped doctors manage their patient and billing records. Medical Manager was taken public in 1997, registering $45 million in stock. In 2000, Medical Manager was recognized by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

for its achievements in information technology. In 2002, Medical Manager was bought by

, in an acquisition valued at roughly $5 billion after buying each share for $55 each. As part of the deal, Singer remained at WebMD as the company's executive vice president of physician software strategies, and chief software architect of WebMD Practices Services, which Medical Manager was incorporated into. On February 9, 2005, Singer resigned from the company. In 2006, Medical Manager was renamed Emdeon, and was sold by WebMD to

Sage Software The Sage Group plc, commonly known as Sage, is a British multinational enterprise software company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. it is the UK's second largest technology company, the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise res ...

, a private equity firm, for $565 million; five years later, Sage Software was bought out by

Vista Equity Partners Vista Equity Partners Management, LLC is an American private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. It is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, managing over $100 billion in assets. Vista Eq ...

, an investment firm based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, for $320 million. Singer published his third book, ''The Untethered Soul'', in 2007. In the book, Singer explores themes of

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, the

meaning of life The meaning of life is the concept of an individual's life, or existence in general, having an intrinsic value (ethics), inherent significance or a Meaning (philosophy), philosophical point. There is no consensus on the specifics of such a conce ...

, and New Age philosophical theories on the concept of self. The book rose to popularity in 2012 after Singer appeared on '' Super Soul Sunday'' to promote it, giving his first ever televised interview to host

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

. After the interview, ''The Untethered Soul'' was featured as a ''New York Times'' bestselling book, Singer's first book to do so, where it spent seven weeks on the list. Singer continued his thesis in ''The Surrender Experiment'', published in 2015, and ''Living Untethered'', published in 2022.

Securities fraud scandal

On December 22, 2009, in relation to his time at WebMD, Singer was prosecuted by the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, along with other members of Medical Manager's top management staff, for

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information.FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

and

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

, who executed a search warrant on Medical Manager's offices in Florida and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 2003. On January 11, 2010, Singer entered into a

deferred prosecution agreement A deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), which is very similar to a non-prosecution agreement (NPA), is a voluntary alternative to adjudication in which a prosecutor agrees to grant amnesty in exchange for the defendant agreeing to fulfill certain ...

and agreed to forfeit $2.5 million in settlements. Following this, the charges against Singer were dropped. Six executives of Medical Manager eventually pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. Singer has contended he was framed by another top executive, who Singer says invented the fraud story in order to "work a deal" with the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

to reduce their own punishment. These claims remain unverified.

Publications

Singer has published five books in the spirituality genre.

''The Search for Truth'' (1974)

''The Search for Truth'' (1974) is Singer's first book. According to Singer, this book was written at the request of his professor at the

. After Singer refused to write a doctoral dissertation, the professor suggested he at least write and turn in something and give him "something to read".

''Three Essays on Universal Law'' (1975)

''Three Essays on Universal Law'' (1975) is Singer's second book, which continues along the theme of his previous book.

''The Untethered Soul'' (2007)

''The Untethered Soul'' (2007) is Singer's first ''New York Times'' bestseller. It is a collection of lectures which cover topics on yoga, philosophy, the concept of self, the meaning of life, and the theory of mind. The book caught the attention of talk show host

, with whom Singer later gave his first televised interview.

''The Surrender Experiment'' (2015)

''The Surrender Experiment'' (2015) is Singer's second bestselling book. In the autobiography, Singer describes his journey of how he became interested in meditation, how he started the Temple of the Universe and the Medical Manager Corporation, among other things. Singer mixes his life story with teachings of his philosophy, and the central theme of the book is his attempts at "surrendering yourself to life itself", and not letting his personal ego intervene with the flow of life. He identifies ''The Three Pillars of Zen'' (1965) by

Philip Kapleau Philip Kapleau (August 20, 1912 – May 6, 2004) was an American Zen Buddhist teacher. He trained in the Harada–Yasutani tradition, which is rooted in Japanese Sōtō and incorporates Rinzai-school koan study. He established Rochester Zen C ...

and ''

Autobiography of a Yogi ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' by Paramahansa Yogananda is a spiritual classic published in 1946. It recounts Yogananda's life, his search for his guru, and his teachings on Kriya Yoga. The book has introduced many to meditation and yoga and has ...

'' (1946) by

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian and American Hindu monk, yoga, yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga school, Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self ...

as his influences, naming them responsible for starting his lifelong exploration of

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

and

''Living Untethered - Beyond the Human Predicament'' (2022)

Singer continued his thesis in ''The Untethered Soul'' in this book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Michael Alan Living people 1947 births American writers Healthcare company founders