Soul Full of Detours.

Empower U is a personality development and life coaching program, put on by Brent Williams and his team from Tomorrow’s Youth primarily in Sydney, Australia. The program is designed for young people ideally between the age of 15 – 25, however, there is no set restriction (or else, I wouldn’t have been able to attend).

The Back Story:

I first heard about this program from a fellow traveler and one of my friend from Oktoberfest. Being a participant herself and one of the primary volunteers for the program, she was raving about the program; which naturally instilled curiosity in me. Having had planned to visit Australia, I tried to get in as a volunteer for the camp (Empower U x 10), but being not experienced and having limited knowledge of the program, Brent invited me to try one of the event first before I committed.

I arrived to my friend’s house in Melbourne on January 26 (Happy Australia Day), and being a super energetic and excited person, she couldn’t wait to reveal my welcome gift. She had planned an epic road trip for my time in Australia and signed me up for the ‘Empower U’ program in February; she used her credits to get me to come to the event!

Empower U:

Although I was curious about the program, I was skeptical about the event as well. Being freshly 26 (January babies are the best), I thought to myself, how much more can I learn from a program designed for individuals younger than I. But being an open-minded individual, and out of love for my friend and her effort, I decided to give it a chance. I was thinking about skipping parts of the event, especially after she told me how long the event goes – The program lasts the whole weekend starting from 8am – 9:30pm; ain’t nobody got time for that!

Day 1

After driving for 7 hours from a Suburb in Victoria, we finally arrived at the location a little late to the event.

Brent, the founder and speaker, had high energy and was convincing. But there were 3 reasons it was a rough start:

1, During our drive to the event, my friend mentioned that I was the oldest participant for the Sydney program.

2, As Brent kicked off the event, he mentioned that this program is designed more so for young people from the age of 15 – 25, and I just turned 26….

3, Literally all the participants were babies, okay, teens and young adults.

Apart from my slight ego, and seeing a mix of overly excited kids (revisits) and the gloomy “why am I here” kids, I started planning my escape plans. Exit over there, breaks, best excuses etc.

Anyway, by the end of the night, Brent was able to get more of the participants ready for the weekend and excited for what is to come. As for me, I decided to stay the course because, well, curiosity; and also not to be rude and disrespectful to my friend and Brent – Canadians are not rude people :D.

Day 2 & 3

By no means, should I be condensing what happened during those days under one heading. But due to the design of the event, and the integrity of not giving away too much, I will try to keep it as short and exciting as possible.

Brent used his experience, knowledge, and stories to bring life to the event. He covered topics such as emotional intelligence, money and finance, breaking through barriers, goal setting, communication skills, and family and relationships. With a lot of dancing, team building games and exercises, the room was filled with energy for the entire duration of the event. I truly appreciated the humility of Brent, to see how a successful individual is willingly sharing his secrets and recipes of success. Add in his energy, style of presentation, and the design of the program, no one could have been bored. He also made the event slightly more competitive by separating us into teams and giving out Brent bucks for the team that participated the most – GO CHICKENS!

Towards the end of day 3, one could see the difference in the room. The super energetic individuals maintained their energy and passion. But the skeptical, gloomy individuals finally showed some life. Wonderful to see how these youngsters truly absorbed the program and went through a complete 360 change. Barely anyone failed to participate and I could sense the boost in confidence in many kids.

The message Brent professed, the lessons he taught, and the experience he shared acted as stepping stones for the participants to gain the confidence.

Personal Reflection:

As the oldest participant, an international and an individual with some life experience, I approached this event with curiosity and skepticism. Not to say I didn’t gain anything from the event, but it was more so of a reflective journey for me rather than a transformational one compared to lot of the participants. During certain key processes, while these young ones transformed, I reflected. I reflected on what I should have done, could have done, who I should have been, relationships, family and friends. It is not late for me, but since I had already made peace with my past mistakes and regrets, the reflection helped find an ultimate closure and set myself up for future goals and success. I did wish I was part of this program at a younger age, so I could have shared similar experience with the other participants.

This program also helped me truly appreciate and be grateful for what I have. Sounds cheesy, but after hearing the stories and experiences of the other participants and what they have gone through at a young age, I have been lucky. Canadian born in UAE, the opportunities, the education and the supportive family and friends, the amazing people I have met, I couldn’t possibly be any ungrateful. I have always been blessed to have been surrounded by the best people, even with the minor setbacks and regrets (I ‘m to blame).

This program also enabled me to meet some awesome individuals and forge friendships with them.

The Future Is Bright

As mentioned earlier, the program was more of a reflective journey for me. However, it was an honour, and a humbling experience, to see the journey of the other participants and see their transformation. I am truly happy for each one and hope for the best for you all. The future is bright – Australia is in great hands!

I truly hope this event gains more international exposure, and Brent continues his work with young individuals from other parts of the world. To learn more about the program, click here: https://tomorrowsyouth.com.au/

Keep Smiling and Pushing Forward! 🙂

**I haven’t added any pictures from the event, because it is a tech-free environment and all the pictures captured by the event photographers were strictly for the event. I also can’t use those images as there were young participants under the age of 18.