Always striving… As someone who has always been striving for more, I have read lots of books, Steven Covey etc. and took courses for self improvement including an MBA, Critical Thinking etc. None has had such a profound positive effect on my life as Chris' course. The accountability and reflection as well as the group meetings with other guys similar to me really hit home. I was reluctant initially to sign on, but really glad I did. I did not expect to find that is was one of the best investments in myself I could have done. Follow the course along and you will discover the better you, which you have been seeking.

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.

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.

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.

You've Got Nothing to Complain About...So Why Aren't You Happy I didn't quite understand how bad my state of unliving was until I started the Creating an Empowered Life program. Everything indicated that I "should" be on top of the world...great career, amazing family, lots of "friends", material possessions...but in reality, I was really struggling. When my hobbies were dormant and the music stopped, I was burnt out, unmotivated, lethargic, quick tempered, and utilizing my phone or the television to distract these realities each night in attempting to fall asleep. Fast forward as I am approaching completion, I can honestly say that I've only fallen asleep watching television 2 times in the past 2.5 months. And both mornings afterwards, I've woken up without judgement but in the mindset of acknowledgement and hyperawareness of how I feel mentally, physically, and emotionally. This presence creates a lasting motivation and energy to continue down the paths that I know will best serve me and the ones that I love around me. While this was my primary objective in joining the program, had I known all of the other "wins" I would find along the way, I would've probably paid more! But I am not here to say that everything is perfect and that all my problems are fixed because Chris can hire actors to say that. I am living proof that downturns will still happen and yucky feelings do creep back in, I just know that I don't have to stay there for extended periods of time and that I have the tools to get me back to feeling awesome again. Make the investment in yourself and take your life to it's full potential...the guidance is profound, the progression is well designed, the network is invaluable...you don't have to do it on your own!!