Feb. 2014  
 
GREETINGS!

Happy, resilient 2014!

Last December I came across the best book I'd found in all of 2013 on building resiliency. And the author herself admits her research findings direct us to do some things that are in our current culture downright "radical." After implementing the basics of resiliency-building detailed in the publications included on resiliency.com, the next step is to implement the "radical" resiliency-building suggestions detailed by researcher Dr. Brene Brown. Read on to see some of these crucial recommendations....

AND, a couple of weeks ago, the television program "60 Minutes" highlighted the best corporate resiliency-building program I have ever seen. Called "Year Up," this Fortune 500 program "trains thousands of disadvantaged youth for internships that often lead to corporate jobs -- jobs that companies have found hard to fill." More details about this amazing program are also included below.

Join us in warm, sunny Los Angeles April 7 & 8 for the Resiliency Training Program Training of Trainers, which has attracted attendees from all over the world during the past 15 years. This one-of-a-kind training provides the most comprehensive resiliency training available...and this is the last chance to attend during this school year. (Scroll down for more information or to register.)

"The Gifts of Imperfection" is one of the most freeing, joy-building, and resiliency-fostering books I have ever read!
Dr. Brene Brown began her research career more than a decade ago studying what gets in the way of authentic caring human connections (which are key to resiliency, as well). Along the way, she realized that perfectionism, born of what she calls "shame" that infects us all, is at the core of our disconnect. In reviewing the stories of thousands of people in her research, she also found people who--despite having lots of adversity and difficulty and struggles in their lives--wound up "living these amazing and inspiring lives." She describes these people as "Wholehearted" and combed their stories to find out:
  1. "What did these folks value?"
  2. "How did they create all of this resilience in their lives?"
  3. "Can anyone create a Wholehearted life?" and
  4. "What does it take" to create such a life?

She admits that what she found out about how these people live was so different than her life, it caused her to have a "breakdown" i.e., "Spiritual Awakening" and to go into therapy. She says she was living the life she was "supposed to live" and not the life Wholehearted People live.

The foundational key to "Wholehearted living" according to Dr. Brown "is about engaging our lives from a place of worthiness." She says we must "wake up in the morning and think, 'No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.'" And she writes in detail about how all of us grow up to some degree or another feeling "not good enough." She then offers 10 "Guideposts to Wholehearted Living" and more importantly HOW to live them. These include:

  • "Letting go of what people think."
  • "Cultivating self-compassion."
  • "Cultivating a resilient spirit."
  • "Letting go of scarcity and fear of the dark."
  • "Cultivating intuition and faith."
  • "Cultivating creativity" through "Letting go of comparison."
  • "Cultivating play and rest" including "Letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth."
  • "Letting go of self-doubt and 'supposed to.' "
  • "Cultivating laughter, song, and dance."


Just reading this list reveals why some of it IS "radical."

Dr. Brown writes, for example, in the chapter on "cultivating play and rest": "At times, when I was interviewing people for my research, I felt like an alien--like a visitor trying to figure out the customs and habits of people living lives that looked incredibly different from mine." Having fun, playing, incorporating spending some non-purpose-driven fooling around time into their lives as well as getting plenty of rest were characteristics of the Wholehearted.

In this recommendation and several of the others, Dr. Brown notes that "in today's culture--where our self-worth is tied to our net worth, and we base our worthiness on our level of productivity--spending time doing purposeless activities is rare." However, she cites additional social science research that shows that "the opposite of play is not work--the opposite of play is depression." And she speaks this additional important truth: "We are a nation of overstressed adults raising overscheduled children." AND: "If we want to live a Wholehearted life, we have to become intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self worth." She adds these recommendations are "at best, counterculture." In other words...radical.

This is a life-changing book, and a must-read for anyone who wants to cultivate resiliency at a deeper level. The book is filled with "DIG deep; Get Deliberate" activities. For example Dr. Brown writes, "One of the best things that [our family has] has ever done is making the 'ingredients for joy and meaning' list. I encourage you to sit down and make a list of the specific conditions that are in place when everything feels good in your life. Then check that list against your to-do list and your to-accomplish list. It might surprise you."

"Year UP" builds resiliency in the corporate world for teens who have too little meaningful opportunity


Year Up describes its model as the "High Support/High Expectation Model" (which are the exact recommendations of resiliency research!)

On its website, Year Up describes its mission this way:

"Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education."

"We achieve this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships and college credits. Our holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency."

The "60 Minutes" report highlights the "thousands of graduates [that] are now working at companies like J.P. Morgan, American Express and Facebook. The result is that many of the country's most powerful CEOs are finding that they can do well by also doing good."

HERE IS HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS ACCORDING TO THE YEAR UP WEBSITE:

For the first six months of the program, students develop technical and professional skills in the classroom. Students then apply those skills during the second six months on an internship at one of Year Up's 250+ corporate and government partners. Students earn up to 23 college credits and a weekly stipend, and are supported by staff advisors, professional mentors, dedicated social services staff, and a powerful network of community-based partners.

Since its founding in 2000, Year Up has served over 8,000 young adults.

The results:

100% placement of qualified Year Up students into internships.

Over 90% of corporate partners would recommend the Year Up program to a friend or colleague.

85% of graduates are employed or attending college full-time within four months of completing the program.

Employed Year Up graduates earn an average of $15 per hour - the equivalent of $30,000 per year.

To see the "60 Minutes" program on Year Up click here:

The Two-Disk CD "How to Build Bounce-Back Kids, Families & Organizations" is a "mini audio book" on resiliency ...filled with strategies to use every day



IN THIS PRESENTATION, YOU WILL LEARN: The research foundation of resiliency
*Where has it comes from?
*How does resiliency happen?
*Can all kids be more resilient?

Applying the research to those you care about by
*Using the "Resiliency Chart"
*Increasing Personal Resiliency Builders
*Creating resiliency-building environments
*Identifying & Teaching about Resiliency
*Using the "Resiliency Wheel"
and *Taking "The Resiliency Quiz"

The "Four Most Important Steps to Fostering Resiliency" in children, youth, families, schools, and other organizations

The amazing connection between resiliency and ACADEMIC SUCCESS

The power of ONE person to change the course of a person's life

Examples of outstanding resiliency-building best practices

Buy the CD, and get two disks and a booklet of materials. Here is a review from a customer who just purchased the CD set (that she posted on the Resiliency In Action Facebook Page):

"After listening to the 2 cd workshop recently, I bought another workbook! I'm going to ask if my school will assist me in paying for the weekend training. I think what makes me such a resilient facilitator (in my winter years without degrees) is that I spent most of my most productive years (40s/50s) trying to keep my oldest daughter alive (she died in 2002). She had experienced multiple traumas--and was treated with the old paradigm Nan speaks of. I've spent the past 20 years working on the new, more positive, healthy and innate. Thanks Nan for helping me to have a place to come "home" to--what Rick Hanson, neuro-psychologist calls our innate home/nature. Great job, Nan, of integrating so much good stuff--I'll pass it on til my last breath..."

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE 2 CD SET OR THE MP3 VERSION

Read the testimonials about MY RESILIENCY PRESENTATION by clicking here!

Join us April 7 & 8 for the one-of-a-kind Resiliency Training Program Training of Trainers in SUNNY Los Angeles
GoodTOTgroup
Many people who take my Resiliency Training of Trainers become RESILIENCY TRAINERS themselves, which I encourage everyone to do!

At the training, I give participants EVERYTHING that I have used as a national and international resiliency trainer for the past 20 years. You get it all! And I HOPE you will go into your community and do resiliency training--to help children, schools, and families and to make additional income, as well!

The Resiliency Training Program will held at a conference center in a beautiful hilltop location in sunny L.A. only two miles from the airport, and near beautiful beaches.

COME AND LEARN:
1. how to move children & youth, families, & organizations "from risk to resilient"

2. how to best teach others how to build resiliency and stay resilient (INCLUDING YOURSELF! :-)

3. how to incorporate resiliency strategies that will improve all organizations

4. how to "sell" resiliency-building programs and strategies

5. The research-based amazing connection between building school resiliency and ACADEMIC AND/OR LIFE SUCCESS

COMMENTS FROM THE OCTOBER, 2012 RESILIENCY TRAINING PROGRAM ATTENDEES:

"Incredible organization, tremendous expertise! An absolute must. Nan is passionate and inspirational!" --Sergio Pesqueira, Assistant Director of Educational Leadership, Loyola Marymount University, L.A

"One of the best trainings I have ever attended; Nan's passion and knowledge is clear." --Peppy Howard-Willms, Statewide Director of Education for Great Circle, MO

"Outstanding in every aspect. Every person should [attend] starting in elementary school, and reviewed yearly!" --Denise Elbert, Wingman Advocate, Hill Air Force Base, UT

"Perfection! A must-have. a tool of hope." --Linda Liss, Executive Director, Making Ourselves Matter, Prince George, British Columbia

OR.....You can attend THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND TRAINING IN SUNNY L.A. near the beach FREE ...by purchasing 50 copies of "Resiliency In Action: Practical Ideas for Overcoming Risks and Building Strengths in Youth, Families, and Communities" OR 100 copies of "The Resiliency Workbook" for your school or organization.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER CLICK HERE

Resiliency Training Promotes Academic and Life Success

...and I can come to your school district or organization. Presentation topics are listed on our website,www.resiliency.com, as well many rave reviews by educators, social service providers, and administrators.

One of my favorite comments is from Laurel Schmidt, author of Classroom Confidential: The 12 Secrets of Great Teachers and former Director of Pupil Services for Santa Monica, CA schools:

"Your trainings should be packed...Educators [and all helping professionals] should come by the busloads to learn what to do for everything that ails our kids."

Organizations that have contracted me as a presenter/trainer include:

National Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Job Corps, Americorps, Vermont Dept. of Education, California Dept. of Education, Colorado Dept. of Education, Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, New Hampshire Department of Education, Maine Dept. of Education, State of Texas Safe and Drug-Free Schools Initiative, Texas Elementary Principals Association; University of Southern Maine, Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), Texas A & M University, University of Hawaii, New Zealand National Federation of Children's Health Camps, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Calgary (Canada) Regional Educational Consortium, Winnipeg (Canada) Schools, BB/ BS Swiftcurrent, Saskatchewan (Canada), Nebraska Association of Prevention Professionals, Ohio Network for Training and Assistance for Schools and Communities, State of New York Dept. of Juvenile Justice, New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified Schools, National School Counselors Association, National Association of Leaders in Student Assistance Programs, National Association of School Social Workers, State of CA School Dropout Prevention Initiative, individual school districts and agencies in 45 U.S. states and Regional Educational Centers in Texas, New York, Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Washington, Ohio, Pennsylvania. In recent years, Ms. Henderson has been contracted by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.

To Learn More About Resiliency Trainings Click Here



I hope to meet you in L.A. for the Resiliency Training Programs Training of Trainers or when I come to your school or organization!

Sincerely,


Nan Henderson
Resiliency In Action

phone: 800-440-5171