Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how the challenges and tragedies attendees face in life (professionally and personally) can be transformed into the foundation for future growth and success.

2. Define the areas in the life of the audience members (professionally and personally), where they identify their fears, challenges, teammates, dreams, and goals.

The phoenix is one of the most celebrated creatures in world mythology. As it senses its own death approaching, this great bird builds a nest, lies in it, ignites it and burns itself to ashes. From these ashes it rises, soaring even higher, beginning another cycle of life. As the result of a childhood fire, John O'Leary was burned as completely as a person could be without dying. However, John survived the fire and in many ways feel as if he was reborn into another existence. Such can be the nature of our disasters, if we permit ourselves to accept what happened, learn its lessons, and resolve to take flight into new life. The Phoenix Factor proposes not that we can avoid tough times, but that each of us can grow from them, change our direction, rise to new heights and soar in life.