It takes courage to step out of our comfort zone and try new things. The unanticipated troubles we experience as we venture into new territory can erode our self-confidence and beckon us to retreat back to safety.

When life circumstances, like sustaining a brain injury, eject us out of our comfort zone and plop us into unfamiliar territory, there's nowhere to retreat when things don't go well. We have two choices - give-up or figure it out. 

She speaks about what it means to be a "survivor", and defines what it means to live with a "thriver" attitude. Lois illustrates the repeating pattern of "surviving and then thriving" as the person living with a disability encounters new challenges with every step of advancement.

Lois entertains and teaches with personal stories that reflect how she learned to manage the daily challenges of living with a brain injury. She relates how she used the same principles and strategies 15 years later to navigate through the unexpected difficulties she encountered when she left her safe, controlled environment and ventured into the "real world" with her speaker business three years ago. She shares the insights that she's gained, describes how she developed systems to master each challenge, and discloses the strategies she used to press forward with her endeavors.

Participants feel inspired with courage and confidence and motivated to take risks and try new things. They obtain necessary tools, so they can be prepared to learn from their experiences. They learn how to avoid becoming discouraged or distracted by unexpected difficulties and learn strategies they can use to develop creative solutions so they can navigate through their obstacles, achieve success and fulfill their hopes and dreams.

Target Audience: Mixed - Survivors, Care-givers, Family, Professionals

Program Outcomes and Benefits -

Participants lay down a solid foundation that will support their venture when they learn how to:

• clearly identify the purpose of what they want to do
• establish why this is important to them - their "compelling why"
• evaluate their costs - time, energy, hardship, health, happiness
• decide if they can afford the cost to do this. If the costs are high, does their passion and purpose make it worth paying the high cost? If so, what are they willing to give up to be able to afford a high cost?
• clearly identify the outcomes they want to achieve
• establish a realistic time-line, including set-points to re-evaluate cost and benefit

Participants acquire the tools they need to build a diverse framework that sustains them as they continue to work towards achieving their goals when they learn how to:

• use their sense of humor to release stressful emotions and renew their spirit
• draw on the foundation of principles they developed when they first adjusted to living with a brain injury to make other new adjustments
• recognize the benefit of the brain injury paradox - "when you don't know, that you don't know" and how this can work to your advantage
• replace the fear of failing with enthusiasm for learning by experience
• expect the unexpected, so they don't fall apart when they get blind-sighted
• recognize that it is unrealistic to be able to anticipate all potential hazards when exploring new territory, or to automatically know how to respond
• build self-confidence that they can solve any problems that occur, either on their own or by asking someone to give them direction
• understand the tedious process of creating the systems and strategies they need to navigate through obstacles - three strikes and you're out or third time's the charm
• identify any special needs or accommodations necessary to be successful and feel comfortable asking for them
• outsource or hire people to perform the tasks they can't do or tasks that take too much time and energy away from doing the things they're good at doing
• reject problems as evidence of being incapable
• turn troubles into valuable opportunities for learning
• reward themselves for effort, initiative, persistence, determination, creativity
• recognize the need for time-outs to rest and recover and schedule them
• give themselves permission to quit if they determine that personal costs outweigh their benefits, or if their health or happiness is threatened or compromised
• base success on what they learned or gained, not just outcomes

Program Length: 60 to 90 minute keynote or training