The Forte Strong Difference
10 Reasons why Forte Strong is a notch above.
REASON #1: WE ONLY WORK WITH A SPECIFIC NICHE
Forte Strong is truly in a class by itself. We only work with a very specific niche of young men; those who are failing to launch. Why is that important? Well, for starters you’ll never have to worry about enrolling your son in a program surrounded by drug addicts, thieves, sex offenders, violent offenders and/or the severely psychologically unstable. Your son is safe at Forte Strong and surrounded by other young men who know what it means to struggle with social anxiety, low self-esteem, ADHD and technology addiction. Imagine a one-of-a kind niche program that allows your son to be himself, create deep meaningful relationships and learn the skills required to become completely independent in 6-9 months.
REASON #2: WE ACHIEVE TOTAL INDEPENDENCE IN 6-9 MONTHS
Forte Strong is still the only program designed to give your son the skills he needs to become completely self-reliant and independent in a 6-9 month time frame. Our carefully designed accelerated program allows your son to achieve independence in record time so he can go on to bigger and better things, meaning he’s able to transition into the ‘real’ world quicker, letting him catch up and get on with his life while letting you get on with yours. In short, our students grow and mature at a faster rate than any program known to man. Our parents also appreciate the savings that come with an accelerated program like Forte Strong. Just another testament to Forte Strong’s ability to achieve in 6-9 months what other programs have a hard time doing in 12.
REASON #3: WE DEVELOP, UNDERSTAND AND RESPECT HIS STRENGTHS
Strength is often seen as the antithesis of weakness but they’re more similar then you might realize. Our greatest strengths can often be our greatest weaknesses. At Forte Strong we believe strengths are tools that can be used to our advantage or disadvantage. Let’s use the practical tool of ‘fire’ as an example. Fire can keep you warm at night or it can light your way, but if not used correctly it can burn down bridges and bring down homes, literally and metaphorically. Most parents have witnessed the destruction firsthand when dealing with a child who has not yet learned to utilize his or her strengths correctly. Empathy for example is a wonderful strength but if not kept in check, it can take over your life. It can sink you into a deep depression or plunge you toward rescuing or enabling others or worse allowing others to take advantage of your goodwill, leaving you penniless, both emotionally and financially. Is there any wonder why we place so much emphasis on strengths? A deep understanding of his strengths is essential to a successful life.
REASON #4: WE MAINTAIN A RIGOROUS SELECTION PROCESS
Many programs thought we were crazy to be so picky about who we would accept into our program, but it’s hard to argue with success. We understand that you can’t put a price on the emotional, moral and physical safety and well-being of your son. The truth is, there is a difference between a quality learning environment and a mediocre one; much like how great schools seek great students, Forte Strong does the same by implementing a student selection process that ensures we work with right young man. Most young men are scared or uncertain about leaving home for the first time, having to face the challenges of becoming independent, but our strengths-based, leadership centered and purpose-driven approach allows our students to quickly realize their strengths, overcome their fears and take action. We take great pride in knowing that we are the best in our field and we aim to keep it that way. Our selection process ensures that your son is with other young men who have a strong desire to be better men. It ensures that your son is part of a unique culture of men who are solution-oriented, promote a healthy and active lifestyle, encourage balance in all things and who foster a positive learning environment through mistakes.
REASON #5: WE PROVIDE A UNIQUELY MALE PERSPECTIVE
Forte Strong is unique in that it’s an all-male organization that celebrates, honors and protects manhood. What does that mean? It means that Forte Strong understands the unique challenges, difficulties and obstacles that are unique to men. The fact is, more and more young men are becoming lost in the dark recesses of our nation’s favorite past time… media entertainment. This huge gravitational shift toward online or media entertainment, whether it be sports, sitcoms, reality tv, movies or gaming, has now become a young man’s world, a world that revolves around a cyber-digital reality that’s found inside the home instead of the real world outside the home. This is a huge reason why more and more young men are becoming avoidant and resistant toward anything that is not predictable, comfortable and controllable in their life. These young men are mirroring what they observe and what they observe these days is on a digital device such as a laptop, desktop, tablet or phone. In this troubling time in our nation’s history we find ourselves with a severe shortage of strong and courageous men who are willing to take action. Men who are willing to step up, assume responsibility, take accountability, allow themselves to be vulnerable and take some healthy risks.
REASON #6: WE FOSTER AN ENVIRONMENT OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning allows your son to be a leader and also fosters rapid and long term change. Learning by doing is one of the most effective methods to teach boys, period. Implementing our See, Do, Teach formula allows our students to see how something is done, try it for themselves to grasp the concept and then teach others to truly master the idea. Although it is just a small part of our success formula, our students get the hands on ability to learn and retain valuable life skills. From resume building to job hunting and job shadowing to internships, we provide the most experiential learning opportunities for your son. By placing our students in an environment which fosters success, we are able to teach valuable life skills such as leadership and accountability. Students first learn to lead their own lives and are able to carry those skills over to help learn how to help to lead others. The one-on-one individualized attention and hands on teaching approach our students receive allows them to apply what they learn immediately to their lives.
REASON #7: WE OFFER RELIABLE, SAFE & RESPONSIBLE TRANSPORTATION
Forte Strong ensures your son is given the tools he needs to succeed and that means being mobile. Mobility can make the difference between having a good job or a great job! More mobility means more social opportunities, more educational opportunities, and more employment opportunities and the Forte Strong scooter helps our students do just that. It opens so many doors for our students that they would otherwise miss without it. The scooter is also just another teaching tool, allowing our students to practice real-world life-skills like learning how to shop for insurance, pay bills on time and even budget for gas and any routine maintenance for their scooter. In essence our students learn how to appreciate what they have, take care of what they have and take pride in what they have. Mom loves that they’re safe, reliable, and easy to operate while Dad appreciates the practical common-sense approach and affordability and their son really enjoys the social opportunities and freedom they offer while still nicely the fitting within the budget.
We believe there is no reason not to love your job. Not like it-but love it. We believe every man should be engaged in work that is in line with his purpose and that begins with a job that is meaningful and fulfilling. We challenge and inspire your son to dream bigger, to fly higher and to dedicate himself to achieving his goals. The difference between our students is that they are deeply engaged in their work. It’s more than a job to these young men, so much more. Many of our young men come to Forte Strong believing they are not capable of getting a good job, being promoted or even making more than minimum wage. In just a few weeks we are able to help these young man break these self-limitations by helping them discover their purpose and understand the ‘why’ behind their actions. Our students grow from the inside out, not from the outside in. Things cannot replace confidence. The greatness of a man is not dependent on what he owns, or his clothes, his looks or even his job. The greatness of a man is dependent on what he stands for and what he believes; how he treats others, how he talks, walks and applies himself is dependent upon what he believes. Most of our students arrive not knowing any of these things. If you were to ask them what they believe or what they stand for, they wouldn’t be able to tell you. The same when asking them why they are applying for a certain job over another, or why they went to college, or even why they came to Forte Strong. They need direction, guidance and purpose. The community involvement we foster and strive to uphold is also key element of Forte Strong. The service and relationships that we develop continue to open many doors for our students, including internships, jobs, networks, friendships, mentorships and so forth. A strong element that we believe is responsibility to our families and our community. We believe in creating good people.
REASON #9: WE FOCUS ON BOTH THE JOURNEY & THE DESTINATION
Forte Strong is not a rehab, a treatment center, an institution or a facility… it’s a journey, which is exactly why we place as much emphasis on the journey as we do on graduation. Yes, we place the same level of importance on both the journey and graduation because we believe that graduation should not be the measuring stick of what it means to be a successful, honest and an independent young man. Graduation is but a stepping stone to something greater which is why the majority of our focus has always been and continues to be ‘continual progress and growth’. Too often graduation has come to signify the means to an end rather than a stepping stone to something greater. The day we stop learning is the day we stop growing which will eventually lead to apathy and complacency unless we continue to focus on the journey.
REASON #10: HE WILL LEAVE A LEGACY THAT MEANS SOMETHING
History is the factual presentation of events all linked together in sequence. It’s about presenting facts and information in chronological order. Legacy on the other hand is not about what events transpired during a given time period… it’s about what we leave behind… it’s about sacrifice. At Forte Strong we are focused on leaving behind a legacy… something more than just time spent away from Mom and Dad. It’s about giving back, about making an impact on the world and that starts by living what we teach every single day. Legacy is about aligning our actions with our beliefs and holding true to what we believe even when it’s uncool, unpopular or unnoticed. What we do is of little consequence if it is self-serving and stands for nothing. Legacy is choosing to act in a way that reinforces our core beliefs and defending those beliefs at all cost. It’s about giving all we have and then a little more. It’s about learning, growing, and becoming a better version of ourselves than the day before.
“What your son does here, will guide him for the rest of his life; the relationships he makes here, he’ll remember for the rest of his life; the person he becomes here, will follow him the rest of his life.” – FS