First three weeks Sharing my experience after the first three weeks, as I wanted to highlight the program's ability for generating some great 'a-ha/breakthrough' moments. What Chris and the program are extremely good at is doing great deep work to help uncover what could be holding you back or causing your stress/anxiety/burnout, etc, and then providing you with very actionable tools and strategies to help educate and address. Those two factors have really helped me see things differently and provide the catalyst for those breakthroughs. I feel like I've made more progress, learned more, and had more of those 'lightbulb' moments over the past three weeks than I have over the past three years in trying to do this on my own.

Creating an Empowered Life - What to Expect If you are reading this, it means that you are researching Ascent Empowerment, which also means that you are probably looking to make some changes in your life. GOOD FOR YOU! The purpose of this review is to provide some “data points” on the program so that you can make an informed decision. First off, the Creating an Empowered Life program is real. Chris and Steve are real, and the results are real. In my experience, Chris and Steve are 100% sincere in their desire to help men get the most out of life. Creating an Empowered Life is a web-based, 10-week program and that is pretty much self-paced. If you fall behind nobody gives you a hard time, but it’s important to keep up as best you can. It’s like a physical fitness program; the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. To do it right, you can probably expect to spend 3-5 hours per week on the work. The consistent practice throughout the program is daily journaling of “wins” from the previous day along with weekly assignments. Most of the assignments consist of a video or reading on the concept(s) for the week, followed by a video of Chris doing a one-on-one coaching session with someone else to illustrate the concept(s) in the context of the program. After watching the videos, you will have specific tasks or practices to execute in pursuit of the growth concept. At the end of each week, you turn in your work along with a reflection of what it was like (difficulties, emotional responses, etc.) to complete the work. After a day or two, Chris sends recorded message via email with his assessment and feedback. There is relatively little personal coaching scheduled into the 10 weeks. To use the fitness analogy, it is like the difference between taking group class and working with a personal trainer; the coaches (Chris and Steve) are available to provide encouragement and answer questions, but the workout is the same for everyone. All participants in the program are encouraged to join a weekly, one hour Zoom call. There is also a private Facebook group for sharing and discussions. The cost of the program is not insignificant (at least for me). I think it is important to understand this from the start, because the Breakthrough Call is also a sales call, and Chris is a hard-closer. If you have a spouse or partner that you share finances with, my recommendation would be to speak with them about the potential investment before your Breakthrough Call, and be prepared to make your decision when you take the call. In retrospect, Creating an Empowered Life was a positive experience for me. The one thing I learned for certain is that the change I was seeking was already inside me. The program helped me tap into a new awareness of being. I have since begun a mindfulnesses meditation practice, which is something I probably would have scoffed at before working with Chris and Steve. I still have the same struggles, but they no longer hold the same power over my emotions. As you will learn early in the 10 weeks, “suffering is optional.” I hope this review was helpful. Best of luck in your journey!

Help towards self acceptance, flourishing and producing more Chris has helped me understand and break through and out of a period of being stuck in my life. He's helping me set a platform that will allow me to flourish and be very productive in the next few years. Chris is helping me towards healing, self-acceptance, flourishing and producing. I've thoroughly enjoyed working with Chris and can recommend him for his warmth, concern, and capability to help people move out of the mire of problems and towards flow and flourishing in their lives. He's particularly aiming his work at professional men- who are often left in that mixture of outward professional success, but not necessarily with internal acceptance and appreciation. I can recommend Chris to professional colleagues who need to get out of a rut.

Consultation I'd like to give a better review, but was disappointed after my conversation with Chris last week. Chris seems like a nice guy and I'm sure his program has helped some people, but my consultation call was disappointing. In the last portion of the call, pretty high pressure sales tactics were used. Not a deal breaker right there, but I think we differ in opinion on how this kind of program should be presented and sold. What bothered me is that when I told Chris I don't make significant financial decisions like this without speaking with my wife, his response was to try to convince me that this was my decision and not my wife's, so I could make a decision right there without speaking with her. It could be that we have different opinions of what is ethical in convincing someone to make a decision, but that was a deal breaker for me. Selling a program you're passionate about like this is a challenging task, and I really hope Chris is able to help a lot of people, but disagree with the tactics used in the consultation. I wish Chris and any of his clients the best and do hope that people are transformed with the program.

Empowered and Deployed! When I came to Ascent I was blocked, small and burnt out. I knew what I wanted out of life, but felt like I had tried everything, nothing was working and had resigned myself to thinking that maybe something bigger just wasn’t in the cards for me. However, I still remembered who I used to be, especially when I was in the outdoors and held out hope I could somehow rekindle it. Cue the day that the Ascent Empowerment program hit my feed. I have been a frequent flyer with self-help books, podcasts and programs. From our first exercise with Chris I knew this experience was going to be different. For the first time, I had faith that if I simply followed the program I would see the results I wanted in my life. So far, so good. Results so far: A completely renewed relationship and appreciation for my wife Deeper connection and joy with my kids Confidence at work that I haven’t felt or been able to display in decades - maybe ever. The confidence to bet on myself and launch into a new job and career challenge. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time, but finally was able to get past the hesitancy and dive in with excitement. I even slayed a double-black mountain bike trail last weekend that ate my lunch last summer. Fear, self doubt, hesitancy and overthinking used to be in the lead. Now I am learning to install a new operating system and am looking at my future with an excitement and passion that I have not felt in a long time. The butterflies at the top of that double-black turned from fear and anxiety to joy and possibility. The negative emotions are still there, but the Ascent Empowerment program has helped me detach on a path that I couldn’t have even conceived of or thought possible a few short weeks ago.