Author Archives: Matthew Arrington

What is it about video games that are so attractive to young men? What is it about gaming that draws them in like a moth to a flame? At Forte Strong, we get asked these questions on a weekly basis. Video games by nature are meant to be enticing, exhilarating, and yes, addictive. Why? Well, let’s think of it from a business perspective: if a video game can draw you in and captivate your attention, you will be much more … Continued

  “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn There is no doubt that the mind and the body have an unalterable tie. When our body is not living up to its capability, our mind suffers. Likewise, if our mind is not in balance, or we give way to self loathing, doubt and stress, our body can be negatively affected. When talking about how physical fitness can affect our mental fitness, we … Continued

This blog post is dedicated to all of those young guys who have been asked to leave their parent’s, or other relatives home. Although this can feel scary, maybe even devastating, it can also be a good thing. Remember, the best things in life don’t come without a struggle. Also, remember that just because your parents have asked you to leave, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you. They truly want the best for you and realize that only by … Continued

Most individuals are aware of and know that settings goals can be an important benchmark to chart our progress. Setting goals is an important directive to help us all achieve bigger and better things in our lives. However, many of our students voice these questions: “How do we set goals? How do we prioritize goals? Where do I start? What goals are important and which goals are not really goals?”  These are all great questions! Don’t procrastinate… lets get to it! What we … Continued

In the past we’ve talked about some of the reasons behind why more young men are experiencing failure to launch.  In our efforts to continue to be on top of how we can best help our students, we have gathered stats and more information for you as parents to consider.  A recent article published by the New England Journal of Higher Education gives some enlightening clues as to why failure to launch is becoming a national epidemic.  So without further … Continued

Many people stress the importance of being a good leader.  But where does it start?  Are good leaders born or trained?  Whats the secret formula to becoming a good leader?  Many different people rise in the ranks of leadership through different paths, but at Forte Strong we teach our students the fundamentals of leadership.  Leadership starts inside and it is important to understand oneself before they can be an effective leader to others. Dr. Nancy Huber, author of the book Leading … Continued

One of the biggest things we see when dealing with the failure to launch epidemic is a correlation with low self esteem.  This is not always the case though.  Sometimes we see confident, bright young men just taking advantage of a good situation free of rent, utility, & food payments.  But lets say you fall into the first category, low self esteem.  It is not unusual to see good but shy young man afraid to leave the nest as result … Continued

A large part of the Forte Strong program involves helping others.  Volunteering, community involvement, service, providing aid, etc…  There are many different terms for serving those in our community.  To understand why this is such an important aspect of our lives, or why it should be important, lets look at a local service capacity that you might be familiar with; your local fire station.  If you live in a smaller or rural town, chances are your fire response team is comprised … Continued

When a young adult is struggling with failure to launch syndrome, many parents ask what the sure-fire way is to help their son become independent.  Unfortunately there is not a single answer that will rectify their situation, but a combo of different things that are proven to help the overall picture.  One of the things that we have seen to produce some of the most rapid results is adopting a regular exercise program into their daily schedule.  A recent article … Continued