Three horses in an autumn pastoral field with mountains

Welcome

Energize Your Potential to Live an Extraordinary Life

Welcome to Energize Your Potential!

We offer programs for groups and individuals who want to exponentially increase their skills in leadership, communication, team building and personal interaction. We're different than most programs; although we have classroom components, the majority of the programs are experiential learning (no "death by Powerpoint!") There are three underlying components that make our programs effective and unique:

Tetramap - the foundational model of behavior that helps us to lead and communicate better by understanding our own, and other's natural preferences.
Understanding our personal energy "vibe" – what attracts people to us or drives them away, and being able to manage "it" for effective interactions and to reach goals.
Learning with horses - horses give immediate, non judgmental feedback to participants, so participants can adjust their behaviors and see an immediate, demonstrable change in the interaction between them and the horse.

Experiential learning is far more effective in creating lasting change than the classroom lecture style of training. We introduce the concepts in the classroom, and then the participants practice the concepts by working with our equine partners. The horses are perfect practice partners because they are keenly aware of human intent, and give immediate, non judgmental feedback to participants. Participants then have the opportunity to adjust their behaviors and approach to create a more effective outcome. During the post exercise debrief, the participants are guided to realize insights related to how changing their internal dialogue and body language impacted the horses' behavior. This facilitation process allows the participants to identify their own challenges and find their own solutions, which solidifies the learning and creates lasting change.

"TELL ME AND I'LL FORGET, SHOW ME AND I MAY REMEMBER, INVOLVE ME AND I'LL UNDERSTAND - CHINESE PROVERB"

TetraMap - The Nature of Communication diagram showing Air, Fire, Earth, Water elements

TetraMap Assessment Tool

Relationships are complex, even in the best circumstances! At some point in most relationships, one person may become frustrated and start to wonder why the other is acting like 'that,' and what can be done to improve the interaction. We use a personality assessment tool called TetraMap to understand the four personality types based on the elements found in nature. The first part of the assessment helps you understand what drives your own personal preferences, motivations, and desires. Once you understand yourself in relation to the TetraMap elements, you can easily understand others' behavior, and what is driving their preferences. Once you understand the nature of each element, how it reacts under pressure, and how to turn it into a strength, you will find that your leadership, communication skills, and personal interaction style will become exponentially more effective. Learning about TetraMap is in a classroom setting, but you practice the skills in experiential exercises.

Humans exchanging energy - glowing figures illustration

Understanding Your Personal Energy "Vibe"

In order to understand how others (including the horses) are responding to you, you must become aware of your personal energy system, and what type of 'intent' and non verbal cues you are projecting to others. Managing your energy system prevents you from overacting under stress, allows you to maintain focus, and keeps the lines of communication open and effective. Leaning to manage your energy system is an experiential activity that may include visualization, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practice. Ground work with horses, combines with controlled breathing and meditation helps reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and calm the body, mind, and spirit.

Three horses grazing in a green pasture with mountains

Learning With Horses

One of the things that make our program special is that we incorporate horses into the program. During controlled, goal specific exercises, our horses give immediate feedback on how clients are applying the skills they learn (from the ground, no riding). It is an experiential leadership/communications laboratory. You can fool a person, but you can't lie to a horse! Horses are prey animals and have evolved with keen intuitive abilities to keep them alive. Horses have a natural sensitivity to their surroundings that helps them survive and thrive. When we enter their realm, they challenge us to be aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Interacting with horses is a great way to relieve stress by learning to be present, by joining them in their world. They live in the present. They are not anxious (thinking about the future) or depressed (thinking about the past). Horses can reveal if a person is authentic, grounded and present.