The Daring Way™
based on the research of Dr. Brene´Brown
Workshop Facilitator
Joseph LaFleur, MSW, LICSW, CDWF™
When is the last time you left your cell phone behind, put work on the back burner, and truly took care of yourself? Daring Way™ workshops allow you to do just that. Spend an entire weekend or one evening a week for Six Weeks with Joseph LaFleur, his Associate(s), and like-minded people who want to put feelings of shame, failure, and weakness behind them for good.
The paradox of life is that we often hide the parts of ourselves that people want to see. We think these parts are weak and would scare people away. Ironically, most of them will bring about connection and make you more attractive. Learn to be courageous, be seen, and experience yourself with others in a different way.
Significant points about the men I have worked with.
They want:
deeper connections with others,
to belong rather than ‘fit in’ (you will learn the difference),
to be visible without having to ‘be on’ or ‘produce,’
to be successful in all areas of life.
They experience negative thoughts about any of the below:
Feeling like frauds or imposters
Failure at work,
Failure in relationships,
Failure in bed,
Failure with money,
Failure with children,
Being wrong,
Being defective,
Being perceived as weak or ‘soft,’
Being seen as anything but tough,
Revealing weakness,
Showing fear,
I am not good enough,
others are better off,
and other negative thought patterns.
Many people entertain constant negative narratives about themselves. A negative narrative is a thought we tell ourselves to cope. For example, maybe you tell yourself that you are unlovable. Therefore, you don’t ask someone out or believe you deserve to stay with people who do not treat you kindly. Perhaps you have a narrative in your mind telling you that you aren’t smart enough to be successful in your career, so you never go for that promotion. Negative narratives are shame feeders that often lead to anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. They keep us from genuinely connecting with other people and from reaching our full potential. If you can conquer these negative narratives, you will learn how to feel worthy. When you feel worthy, you will find that life happens!
Research finds that if you can feel empathy, you experience shame. I have grappled with anxiety, depression, and trauma in life. Much of my anxiety and depression was due to the tragic effects of shame on my self-narratives and self-esteem. However, my quality of life dramatically improved once I learned how to dissect shame. That’s what lead me to do this work.
The metaphoric constructs taught in Daring Way™ gave me the tools to deal with my personal and professional issues. Shame not only hurts our relationships with friends and family, but it also creeps into our lives and destroys our sense of creativity. Shame convinces us that we’re not enough. As a result, we are often afraid to speak up and play it safe and avoid risk. Risk-taking creates uncertainty, and uncertainty creates anxiety and fear. Shame and fear keep us on the sidelines where we are comfortable. However, it also leads to stagnation, boredom, regret, disconnection, or loneliness.
Daring Way™ includes two workshops. They are Daring Greatly™ and Rising Strong™. Each workshop will help you:
- Learn about group dynamic and boundary setting
- Identify crucial values for success.
- Identify unhelpful behaviors and thinking.
- Determine supportive people
- Define Trust
- Build and identify those you can trust
- Understand the importance of risk-taking
- Teach empathic skills
- Rebound from failures
- Test your level of self-consciousness
- Explore criticism
- Identify support more quickly.
- Define scarcity thinking
- Understand what is holding you back from success
- Understand the differences in self-conscious emotions and how to deal with them
- To become successful through authenticity.
- Understand what gets in the way of getting what you want
- Understand ways you keep yourself invisible and disconnected
- Understand Identities and Triggers
- Understand how you are perceived
- Experience Common Humanity and more.
Workshop Formats
The Workshops have two formats. One is a weekend format, and the other is a six (6) week format.
Weekend format
The workshop begins Friday at 5 PM and runs until 9 PM.
On Saturday, we begin at 9 AM and continue until 5 PM.
On Sunday, we will begin at 9 AM and end around 5 PM.
Six Week Format
The workshop is held one weekday evening for six consecutive weeks. They usually run from 6 PM to 10 PM the first evening, and then 6 PM to 9 PM the other evenings.
Daring Greatly™ Workshop Dates
Date: TBD
Rising Strong™ Workshop Dates
Date: TBD
Cost of Workshop
The Daring Greatly ™ or Rising Strong™ workshops cost $1200.00 for the weekend format and $1000 for the Six-week format. The price includes coffee, water, light snacks, and lunch on Saturday and Sunday (for the weekend format). I do not provide dinner during the Six-week structure; please eat before you attend. Speak with me if you need a payment plan.
All participants must participate in a consultation that costs $200.00. If we move forward, a $400 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot. I will apply the $200 consultation fee to the deposit. I charge the remaining balance on the day of the workshop. Contact me for consultation.
Requirements for the Daring Way™ Workshops
- To get the most out of each workshop, before they begin, you are encouraged the following readings:
- For the Daring Greatly™ Workshop, participants must read Daring Greatly™.
- For the Rising Strong™ Workshop, participants must read Rising Strong™.
- Show up with an open heart and mind.
- If you are gay or bisexual, I highly recommend that you read the book The Velvet Rage. I believe it will add to your experience.
All books can be downloaded on both kindle and audible apps.
If you are interested, please send Joseph an email as soon as possible to joseph@DistrictCounseling.com or complete the contact form below.
You can also call Joseph at 202.641.5335
Daring Way™ Intensive
The Daring Greatly™ is a highly experiential methodology based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown. The method was designed for work with individuals, couples, families, work teams, and organizational leaders. It can be facilitated in clinical, educational, and professional settings. During the process, facilitators explore topics such as vulnerability, courage, shame, and self-worth. Participants are invited to examine the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that are holding them back and identify new ways of living a more authentic and wholehearted life. The primary focus is on developing shame resilience skills and daily practices that transform the way we live, love, parent, and lead.
Rising Strong™ Intensive
The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall. Rising Strong is about what it takes to get back up after getting knocked down. It discusses how we can embrace our own stories of struggle in order to muster the power to write a daring new ending. Struggle can be our greatest call to courage and the clearest path to a wholehearted life.
The Daring Way™ method is based on the research of Brené Brown, Ph.D. LMSW. Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work.
She has spent the past fifteen years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of three #1 New York Times Bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong.
Her TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world, with over 25 million viewers.
Brené is the Founder and CEO for The Daring Way ™, COURAGEworks – an online learning platform that offers classes for individuals and families on braver living and loving, and BRAVE LEADERS INC – a platform that brings her latest research on leadership development and culture change to teams, leaders, entrepreneurs, change makers, and culture shifters.
