In-Depth Description of The Resilience Circle™

The Latest Update:

After a nine-month "re-tooling" break, the Resilience Circle program will resume in March 2010.  Each Circle will once again meet twice a month via hour-long teleconference calls facilitated by Sandy Davis.  If you would like to reserve a membership in either of the upcoming Circles, please send an e-mail to RC@ResilienceWorks.com right away.  Space is limited.  Thanks.  

---

This three-month-long experiential program is designed to help you tune up your self-care and deepen your personal resilience.  Members of the Circles agree to construct for themselves a number of simple daily self-care structures, and then faithfully adhere to them for 90 consecutive days.  Along the way, they experience what invariably turns out to be an intense and rich personal discovery process.

To find out more about this unique program, you can either read this page from top to bottom, or you can skip around by clicking on any of the links below.

Interspersed on this page, you will find a variety of testimonial statements from past Circle members highlighted in purple text.

List of Links to Sections of this Page:

(1)  Quick Summary of the Program
(2)  What is The Resilience Circle?
(3)  What is the need?
(4)  Is this for you?
(5)  What is expected of participants?
(6)  What are the prerequisites?
(7)  How do I join The Resilience Circle?
(8)  What is my quarterly investment?
(9)  How can I pay for my membership?
(10)  How does my membership get applied?
(11)  How can I pay for supplementary Resilience Circle coaching sessions?
(12)  When do the teleconferences take place?
(13)  A few tips on teleconference etiquette…
(14)  How do I schedule private Resilience Circle coaching sessions?
(15)  Is there a money-back guarantee?
(16)  What if I drop out during my quarterly membership?
(17)  How long do most members stay in the Circle?
(18)  What lies ahead?
(19)  For more information and to join a Circle…
(20)  When will upcoming teleconference calls take place?

(1)  Quick Summary:  The Resilience Circle is a great way to start taking your own self-care seriously.  If you are not at the top of your game right now, but would like to be, how about giving yourself the gift of a membership in an ongoing program that will enable you to quickly establish some revitalizing ways to take great care of yourself?

By becoming a member, you can treat yourself to an experiential adventure in amplifying your resilience that will both challenge and reward you.  There's no other program like it.  It's straight-forward, requires no additional outlay of funds, and includes no "snake-oil."  It's the real thing, and it works....

Membership in The Resilience Circle affords you access to a small and friendly community of fellow daily practitioners who will support you making quick and sustainable changes in how you take care of yourself and how you manage your personal energy.  The group is highly focused on experiential learning (as compared to cognitive learning).  When you invest a small amount of time in adhering to your chosen self-care structures, you can reap huge rewards.  In as little as 90 days, you can successfully develop positive new habits and daily practices that will enable you to move from a state of just surviving to truly thriving.

When you become a member in the Circle, you receive:

(1)  BRAND NEW:  An electronic copy of the brand new, full-length instructional manual written by Sandy Davis entitled:  The Resilience Manual:  How to Thrive in Stressful Times––Seven Simple Self-Care Structures That Increase Your Ability to Prosper Come What May.  The manual explains you everything you need to know about how to successfully increase your own resilience-readiness.

(2)  BRAND NEW:  An electronic copy of The Resilience Reference Guide to the Self-Care Daily Evidence Log––How to Easily Generate the Compelling Data You Need to Optimize Your Self-Care and Maximize Your Resilience-Readiness (89 pages).  This guide is a companion to The Resilience Manual.  In it, you will find answers all the questions members of past Circles have asked (often repeatedly) over the past five years about the process of keeping an all-important daily evidence log.

(3)  A one-hour private coaching session with Sandy Davis to get you off to a quick and sure-footed start.

(4)  Full participation in six hour-long, twice-a-month Circle teleconferences. These calls serve to hold you accountable to yourself and to the group, to provide you with ongoing support, and to inspire you to stay right on track for 90 consecutive days.

(5)  Daily Evidence Logs (updated each month) to help you track and sustain your adherence to your chosen self-care structures.

(6)  Incidental phone and e-mail support from Sandy Davis, as well as from fellow Circle Members, to further assist you in staying on track.

(7)  An additional half-hour of private coaching with Sandy Davis, to be used either during course of the program on an as-needed basis, or as a point of closure at the end of the program.

(8)  An option to schedule additional private resilience coaching with Sandy Davis at a member-only reduced rate.  This provides you with an extra as-needed safety net.

(2)  What is The Resilience Circle™?

The Resilience Circle is a virtual mastermind community that comes together twice a month via regularly scheduled hour-long teleconference calls.  The purpose of the Circle is to help you move from just surviving to truly thriving.  Members of this collaborative network support one another in being fully accountable for adhering to their own self-chosen daily self-care structures both consistently and successfully.  Along the way, everyone learns how to methodically wire in new habits and new daily practices that, together, can serve to greatly increase their resilience-readiness.

One reason The Resilience Circle works is that it is essentially an accountability engine that can reliably accelerate positive personal change. As you embark on the challenging mission of actually changing some of your habits so as to begin to pay yourself first every single day, the Circle provides you with external points of personal accountability that are both clear and inescapable.  At the same time, your daily log also provides you with irrefutable evidence of the new positive results you are creating for yourself.

Call by call, your fellow members are there to hold you to keeping your self-chosen commitments, to cheer you on, to pick you up when you stumble, and to celebrate your successes––just as you will do for them.  For many of us, especially at the start, having the support of a community of fellow practitioners makes all the difference.  It takes the edge off the loneliness of self-development work, and it makes this developmental process both more enjoyable and more sustainable.

Over the course of 90 days of faithful adherence to your chosen self-care structures, you can learn first to track and then to internalize your external points of accountability.  Once you accomplish breakthrough internalization, you can continue to successfully make sustainable positive personal changes for the rest of your life.  You can become a master at continuously taking great care of yourself––without needing to rely on external points of accountability.  That's the secret.

Sandy Davis is the creator and facilitator of The Resilience Circle.  Building on over 15 years of experience in successfully teaching others how to become more resilient, he has been facilitating the Circle for over five years now.  What this means to you is that no time on the calls is wasted.  The twice-a-month sessions are interactive, inclusive, to the point, and inspiring.  Sandy keeps them focused on solving problems, acknowledging difficulties, and celebrating successes.

(3)  What is the need?

The journey towards abundant personal resilience tends to be a lonely one.  It entails faithfully doing inner work, mostly by yourself and for yourself.  No one else can do it for you.  That’s the very nature of self-care.

The majority of individuals who successfully adhere to their own self-care structures report that, especially at the outset, they benefit tremendously from having ongoing connections with other individuals who are likewise committed to doing the same.  They find that regular interchanges with fellow practitioners are uplifting and serve to re-inspire their commitments to their own daily developmental work.  To meet this recognized need for a vibrant community of practice, The Resilience Circle offers practitioners a proven, easy, and effective way to stay connected and to support one another––regardless of where you live.  Members can join the teleconference calls from any place where they have access to a telephone.  They have found the tele-conferences to be both spirited and enlightening.

(4)  Is this for you?

If you are feeling stressed out to the point of just barely surviving, and/or if you are having difficulty following through on your resolutions to change your own situation, this could be just what you need.  The act of joining The Resilience Circle is the critical first step towards taking committed action.  Likewise, if you're stuck and can't figure out which way to go, this could be just what you need.  By becoming a participating member, you will gain clear direction, peer support, and, in measure with how much you apply yourself to adhering to your self-care structures, you will get surefire results.

(5)  What is expected of participants?

As a member of one of the Resilience Circles, you will be expected to construct for yourself at least one new daily self-care structure, including at least one (and preferably two or three) simple daily self-care practice(s).  During the program, you will be expected to faithfully adhere to your self-chosen daily self-care structure(s), and to log the new results you are creating for yourself in your Daily Evidence Log.

Twice a month, Sandy Davis facilitates a scheduled one-hour teleconferenced meeting for each Circle.  As a member, you are expected to participate in at least one meeting per month, and, as much as possible, in both.  (If/when you have to miss a scheduled meeting, you will be expected to check in with your fellow members by e-mail.  You will also be eligible to participate that week as a guest in one of the other ongoing Circles.)

The full-group meetings include individual check-ins, discussions of common challenges that you and other practitioners are facing, brainstorming solutions to problems, honoring breakdowns, and both sharing and celebrating breakthroughs and personal discoveries around enhancing your capacity to thrive, no matter what is coming your way.

At the end of each month, members are required to send an electronic copy of that month's completed Daily Evidence Log to all the other members of the Circle.  During our group calls, referencing each member’s individual practice log serves to sharpen up member check-ins and to enrich the interactive dialogue.

(Members automatically receive an online version of the next month's Daily Evidence Log via e-mail about a week before the end of each month.)

(6)  What are the prerequisites?

There are two prerequisites for joining The Resilience Circle.  Before you join as a member:  (1) You need to have a working knowledge of Sandy Davis’ methodology for developing and sustaining personal resilience via simple self-care structures.  This prerequisite can best be met by reading the The Resilience Manual:  How to Thrive in Stressful Times.  (An electronic copy of this manual is included in your initial membership.)  (2) You need to be consistently doing and logging at least one daily self-care practice (or be ready to start doing so).  A balanced set of three well-chosen daily self-care practices is strongly recommended. Each practice will require an average of 15 minutes of time-on-task per day, normally seven days a week.

(7)  How do I join The Resilience Circle?

Membership in The Resilience Circle is based on quarterly memberships. To enroll as a member in one of the Circles, contact Sandy Davis by phone (207-809-4030) or by e-mail (sandy@resilienceworks.com).  If there is space available in a given Circle, new members can join at any time (i.e., on a "rolling" basis). (Each Circle is limited to 10 members.)

(8)  What is my quarterly investment?

Memberships in The Resilience Circle run for three months.  This is because it takes at least 90 days of continuous practice to  install a new habit or behavior.  Members, therefore, are asked to jump in wholeheartedly for at least 90 consecutive days.  To stay in The Resilience Circle for shorter periods is unlikely to yield the sustainable results that members typically are seeking.

Sandy Davis has been told my many members that he could reasonably charge lots more than he does for Quarterly Memberships.  The value of the benefits that members reap has been described in many cases as "priceless."  That being said, Sandy has opted to keep the price of membership as affordable as he possibly can.  Right now, it's a veritable bargain.

Quarterly memberships are currently available in two different flavors:

NEW MEMBERS: The investment for your initial quarterly membership in The Resilience Circle is US $399.00 (i.e., $4.43 per day).  Included in your first quarter membership are four bonuses worth a total of $356.00.  They include:  (1) one 60-minute initial private resilience coaching session with Sandy Davis (a $200 value), and (2) an electronic copy of the instructional manual, The Resilience Manual:  How to Thrive in Stressful Times  (a $37 value), (3) an electronic copy of The Resilience Reference Guide (a $19 value), and (4) a follow-up 30-minute private coaching session with Sandy Davis (a $100 value).

In addition to these four bonuses, membership includes full participation in all of the twice-a-month teleconference calls, plus “as-needed” short (5-10 minutes) unscheduled coaching calls with Sandy Davis.

(Printed versions of the both instructional manual are also available.  There is an additional charge of $20.00 for a postpaid printed copy of The Resilience Manual, and an additional charge of $18.00 for a postpaid printed copy of The Resilience Reference Guide.  These charges include production, handling, and domestic shipping via Priority Mail.  Maine sales tax applies to printed copies purchased by Maine residents.)

CONTINUING MEMBERS: The investment for members who elect to continue in The Resilience Circle past their initial quarter drops down to $299.00 per quarter (i.e., $3.32 per day). Continuing membership includes full participation in all of the twice-a-month teleconference calls, plus one additional 30-minute private coaching session with Sandy Davis (a $100 value).

Continuing members automatically lock into the continuing member rate in effect when they join a Circle.  If the continuing rate subsequently increases, for as long as they remain continuing active members, they will not be subject to any rate increases in the continuing membership fee.

Supplemental Coaching: Over the past several years, most members of The Resilience Circle have found it extremely valuable to complement their ongoing participation in the group calls with occasional private consultations with Sandy.  Beyond the initial one-hour coaching session for new members, additional private resilience coaching is available for all members on a pay-as-you-go basis at the member-only discounted rate of $150.00 per hour, with a minimum session length of half an hour.

Members are responsible for any long-distance phone charges they incur while participating in either the group calls or in one-on-one coaching calls.

(9)  How can I pay for my membership?

Payments for quarterly memberships can be made to ResilienceWorks LLC by personal check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express).  If you elect to pay by personal check, electronic invoices will be e-mailed to you on or about the 15th of the month prior to when your quarterly membership expires.  If you elect to pay by credit card, a request for payment authorization will be e-mailed to you on or about that same date.  Quarterly subscription fees are payable in full before the first day of each calendar quarter (or before the first day of the month in which you join a Circle).

Memberships normally start on the first day of each calendar quarter (i.e., January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1).  They continue through the last day of each calendar quarter.

New members who elect to join the start of other months also are expected to invest in a full 90-day Initial Membership.  If they elect to continue to participate in a Circle beyond their first 90 days, their second invoice will be pro-rated for the balance of months in that particular calendar quarter.  That way, their billing cycle will come into alignment with the regular quarterly billing cycle.

In order to join The Resilience Circle, you need to contact Sandy Davis directly at 207-809-4030 or sandy@resilienceworks.com.

(10)  How does my membership fee get applied?

Membership for a given quarter is always paid in full in advance on a use-it-or-lose-it basis.  Missed teleconference calls do not roll over to subsequent quarters.  A high priority is placed on showing up (for all the group calls, if possible) and on keeping your agreement with yourself and the group to faithfully adhere to your chosen daily self-care structures--even when you can't make a scheduled call.  (As mentioned above, when you have to miss a scheduled call, you are expected to check in with the group in absentia via e-mail.)

(11)  How can I pay for supplementary Resilience Circle coaching sessions?

Invoices for supplementary one-on-one Resilience Circle coaching sessions will be sent out by e-mail immediately following the session, and are payable by personal check or credit card upon receipt.

(12)  When do the teleconferences take place?

The Tuesday Circle teleconferences normally take place on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 5:30-6:30 pm ET (Eastern Time).

The Wednesday Circle teleconferences normally take place on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month from 3:00-4:00 pm ET.

Occasionally teleconferences are rescheduled to accommodate national holidays or other scheduling conflicts.

For an up-to-date schedule of the teleconferenced meetings for both Circles, please go to the Resilience Circle Schedules.

“For me, the heart of resilience practice is "Feed yourself first."  It is all too easy to let
one's self-nurturing slip in the face of demands and pressure on your time.  My daily
practices offer me both a reliable steadying point, as well as a way for me to sustain
my commitment to take good care of different parts of my life every day.”

-– Pam Swing, Photographer, Concord MA

(13)  A few tips on teleconference etiquette…

When you participate in The Resilience Circle teleconferences, if possible please avoid using cellular phones.  They have a nasty tendency to introduce echoes and other interference into the “conference room,” thereby making it difficult (and occasionally impossible) for members to hear one another.  It's best to use a corded “land-line” phone.  (Portable/wireless phones connected to land lines can also introduce unintended interference on the teleconference calls.)

When speaking to the group, please remember to start by identifying yourself:  “This is [Identify yourself by name]."  Then continue to speak.

(14)  How do I schedule private Resilience Circle coaching sessions?

New members schedule their initial one-hour coaching session with Sandy at a mutually agreeable time.  These introductory sessions normally take place on weekdays during business hours (9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time).  If necessary, sessions can be scheduled earlier or later in the day.  Supplemental coaching sessions are scheduled in the same manner.

(15)  Is there a money-back guarantee?

Yes.  If there is a space in The Resilience Circle, you can become a member at the start of any month.  If, after participating in your first scheduled tele-conference call, you decide that this adventure is not to for you, you can elect to drop out and receive a money-back guarantee.  You will have 48 hours to make this decision and notify Sandy Davis by phone or e-mail of your desire to drop out.  Once payment of your membership fee has cleared, he will then promptly refund your full investment, less the value of the two e-books ($46.00) he sent you.  Because those e-books cannot be returned, they will be yours to keep, read, and put to good personal use.  Refunds will also not be made for printed copies of Sandy's instructional manuals.

(16)  What if I drop out during my quarterly membership?

Because a major part of developing personal resilience is the practice of keeping all your agreements, if you choose to drop out of The Resilience Circle during a particular quarter (i.e., any time after the above money-back guarantee expires), you will not be entitled to any refund.  You are encouraged to play through at least to the end of your initial quarterly membership.  Such persistence will enable you to come out on the other side of various predictable points of resistance, breakdowns in your daily self-care practices, and/or discouragements.  At the end of your quarterly membership, you will be under no obligation whatsoever to continue during the next quarter.

(17)  How long do most members stay in the Circle?

Over the past five years, about half of all new members have elected to participate for one full calendar quarter.  About a quarter have continued in the Circle for a second calendar quarter.  And about a quarter have elected to remain members for a third, a fourth, and even a fifth consecutive quarter.  Some members have taken a break and then returned to one of the Circles after suspending their membership for one or two quarters.  You will know when you are ready to “leave the nest” and take flight on your own.

(18)  What lies ahead?

As membership in The Resilience Circle increases, Sandy Davis  intends to create additional Circles that meet on other dates and at other times.  He may also create some special-interest circles for coaches, teachers, trainers, and/or others who are interested in becoming certified to use his programs and materials in their own work.  (Please let Sandy know if you are interested in joining such a special-interest Circle.)

(19)  For more information and to join a Circle…

To enroll as a member of either of The Resilience Circles, please contact Sandy Davis by phone (207-809-4030) or by e-mail (sandy@resilienceworks.com).

Prior to getting started, you will have your one-hour introductory private telephone session with Sandy in order: (1) to confirm your membership in the Circle of your choice; (2) to ensure that you have met (or are planning to meet) the two prerequisites (see Section (6)); (3) to determine what daily self-care structures you want to construct for yourself; (4) to take note of your contact and billing information; (5) to establish your payment preferences (check or credit card); and (6) to give you the telephone bridge line number and PIN code for the twice-a-month teleconferenced meetings.

Finally, remember that a change in your daily self-care practices can change everything, and that without practice, nothing changes.  Continuous execution is key.  This is what becoming a member in The Resilience Circle is all about.

(20)  When will upcoming teleconference calls take place?

To find out the dates and times of upcoming Resilience Circle tele-conferences, link to Resilience Circle Schedules.