Achievement Academy
COURSES TO HELP YOU REACH YOUR FULL POTENTIAL
Here you’ll be able to browse all courses available in the Academy. You can also select one of the tabs above to view courses by category.
New Boots
To move forward, leave some things behind
Dr. Stacy Taniguchi tells a short, but compelling story about an experience he had while working Search and Rescue in Alaska. It’s a profound message we all must both learn and embrace, repeatedly and relentlessly, if we are going to move forward in life.
Choose to Thrive
It's your choice...
We are not here to simply endure life, but to thrive. It’s a choice we all have to make. In this course, Dr. Stacy Taniguchi tells a series of powerful stories from his experience climbing the tallest summits in the world. It will make you want to live a life to Thrive!
The Energy Iceberg (Part 1)
Understanding the role of energy in personal progress
When it comes to achievement, there are only three variables... time, talent and energy. We focus on time and talent... but energy matters most. Learn about the interplay of these three, and how optimizing for energy will be the main driver of your success.
The Energy Iceberg (Part 2)
How optimizing energy will give you the most thrust
As you move forward on your Journey to Purpose, you must continually draw on the three main levers of personal progress… time, talent, and energy. In this course we'll talk about the limits of time and talent and how to leverage energy to maximize momentum.
The Orbits Model
An overview
In this course you’ll learn about the gravitational systems that exist in our lives and how they shape our behavior. With this understanding, you’ll learn how to create gravitational systems that pull you forward and escape those that hold you back.
The Control Spectrum
Optimize your energy
Throughout our lives, we are faced with a myriad of choices which always fall along the same spectrum of control. How we make those choices has an important energy outcome. Learn how to make choices that add to the energy you have in life.
Why Energy Matters Most
The two most important things you can do
Energy is so vital in our lives. It is constantly being either created, or drained. Learning to be aware of how to create energy and how to spend it—as well as learning to identify and avoid the things that naturally drain it—will give us a huge advantage in life.
Leaving Your Comfort Zone
A get-unstuck mini-course
Getting unstuck usually means we have to leave our comfort zone... and that’s a lot easier said than done. So first of all don’t feel bad if you feel stuck, and if you’ve struggled to break away from where you are to get somewhere new. Remember these two things...
The 16 Elements - An Overview
The fundamental components of energy
These are the fundamental ingredients for activating the energy inside of you to achieve excellence and success in life. Distilled from over 20 years of research, these elements form the foundation of the Life Engineering move-forward methodology.
When these elements are active in our lives, or within a context or area of life, we are more engaged, more productive, and more successful.
These elements activate the energy within us to move forward. When it comes to human performance, there are really only three variables… there’s time, talent, and energy. And the research makes clear: between time, talent, and energy, energy matters most.Â
For more information on this, see our two courses in Foundations on energy (here and here).
On the other hand, when these elements are inactive (or go inactive) we disengage. We lose energy, stall, and stagnate. We will cover this in more detail in the upcoming Orbits course set.
The 16 Elements Academy is where you come to learn more about each element.Â
Here you’ll learn what each one is and how to implement it in your life to activate the energy inside of you and unleash your full potential.
Perspective
The lens you choose to look through
Answers: What world do I see?
A cornerstone component that determines the experiences we have and the meaning we get out of the life we live. This is about choosing our focus, taking control of our narrative, and processing events in a way that fuels the future.
Identity
Discover the Light Within
Answers: Who am I?
A foundational and transformative journey of self-discovery. This is about knowing who you are, what you’re capable of, and believing in yourself. It’s about knowing that you’re capable of—and worth—so much more.
Objective
What you're going to accomplish
Answers: Where am I going?
Set your sights on the future and leave your past behind. This is about choosing a destination you care about, having a higher cause, and finding purpose to propel you forward.
Plan
Your way-forward strategy
Answers: How am I going to get there?
This is about knowing what to do next and having a clear path forward—with small and simple next steps clearly defined to reduce resistance and maintain forward momentum.
Relationship
The power of a team
Answers: Do I have to do this alone?
Having people and connections that support you. This is about having connection and camaraderie. It’s doing things we care about with people we care about and being committed to and motivated by them.
Space
What you need to move forward
Answers: What do I need to get there?
How to get what you need, to do what you need to do. This is about identifying and obtaining the things you need to move forward... the tools, time, talents, permission, resources, or whatever else you need.
Mentor
Having a guide for your journey
Answers: Where can I turn for help?
Having access to help for when you get stuck. This is about having a guide, a mentor—someone who believes in you, who reminds you of why you fight, who sees the best in you and helps you become that.
Environment
An ecosystem to support your journey
Answers: How do I ensure success?
Architecting an environment that sustains you. This is about having surroundings and the physical space you need to support and enable your effort. It’s people, systems, symbols, score, objectives, and other environmental cues.
Score
Measuring progress
Answers: Is it working?
Measure your performance and be accountable. This is about having a sense of winning and losing. It’s about knowing that you’re moving forward, or knowing when you’ve stalled so you can adapt accordingly.
Momentum
The energy of motion
Answers: What keeps me going?
Leveraging the energy of movement to fuel more movement. This is about staying active and anxiously engaged, because people in motion tend to stay in motion, while people at rest tend to stay at rest.
Investment
Having skin in the game
Answers: What happens if I fail?
Having something to lose. This is about feeling a sense of ownership—deliberately creating risk or costs for losing to increase the perceived value of our efforts and prevent us from giving up too soon or too easily.
Alignment
Staying on course
Answers: Am I going the right direction?
Constant course correction. This is about making sure the path you’re on is the right path, identifying any adjustments that might need to be made, and getting back on track so that answer is always an absolute “YES!”
Impact
Making a difference and moving the needle
Answers: Am I making a difference?
Making a difference and caring about the difference you make. This is about having an impact, understanding that impact, caring about that impact, and finding meaning and fulfillment from that impact.
Growth
Personal development and mastery
Answers: What am I becoming?
Moving forward personally or professionally. This is about feeling like you’re getting better, progressing as an individual, building competency and capabilities, and being motivated by that growth. It’s being happy about the person you’re becoming.
Value
Rewards and recognition
Answers: What’s in this for me?
Being rewarded for your efforts. This is about making sure you’re receiving rewards and recognition for the things you do so you have ample incentive and motivation to keep doing them.
Renewal
Balance and restoration
Answers: Where am I going?
Set your sights on the future and leave your past behind. This is about choosing a destination you care about, having a higher cause, and finding purpose to propel you forward.
The Performance Iceberg
Why energy matters most
When it comes to human achievement, there are really only three big variables… there’s time, talent and energy. And while we tend to focus almost exclusively on time and talent, the research is clear… between the three, energy actually matters most.
If it’s so important, the question is how well do we know how to optimize for it within our teams and organizations.
In this course we’ll talk about the interplay between these three critical components, and why learning to activate and optimize the energy inside you is likely to be the number one driver of you becoming and achieving your full potential.
Extraordinary vs Extravagant
How to become an extraordinary leader
We all know individuals who seem to flaunt their extravagant lifestyles either in person or on social media. Those who embrace lavishness and overabundance may do so at the expense of truly becoming extraordinary. When that happens in a leader, it can drive a wedge between them and those they lead, getting in the way of an extraordinary team experience.
Through this course, you’ll be able to identify opportunities to personally be more “extraordinary” as a leader; communicate the framework of an “extraordinary” culture to team members; and create a team-based plan to build measurable “extraordinary” features into the team experience.
Leadership & Community - Orient (1 of 4)
Effective leaders are community builders
Effective leaders know the power of community building. As they lead individuals and teams within an organization, they are able to strike the right balance between engaging individuals and doing so within the broader scope of the team and the overall organizational “community.”
Effective leaders throughout an organization are active community builders. Communities are made up of individuals who have the opportunity to work together and spark innovation, create value, and succeed in the market together. Investing heavily in your team community is fundamental to supporting the strategic objectives within any organization.
This is the first course in a 4-part series, covering the Orient Pillar from the Human Achievement Process.
Leadership & Community - Assemble (2 of 4)
Effective leaders are community builders
Effective leaders know the power of community building. As they lead individuals and teams within an organization, they are able to strike the right balance between engaging individuals and doing so within the broader scope of the team and the overall organizational “community.”
Effective leaders throughout an organization are active community builders. Communities are made up of individuals who have the opportunity to work together and spark innovation, create value, and succeed in the market together. Investing heavily in your team community is fundamental to supporting the strategic objectives within any organization.
This is the second course in a 4-part series, covering the Assemble Pillar from the Human Achievement Process.
Leadership & Community - Act (3 of 4)
Effective leaders are community builders
Effective leaders know the power of community building. As they lead individuals and teams within an organization, they are able to strike the right balance between engaging individuals and doing so within the broader scope of the team and the overall organizational “community.”
Effective leaders throughout an organization are active community builders. Communities are made up of individuals who have the opportunity to work together and spark innovation, create value, and succeed in the market together. Investing heavily in your team community is fundamental to supporting the strategic objectives within any organization.
This is the third course in a 4-part series, covering the Act Pillar from the Human Achievement Process.
Leadership & Community - Achieve (4 of 4)
Effective leaders are community builders
Effective leaders know the power of community building. As they lead individuals and teams within an organization, they are able to strike the right balance between engaging individuals and doing so within the broader scope of the team and the overall organizational “community.”
Effective leaders throughout an organization are active community builders. Communities are made up of individuals who have the opportunity to work together and spark innovation, create value, and succeed in the market together. Investing heavily in your team community is fundamental to supporting the strategic objectives within any organization.
This is the fourth course in a 4-part series, covering the Achieve Pillar from the Human Achievement Process.
Leadership and Resilience
For a team's ups and downs
Resilience is a fundamental characteristic of high-performing teams. In this course, you’ll learn to build a team that is capable of rebounding from setbacks, recognize the role resilience plays in generating engagement, and foster psychological safety.
In this course we’ll talk about how to create a team environment that encourages resilience as way to respond to challenges. We’ll discuss how to create a team environment that encourages psychological safety and the role resilience plays in producing engagement. You’ll also learn about the “Forest Fire” strategy that promotes recovery or regeneration after failure as a resilience-building tool for teams.
The Five Voices
Managing energy within and without
In any organization, there are five voices. They are the voices of the market, the customer, the organization, the leader, and the employee. By focusing on the interplay between these voices, rather than listening to only one voice at a time, organizations will see increased engagement, satisfaction, and performance.
The Five Voices is a simple way of looking at how to relate to stakeholders in any organization. The missing link, however, is what goes on between the five voices.
For an organization to operate at peak effectiveness, it must find a way to balance these voices to be both market-driven, and driven and people-centered.
Leadership and Trust - Orient (1 of 4)
To lead effectively, build trust
Answers: Where am I going?
This course is part 1 in a 4-part series where we discuss trust using the backdrop of the 16 Elements. In this course, that backdrop will focus on the Orient Pillar of the Human Achievement Process, covering the elements of Identity, Objective, Plan and Space.
Most leaders intuitively understand that trust matters in a team. Yet they may not recognize how deeply that the level of interpersonal trust with and within their teams actually affects their levels of engagement and performance. In this course you’ll learn to see and nurture those critical connections.
In this course we’ll talk about how engagement and performance in a team are rooted in trust. You’ll also learn how trust in a team can be positively impacted by balancing vulnerability and efficiency at both the individual and team level.
Leadership and Trust - Assemble (2 of 4)
To lead effectively, build trust
This course is part 2 in a 4-part series where we discuss trust using the backdrop of the 16 Elements. In this course, that backdrop will focus on the Assemble Pillar of the Human Achievement Process, covering the elements of Relationship, Mentor, Environment and Space.
Most leaders intuitively understand that trust matters in a team. Yet they may not recognize how deeply that the level of interpersonal trust with and within their teams actually affects their levels of engagement and performance. In this course you’ll learn to see and nurture those critical connections.
In this course we’ll talk about how engagement and performance in a team are rooted in trust. You’ll also learn how trust in a team can be positively impacted by balancing vulnerability and efficiency at both the individual and team level.
Leadership and Trust - Act (3 of 4)
To lead effectively, build trust
This course is part 1 in a 4-part series where we discuss trust using the backdrop of the 16 Elements. In this course, that backdrop will focus on the Act Pillar of the Human Achievement Process, covering the elements of Momentum, Investment, Score and Alignment.
Most leaders intuitively understand that trust matters in a team. Yet they may not recognize how deeply that the level of interpersonal trust with and within their teams actually affects their levels of engagement and performance. In this course you’ll learn to see and nurture those critical connections.
In this course we’ll talk about how engagement and performance in a team are rooted in trust. You’ll also learn how trust in a team can be positively impacted by balancing vulnerability and efficiency at both the individual and team level.
Leadership and Trust - Achieve (4 of 4)
To lead effectively, build trust
This course is part 1 in a 4-part series where we discuss trust using the backdrop of the 16 Elements. In this course, that backdrop will focus on the Achieve Pillar of the Human Achievement Process, covering the elements of Value, Growth, Impact, and Renewal.
Most leaders intuitively understand that trust matters in a team. Yet they may not recognize how deeply that the level of interpersonal trust with and within their teams actually affects their levels of engagement and performance. In this course you’ll learn to see and nurture those critical connections.
In this course we’ll talk about how engagement and performance in a team are rooted in trust. You’ll also learn how trust in a team can be positively impacted by balancing vulnerability and efficiency at both the individual and team level.
Engagement During Leadership Transition
For a team's ups and downs
Times of leadership transition can represent substantial organizational opportunity, but they also carry substantial risk. They can be opportunities to increase and enhance engagement, but also can cause rampant disengagement.
Understanding the science of the 16 Elements and the 6 Pillar Process for Human Achievement, along with their corresponding tools, can help make these transitions go smoothly and successfully.
Perspective and Identity
Leadership Through the Lens of Identity
Paired Elements for Leaders
This course looks at leadership through the lens of perspective and identity. The cyclical nature of perspective and identity, where one is either feeding or responding to the other, means that we need to be intentional about both.
You’ll learn about how your perspective has shaped your identity. You’ll evaluate how your leadership is shaping how your team perceives new opportunities and challenges.
You’ll also design a simple plan to connect each team member’s identity with the opportunities the team needs to pursue.
Objective and Plan
Moving forward in the right direction
Paired Elements for Leaders
An objective is directional—it’s about moving at the right speed and in the right general direction.
A plan is a way forward strategy—it’s the next visible, actionable steps in service of reaching the objective.
As a leader, knowing your team’s individual and collective objectives and plans will increase your opportunity to engage them more effectively and to achieve greater success.
The distinction between objective and plan is an important one to get right, and getting it right can make all the difference in your team’s performance.
Relationship and Mentor
The interplay of relationships in a team
Paired Elements for Leaders
Relationships and mentorships provide opportunities to support, challenge, encourage, teach, and develop, connect and communicate.
Leaders can be more effective when they are aware of what’s happening in the lives of their team members and how those events are impacting the team.
In this course we’ll explore the interplay of relationships, the role of a mentor, how all of this converges within the dynamics of a team.
We’ll talk about how you as a leader can leverage these fundamental elements to create increased satisfaction and engagement, while increasing both team and individual performance.
Momentum and Alignment
How to effectively lead a team toward an objective
Paired Elements for Leaders
Momentum recognizes that objects in motion tend to stay in motion and objects at rest tend to stay at rest. In the same way, people in motion tend to stay in motion, and people at rest tend to stay at rest.
ÂAs such, Momentum is directly tied to the energy we need to move forward. It’s important to get the Energy just right to stay aligned.
Alignment determines if we’re moving in the right DIRECTION and at the right SPEED toward our objectives.
In this course we’ll talk about how to create harmony between momentum and alignment to keep your team moving toward their objectives.
Environment and Space
Building and leveraging empowerment
Paired Elements for Leaders
Environment and Space, two of the 16 Elements of Human Achievement, have a huge impact in the workplace. As we define them at Life Engineering, Space is what you’re empowered to do and Environment includes what you can do with that empowerment.
In this course we’ll explore how leaders can build and leverage empowerment within their teams through intentional permission, autonomy, and innovation. This is ever more important in our remote and hybrid work environments.
Investment and Score
Optimizing investment by tracking progress
Paired Elements for Leaders
Investment and Score, two of the 16 Elements in the Act Pillar of the Human Achievement Process, can work together in highly synergistic ways that can lead maximizing employee and team investment, while maintaining engagement and satisfaction.
In this course we’ll talk about both Investment and Score independently, and then how to bring them together in a way that can help leaders navigate treacherous terrain on complex journeys, but with far fewer bumps and bruises to the team and the organization as a whole.
