iBELIEVE to Partner with JuiceTank

iBelieve is proud to announce it will be a special guest speaker at the upcoming JuiceTank conference at Kean University from June 27-29 in Union, NJ. The conference will span 3 days and focus on teaching students how to take concepts and creativity and transform that into a business startup.

Through a series of guest speakers from NYC's top business, students will acquire unique and essential skill sets that will enable accelerated achievement. They will have the opportunity not only to learn how to brainstorm ideas, but to do so with the brightest minds in the Tri-State area. Through networking with savvy professionals, powerful executives, and influential mentors, students will race ahead of the game towards breakthrough success.

iBelieve's very own CEO Daniel McCaffrey and Chief Science Officer Kevin Bickart will be giving three flagship presentations during the conference. iBelieve is proud to partner with JuiceTank and participate in such a powerful conference that includes key figures such as Rahul Merchant who was named New York City's first Chief Information & Innovation Officer by Mayor Bloomberg. Merchant will oversee New York City's information technology development across all City agencies, focusing on delivering technology projects efficiently and effectively.

Accelerate Achievement and Share it Forward - that is the message we will help promote throughout the conference.

iBELIEVE Meets With Leaders at Furman University

Several weeks ago, iBELIEVE traveled to Furman University in Greenville, SC. The inception of this presentation dates back to July 2010, when Furman Senior Manuela Munoz Alarez and I met at the LeaderShape Institute in Boston, MA.

The iBELIEVE team of Jon Kroll and Drew Chin presented on iB's "Progress Process" Model to the Shucker Leadership Institute. Furman's student leaders engaged in Purposeful Pausing, Intentionally Acting, and Mindful Reacting and left the student-leaders with action steps on how to affect positive change within their student organizations and their community as a whole. On behalf of iBELIEVE we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Furman and would like to say "Thank you more please!"

-Drew Chin

How Do We Change?

This question is a topic iBELIEVE focuses on everyday. That's why we were excited to receive an invitation to attend a conference at Yale University asking the same question. The conference is a combination of the country's top minds in medicine, psychology, law and philosophy.

The purpose of the conference is to examine how "human beings can act both habitually and reflectively, both automatically and in a controlled fashion. How can we harness these two components to increase well-being? How do we change maladaptive patterns of response? What enables us to choose better strategies for momentary regulation of emotion and action, and what enables us to sustain these changes over time? How do we break habits and act in accordance with our long-term goals?" These are exactly the types of issues we address in our educational programs and mental training sessions.

Stanford Psychologist James Gross kicked-off by eloquently discussing his modal model of emotion (Situation-Attention-Appraisal-Response). Regulating emotions is essential in long-term, sustainable change. This was a highlight for me as I referenced much of this work when I was a researcher at NIH. Another highlight was listening to esteemed philosopher Richard Holton speak with no formal presentation about finding space for an addict's self control. "Either addictive behavior is freely chosen, and addicts are free to resist and hence responsible. Or it is the result of a pathology, and they are not free to resist and hence not responsible." It was really cool to hear a philosopher discuss free will, self control and decision making.

Day 1 ended with Dr. Roy Baumeister who has published over 200 peer reviewed articles and 30 books on self-esteem, will-power, and ego. His most recent research results suggest that self-regulation (will-power) is in fact a limited resource.

We believe this conference is the beginning of something really great! Looking forward to Day 2

iBELIEVE Meets with Leaders at the University of Bridgeport

It has been one week since iBELIEVE traveled down to the University of Bridgeport. Little did we know we would be transformed after working with such incredible student leaders. Over the course of the last four years, we have had memorable experiences while presenting our workshops and educational programs all across this country. This was one for the books. Working with the enthusiastic and intellectual student leaders was an absolute pleasure! We are hopeful for another opportunity to engage in purposeful pauses, intentional actions, and mindful reactions with the UB student leaders. Thanks for your critical thinking and engaged participation!

Jonathan Kroll is an educator at Emerson College in Boston and is currently pursuing his Ph.D.

iBELIEVE Works with QU Men’s Soccer

Most say that Sunday is a day of rest. It should be a day that is typically spent, mentally, physically, and emotionally as far away from work as possible. A day that should be reserved for ‘YOU’. Doing only what you are passionate about and. Doing what you want to do, when you want to and at the pace that you want to. It’s a day that should be filled with no thoughts of suits, ties, deadlines and emails. It’s a perfect day to settle in at home and spend time with loved ones.

So with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the thoughts and hearts of everyone across the country, the start of the NFL season getting kicked off and the northeast air beginning to feel like fall, this past Sunday should have epitomized that Day of rest (and passions). Thankfully the iBELIEVE team does a great job of blurring the distinction between work and passion. We had the opportunity to work with the Quinnipiac Men's soccer team in Hamden, CT. So on Saturday night, 3 members of the team set our alarms for 5am to make the trek towards Connecticut to make some changes at QU. With 2 of the 3 members being QU alum and the third member (me) having attended school right around the corner at Sacred Heart University we were all excited about getting back to our roots.

After coming off 3 straight loses the QU soccer players seemed anxious to work on training the mental game. We spent 90 minutes clarifying the team's vision for this season and the future. This vision is not what they want to DO (we know and they know that what they want to do is win), we wanted to know what they want to BE as a collective group. We also spent time clarifying ideas of mental resiliency on and off the field. The group was fun to work with and seem to mesh very well together despite their diverse backgrounds. We look forward to the next training session in a few weeks.
In summary, the day was a success. As usual, the iBELIEVE team learned just as much as our participants in a day filled with purposeful pauses, intentional action, mindful reaction, house building, vision creating and attitude adjusting. We are thankful for the opportunity to work with these student-athletes and are inspired by their optimism.

To all those in favor of reserving Sunday for all that you are passionate about. I believe we did...
Until the next time, Stay believing!

Pete Athans is a strength and conditioning coach at West Point Military Academy and the director for Athletics programs for iBELIEVE. He received his masters degree in Sports Psychology from Boston University.

iBELIEVE Gives Keynote Address at A.L.E. Conference

From Sunday, July 10 – Tuesday, July 12 the iBELIEVE Team traveled out west to Denver, CO. This trip marked the furthest iBELIEVE has been out west in the USA. The trip was also the first time iBELIEVE ever participated and presented at the Association of Leadership Educators (A.L.E.) conference. The iBELIEVE Team attended a number of research poster presentations, round-table discussions, leadership presentations, and networking opportunities throughout the entire conference. During Tuesday’s luncheon, iBELIEVE Team Members Dan McCaffrey, Jon Kroll, and Drew Chin gave the keynote presentation to educate attendees about iBELIEVE’s history, teaching methods, and upcoming programs. A number of valuable contacts were gained from the A.L.E. Conference and iBELIEVE looks forward to participate in future A.L.E. Conferences. A special thank you to Nicole Stedman, A.L.E. President, for introducing us to this wonderful organization.

iB-LIEVE Visits Nicaragua: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Jon Kroll shares with us about his time in Nicaragua.

Six years ago, after graduating with my master’s degree, I created an opportunity to volunteer in Leon, Nicaragua. Needless to say, the six-month experience was transformative. Because of the impact it has had on my life, I have gone back every year since to provide leadership development programs. For each of the trips, I’ve developed and presented leadership development programs that aim at unearthing misconceptions about leadership and providing tools to enhance leadership capabilities.

For my most recent visit, I delivered programs that focused on the Three C’s – clarity, connection, and compassion. Although I was seen as the educator, there was plenty for me to learn. The most glaring lesson for me was that with great power comes great responsibility. ‘Great power’, in this instance is synonymous with ‘great privilege’. Out of the ten days spent in Leon, Chinandega, and Jinotega, eight of which were filled with leadership development programs. I had the opportunity to work with high school students, university students, educators, business professionals, and others who are interested and invested in creating positive change.

For context, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in this hemisphere. People live in abject poverty and in a systemic culture of corruption. Needless to say, there are scarce opportunities for experiencing leadership like we have in the USA. Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, nope. Youth sports programs, nada. Student Governance and extracurricular activities, absolutely not. In other words, practicing leadership, as youth, like we do in the United States of America is almost nonexistent in Nicaragua. It is for this reason that leadership programs like the ones I provided are so critical.

Because of the privilege I am accustomed to as an educated American, I have great responsibility. It is this privilege that encouraged me to share my knowledge. It was my responsibility to dig deep and find ways to share how cultural change (from that of corruption towards compassion) can happen through shifting our mental frames of leadership. A transformation of seeing Leadership, not as power, prestige, position, or the purse, but leadership centered on the person (who am I) and the purpose with which we lead. It is that transition that will lead to cultural transformation.



We had a chance to catch up with Jon and ask him some questions about his recent trip to Central America.

How do Nicaraguans students define leadership differently then the students you have worked with here in the US?
In Nicaragua, leadership is all about position, power, prestige, and the purse (money). Leadership is about getting what I want – it is about rising to the top and being the boss, at whatever costs. It is very self-centered. Leadership in Nicaragua is hand in hand with corruption.

Are local politician’s and other leaders attempting to establish these nonexistent programs?
At present, politicians and local leaders are not focusing on leadership development.

Do you have any future plans to continue your work down in Central America
Absolutely. I will continue to go to Nicaragua at least once a year, if not more often in the near future. My goal, is to create a master’s granting university in Nicaragua focusing on leadership and organizational development to continue this pursuit of shifting the culture of corruption to a culture of compassion. The young people in Nicaragua deeply desire this type of cultural change and I believe it can happen through a new leadership lens.