Trainings and Workshops

Below is a list of the different workshops, classes, and training sessions we offer:

Strategies of Effective Change Agents

Principles of Transformative Action: Introduces you to this powerful new approach to social change and its key principles. How do you transform enemies into allies, hatred into goodwill, obstacles into opportunities, and failure into success. It goes beyond the typical divisive politics of “us versus them;” instead, it reframes issues as all of us working together towards common goals.

The Power of Nonviolent Strategy: In today’s seminar, we will learn about the power of nonviolence to transform the world. We will look at remarkable histories that few people know about: how nonviolence was used successfully against the Nazis; how it has defeated dictators, fascists, and communist regimes across the world; how it has been used successfully in the Muslim world; and how it is a powerful tool for overcoming terrorism and resolving some of the world’s most intractable conflicts today.

Our Better Angels: Goodness, Altruism, Heroism, Love, and the Brighter Side of Human Nature: How do you get people involved in social change? How are people inspired to do something good for the world? Many people think that humans are naturally selfish, greedy, and violent. However, a growing body of scientific research points to the opposite conclusion: that humans have an immense capacity for acts of kindness, goodness, altruism, and heroism. In this workshop, we look at the scientific research that shows people’s immense reservoirs of compassion, love, and goodness; more importantly, we will show how to cultivate these qualities and motivate people to act from the better angels of their nature.

Personal Transformation and Positive Psychology

Positive psychology & personal transformation: Gandhi famously said that we should be the changes that we wish to see in the world. But he never said how to achieve this personal transformation. How do you become more peaceful, kind, generous, happy, and altruistic? Scientific research within the growing field of positive psychology is shedding light on this subject and is discovering that there are powerful exercises that can significantly increase your potential. Today’s exercises will show people how to become more optimistic, hopeful, resilient to adversity, and how to increase your luck. We will introduce people to the “Positive 5 Game” – a simple tool for transforming negative attitudes into positives ones.

Personal Transformation 2 – Secrets of Success: In this second workshop, there will be specific exercises and ideas for becoming happier, teaching you to be more productive, and even increasing your luck. All of these exercises are based on scientific studies, and enable you to start creating measurable, significant progress in your lives.

Organizing and Social Innovation

Social Entrepreneurs: Starting Your Own Business or Nonprofit for the Good of the World: In the last few years, social entrepreneurs have become among the most powerful agents of change in the world. These are people who create their own organizations to better humanity. It may be a nonprofit, or it may be a for-profit business, but the goal is the same: to make a difference. This workshop is for people who are seriously considering starting their own organizations. It will be a practical, hands-on workshop for taking the steps to starting your own business plan, and finding the funds to make your dreams become a reality.

Diversity: Understanding Differences and Sharing Strengths: In a rapidly changing world, we are going to come into increasing contact with people who are different from us. Thus it’s important to learn how to transcend borders and work together. Unfortunately, past attempts to promote diversity have been divisive, causing immense resistance. However, more transformative approaches to diversity training have been developed that uplift everyone through the process of increasing and becoming more aware of diversity.

Organizing 101: The Tools for Success in Winning People Over to Your Cause: When you are working for social change, it is essential to organize people. But how do you persuade people to become involved? Everybody is so busy, and they have so many other priorities. What can you do to win people over? How do you recruit the most people to join your cause? What are the secrets of successful organizers for social justice?

Power, Leadership, and Authority: Our world is in desperate need for a new type of leadership. With all of the pressing problems in the world, we need people who can take the initiative in coming up with visionary solutions and innovative advances. But most of the old definitions of leadership are inadequate for the problems we face. It’s time to redefine the ideas of leadership, power, and authority.

“Where Do I Go from Here?”: Many people are motivated to make a difference in the world, but they don’t know where to start. They have many different passions and interests, but they don’t know how to choose one career path. They may also feel like they don’t have any special talents or skills. This workshop will address these concerns and any other questions and concerns that people have about linking “transformative action” with their career and life goals.

MORE TOPICS FOR WORKSHOPS

Public Speaking and Communications Strategies
Creating Your Individual Brand: How to Stand Out from Everyone Else
Cultivating Relationships: Connecting to Allies, Mentors, Friends, and Heroes
The Art of Negotiation: Creating “Win-Win Solutions.”
How to Deal with Difficult People
Strategic Planning for Personal and Social Change
A Practical Workshop on Setting the Most Effective Goals
Overcoming Failure and Rejection
Getting Feedback and Assessing Your Effectiveness
Time Management and Life Balance: How to Stop Yourself from Being Overwhelmed and How to Revitalize Yourself
Community Building and Collective Visioning
You Can Change the World: A Seminar About Your Power to Make a Difference
Celebrating Success: Making Activism Fun
Overcoming Burnout and Despair: How to Find Hope and Inspiration When Working to Change the World