FAQ

FAQ

our most frequently asked questions and answers

BBA is committed to safeguarding against the spread of the CovID-19 virus. We now offer virtual programs to support those students who wish not to interact in person.  To ensure a safe experience, BBA has also implemented the following policy for our in-person trainings.

All students attending in person are required to be vaccinated. Be sure to have your vaccine card with you as it will be required to enter the training room.
Any student arriving from outside of New England is required to show proof of a negative rapid test result, received within 72 hours of arrival in our training.
Temperatures will be taken prior to entering the training room each morning and after each break.
FDA Certified Rapid COVID tests will be administered each morning, prior to entering the training.
Masks are required to be worn in the training room.
Social distancing guidelines will be enforced.

BBA will adhere to all CDC recommendations in the state of Massachusetts and will keep students informed as guidelines change.  In the event of an in-person cancellation to comply with CDC guidelines, students will be offered a comparable virtual training at no additional cost.

Boston Breakthrough Academy provides experiential leadership programs that support people in unlocking their passion, power, and purpose. Developed using positive psychology and behavioral science, our emotional intelligence trainings are proven to make substantial and lasting impacts on graduates’ personal and professional lives while also improving our local communities.

Founded in 2019, Boston Breakthrough Academy was started as a way to build community, create an impact, and develop leadership. Its success is a testament to the extraordinary students who have used its platform to reach the next level in their own lives. The founders were originally invited to participate in a similar training on the west coast. Inspired by the value they created for themselves and also witnessing others experiencing extraordinary results, the founders invited renowned leadership trainers and life-coaches, such as Chris Lee and Michael Strasner, to launch their own program in Boston.

Students begin with the Discovery Training to scratch the surface of leadership and identify what is holding them back from living their best life as their best self.

Once complete, students move on to the Breakthrough Training to create freedom from old habits and thought processes that are getting in the way of those freedoms.

The final stage of the core curriculum is the Leadership Program to utilize all tools learned from earlier trainings and applying them to everyday life. As a capstone, each Leadership team also completes a large-scale community service project designed to have a massive impact in the world.

The core curriculum trainings are sequential and cannot be taken out of order. The trainings build on one another and are cumulative in nature. The trainings are to be taken in the following order:

Discovery → Breakthrough → Leadership

Boston Breakthrough Academy offers a variety of additional workshops at several times throughout the year. Some workshops do require core curriculum trainings as prerequisites. To learn more, go to the specific workshop page of interest.

Each student’s experience during the training is different and unique to them. Exactly what you get from the trainings depends heavily on your participation and openness in the process. The training curriculum, the process itself and the value of making a commitment to growing as a person and developing yourself as a leader affects each participant in meaningful ways and ultimately brings meaningful results to our students and their communities.

Transformation is redesign and reinvention. In the context of Boston Breakthrough Academy, it’s a reinvention of the self in a way that, with constant practice, is sustainable and long-lasting.

The trainings are experiential in nature and focus on practical skills, leadership principles, and conceptual information with strong focuses on developing emotional intelligence (EQ), stress-management skills, integrity, resilience, responsibility, and leadership.

The purpose of the trainings is to create extraordinary results in your life: in creating a higher level of intimacy, trust, communication in all relationships, increased self confidence, career success , financial abundance, health, personal fulfillment, and leadership. The curriculum of the trainings accomplishes this by creating breakthroughs in self-awareness, uncovering blind spots that hold us back, and then providing tools to break through these barriers to success. We encourage you to check out our Results page to get an idea of what some others have gotten out of the trainings.

Leadership is not only for people in positions of authority or management. Everyone has the potential to be a leader in their lives. This looks like both living their own lives to their greatest potential and supporting those around them into living theirs.

EQ is the ability to motivate yourself to take actions that you determine will serve your vision and assist you in reaching your goals. It is the ability to be joyful regardless of your circumstances. It is the ability to manage stress, connect and be sensitive with others’ feelings and to understand what motivates you. It is the ability to respond to situations instead of reacting in order to allow for intentional, conscious choices that are more likely to lead to desired outcomes in life.

EQ has been identified by a number of employers and educational institutions as being the number one contributing factor to success. It is regarded as more important than IQ, resources, contacts, or other environmental factors. Our trainings develop these EQ skills and deliver intuitive, simple to understand principles to implement as leadership in life.

Traditional schools specialize in instructional education: a teacher at the front of the room conveying conceptual information relying primarily on lecture. This is an effective method for teaching knowledge, but is not typically as effective at developing practical skills and wisdom that are obtained through experience and practice.

Experiential education bridges the gap from concept to practice. Think of the difference between reading about riding a bike versus actually riding one. Emotional intelligence and leadership are skills often treated as conceptual topics when, realistically, to fully develop them as functional tools requires putting the ideas into motion.

Our trainings utilize a series of dynamic exercises in order to develop various leadership skills and traits. Exercises include one-on-one sharing, small group interactions, games, and guided visualizations. The trainings are extremely engaging and the time passes very quickly. These activities require some physical movement and active participation.

People love their favorite sports teams (Go Red Sox! Go Patriots!). When avid sports fans meet other fans of the same team, it doesn’t matter that they may be strangers, friends, or family; there is a shared enthusiasm and camaraderie. This level of excitement is seen in many activities with a passionate following such as running, crossfit, yoga, certain diets, March For Our Lives, Me Too, Rocky Horror Picture Show, student organizations, and other popular trends.

The environment is similar within the BBA alumni network. We are each other’s fans and have created a bond that makes it easy to show excitement about each other’s accomplishments and successes. As a result, we then enjoy sharing the trainings and experience with others.

Our participants are excited because they want to see people they care about enjoy what Boston Breakthrough Academy has to offer. There is no other reward, financial or otherwise, for enrolling someone in one of our trainings. It’s truly the experience of giving for the sake of giving.

BBA is intended for people of all backgrounds, genders, orientations, education levels, ethnicities, and religions. We encourage you to check out our Why BBA page to get an idea of how people with similar personalities to you have benefitted from the trainings.

And BBA is for…

People who are successful, looking for an edge
People who are entrepreneurs
People who are business owners
People who are professional
People who want to improve themselves
People who are successful, but burnt out or have lost their passion
People with specific goals they are committed to achieving
People looking to improve specific areas of their lives
People looking to clarify a vision for their lives
People looking to develop themselves as leaders in their families and community
People looking to develop their influence
People who are already successful and looking for the next level in their life.
People looking to uplevel, who want take their leadership to a high level

We have had students complete this program successfully that have a history of alcoholism and/or substance abuse. However, Boston Breakthrough Academy is not designed for treating addiction in any way, shape or form.

For those currently battling addiction or recently in recovery, it is important to achieve sobriety prior to participation in the trainings. A minimum of 6 months of sobriety is strongly recommended and the student is encouraged to seek support from their sponsors.

All students must be sober for the entire duration of the training weekends. Events hosted by Boston Breakthrough Academy are drug and alcohol free.

The health of our participants is our number one concern. We are a coaching organization, not a therapeutic practice, and we rely on our participants to accurately disclose any health conditions which may contradict participation. The trainings are rigorous and at times emotionally challenging.  Therefore, they may not be suitable for those with a history of, or currently undergoing treatment for, mental illness.

To ensure everyone’s health and safety, all participants must complete a confidential health questionnaire prior to attending. Click here to see a sample of the questionnaire. You may be required to get a waiver signed by a medical professional attesting to the safety of your participation

Many employers are supportive of participation by their employees in leadership development programs. It makes sense! We offer a Corporate Sponsorship Letter for students looking to request financial support from their employer as well as requesting days off without utilizing vacation or personal days. Please contact our office for a copy of this letter.

This training is about you and your personal development, which is different and uniquely designed for each student. We focus on you, and not meeting third-party standards. Therefore this training does not qualify for professional continuing education credits at this time.

We can offer group rates for teams of 5 or more. We also design custom programs for corporations looking to create stronger teams in their workforce. Contact us if you are interested in learning more.

Tuition may only be refunded within three days of your enrollment date, and must be requested in writing.

Transfers are permitted for registrations that are paid in full and can be made for a future training or to another student.  Promotional registrations or those made on a payment plan are not eligible for transfer.

All trainings and workshops conducted by Boston Breakthrough Academy are created to be immersive and experiential. This requires you to be 100% present in the room and the exercises you are participating in. In the training room, cell phones are turned off and put to the side. There are breaks at least every 3 hours on training days. You can use your phone during these breaks. There is always someone in the office and an emergency number you can give to your family during training hours to get in touch with you in case of an emergency.

These trainings are cumulative in nature and missing parts of them would inhibit your ability to follow along and create the maximum value. Like missing a major part of a movie, you would be confused when you came back. It is important that you attend all parts of the trainings on all days. If you are coming from out of town, please make your travel arrangements accordingly.

When you enroll in a training, you will receive an email from our office letting you know details about what to expect as well as logistical details. However, we always recommend bringing layered clothing, a bottle of water, snacks, any required medications, and an open mind to every training.

We often have family members (including spouses) or friends attend trainings together. It is an incredible activity to share with someone, and almost invariably draws people closer. While you are permitted to attend the same training class with loved ones, in the training process you will be directed to work with people you do not know prior to the training.

No. The curriculum for this leadership training is not rooted in any religion nor does it have religious elements included in the training. We welcome students of all denominations, belief systems, and religious and non-religious backgrounds. The feedback we invariably receive from people of various faiths that have participated, is that this work deepened their faith. Boston Breakthrough Academy is truly a family-oriented organization. Our events are all alcohol and drug free and children are welcome to many functions.

BBA believes in creating the most powerful possible experience for students, whether within our center or elsewhere.  We are honored to have volunteers who feel the same way.  We understand that several centers around the country provide trainings similar to those provided by BBA, and that, at times, our volunteers wish to participate in other center programs in addition to ours.  
 
When a volunteer is not actively participating as a student, staff member or senior in a BBA program, BBA has no issue with that volunteer supporting another program.  However, when actively participating in a BBA program (i.e. class, mastermind, training program, etc.), we ask that our volunteers remain focused on providing the best possible experience for our students during that time, and focus their efforts on supporting that BBA program.  Any exceptions will be handled on a case by case basis.
 
Should an active BBA volunteer wish to support another program for one day, they are free to do so.
 
And if a BBA volunteer is not actively participating in a BBA program and wishes to staff or senior in another center’s program, they are free to do so.
 
When we all focus on providing excellent support to our students, everyone wins.

Boston Breakthrough Academy provides experiential leadership programs that support people in unlocking their passion, power, and purpose. Developed using positive psychology and behavioral science, our emotional intelligence trainings are proven to make substantial and lasting impacts on graduates’ personal and professional lives while also improving our local communities.

Founded in 2019, Boston Breakthrough Academy was started as a way to build community, create an impact, and develop leadership. Its success is a testament to the extraordinary students who have used its platform to reach the next level in their own lives. The founders were originally invited to participate in a similar training on the west coast. Inspired by the value they created for themselves and also witnessing others experiencing extraordinary results, the founders invited renowned leadership trainers and life-coaches, such as Chris Lee and Michael Strasner, to launch their own program in Boston.

Students begin with the Discovery Training to scratch the surface of leadership and identify what is holding them back from living their best life as their best self.

Once complete, students move on to the Breakthrough Training to create freedom from old habits and thought processes that are getting in the way of those freedoms.

The final stage of the core curriculum is the Leadership Program to utilize all tools learned from earlier trainings and applying them to everyday life. As a capstone, each Leadership team also completes a large-scale community service project designed to have a massive impact in the world.

The core curriculum trainings are sequential and cannot be taken out of order. The trainings build on one another and are cumulative in nature. The trainings are to be taken in the following order:

Discovery → Breakthrough → Leadership

Boston Breakthrough Academy offers a variety of additional workshops at several times throughout the year. Some workshops do require core curriculum trainings as prerequisites. To learn more, go to the specific workshop page of interest.

Each student’s experience during the training is different and unique to them. Exactly what you get from the trainings depends heavily on your participation and openness in the process. The training curriculum, the process itself and the value of making a commitment to growing as a person and developing yourself as a leader affects each participant in meaningful ways and ultimately brings meaningful results to our students and their communities.

Transformation is redesign and reinvention. In the context of Boston Breakthrough Academy, it’s a reinvention of the self in a way that, with constant practice, is sustainable and long-lasting.

The trainings are experiential in nature and focus on practical skills, leadership principles, and conceptual information with strong focuses on developing emotional intelligence (EQ), stress-management skills, integrity, resilience, responsibility, and leadership.

The purpose of the trainings is to create extraordinary results in your life: in creating a higher level of intimacy, trust, communication in all relationships, increased self confidence, career success , financial abundance, health, personal fulfillment, and leadership. The curriculum of the trainings accomplishes this by creating breakthroughs in self-awareness, uncovering blind spots that hold us back, and then providing tools to break through these barriers to success. We encourage you to check out our Results page to get an idea of what some others have gotten out of the trainings.

Leadership is not only for people in positions of authority or management. Everyone has the potential to be a leader in their lives. This looks like both living their own lives to their greatest potential and supporting those around them into living theirs.

EQ is the ability to motivate yourself to take actions that you determine will serve your vision and assist you in reaching your goals. It is the ability to be joyful regardless of your circumstances. It is the ability to manage stress, connect and be sensitive with others’ feelings and to understand what motivates you. It is the ability to respond to situations instead of reacting in order to allow for intentional, conscious choices that are more likely to lead to desired outcomes in life.

EQ has been identified by a number of employers and educational institutions as being the number one contributing factor to success. It is regarded as more important than IQ, resources, contacts, or other environmental factors. Our trainings develop these EQ skills and deliver intuitive, simple to understand principles to implement as leadership in life.

Traditional schools specialize in instructional education: a teacher at the front of the room conveying conceptual information relying primarily on lecture. This is an effective method for teaching knowledge, but is not typically as effective at developing practical skills and wisdom that are obtained through experience and practice.

Experiential education bridges the gap from concept to practice. Think of the difference between reading about riding a bike versus actually riding one. Emotional intelligence and leadership are skills often treated as conceptual topics when, realistically, to fully develop them as functional tools requires putting the ideas into motion.

Our trainings utilize a series of dynamic exercises in order to develop various leadership skills and traits. Exercises include one-on-one sharing, small group interactions, games, and guided visualizations. The trainings are extremely engaging and the time passes very quickly. These activities require some physical movement and active participation.

People love their favorite sports teams (Go Red Sox! Go Patriots!). When avid sports fans meet other fans of the same team, it doesn’t matter that they may be strangers, friends, or family; there is a shared enthusiasm and camaraderie. This level of excitement is seen in many activities with a passionate following such as running, crossfit, yoga, certain diets, March For Our Lives, Me Too, Rocky Horror Picture Show, student organizations, and other popular trends.

The environment is similar within the BBA alumni network. We are each other’s fans and have created a bond that makes it easy to show excitement about each other’s accomplishments and successes. As a result, we then enjoy sharing the trainings and experience with others.

Our participants are excited because they want to see people they care about enjoy what Boston Breakthrough Academy has to offer. There is no other reward, financial or otherwise, for enrolling someone in one of our trainings. It’s truly the experience of giving for the sake of giving.

BBA is intended for people of all backgrounds, genders, orientations, education levels, ethnicities, and religions. We encourage you to check out our Why BBA page to get an idea of how people with similar personalities to you have benefitted from the trainings.

And BBA is for…

People who are successful, looking for an edge
People who are entrepreneurs
People who are business owners
People who are professional
People who want to improve themselves
People who are successful, but burnt out or have lost their passion
People with specific goals they are committed to achieving
People looking to improve specific areas of their lives
People looking to clarify a vision for their lives
People looking to develop themselves as leaders in their families and community
People looking to develop their influence
People who are already successful and looking for the next level in their life.
People looking to uplevel, who want take their leadership to a high level

We have had students complete this program successfully that have a history of alcoholism and/or substance abuse. However, Boston Breakthrough Academy is not designed for treating addiction in any way, shape or form.

For those currently battling addiction or recently in recovery, it is important to achieve sobriety prior to participation in the trainings. A minimum of 6 months of sobriety is strongly recommended and the student is encouraged to seek support from their sponsors.

All students must be sober for the entire duration of the training weekends. Events hosted by Boston Breakthrough Academy are drug and alcohol free.

The health of our participants is our number one concern. We are a coaching organization, not a therapeutic practice, and we rely on our participants to accurately disclose any health conditions which may contradict participation. The trainings are rigorous and at times emotionally challenging.  Therefore, they may not be suitable for those with a history of, or currently undergoing treatment for, mental illness.

To ensure everyone’s health and safety, all participants must complete a confidential health questionnaire prior to attending. Click here to see a sample of the questionnaire. You may be required to get a waiver signed by a medical professional attesting to the safety of your participation

Many employers are supportive of participation by their employees in leadership development programs. It makes sense! We offer a Corporate Sponsorship Letter for students looking to request financial support from their employer as well as requesting days off without utilizing vacation or personal days. Please contact our office for a copy of this letter.

This training is about you and your personal development, which is different and uniquely designed for each student. We focus on you, and not meeting third-party standards. Therefore this training does not qualify for professional continuing education credits at this time.

We can offer group rates for teams of 5 or more. We also design custom programs for corporations looking to create stronger teams in their workforce. Contact us if you are interested in learning more.

Tuition may only be refunded within three days of your enrollment date, and must be requested in writing.

Transfers are permitted for registrations that are paid in full and can be made for a future training or to another student.  Promotional registrations or those made on a payment plan are not eligible for transfer.

All trainings and workshops conducted by Boston Breakthrough Academy are created to be immersive and experiential. This requires you to be 100% present in the room and the exercises you are participating in. In the training room, cell phones are turned off and put to the side. There are breaks at least every 3 hours on training days. You can use your phone during these breaks. There is always someone in the office and an emergency number you can give to your family during training hours to get in touch with you in case of an emergency.

These trainings are cumulative in nature and missing parts of them would inhibit your ability to follow along and create the maximum value. Like missing a major part of a movie, you would be confused when you came back. It is important that you attend all parts of the trainings on all days. If you are coming from out of town, please make your travel arrangements accordingly.

When you enroll in a training, you will receive an email from our office letting you know details about what to expect as well as logistical details. However, we always recommend bringing layered clothing, a bottle of water, snacks, any required medications, and an open mind to every training.

We often have family members (including spouses) or friends attend trainings together. It is an incredible activity to share with someone, and almost invariably draws people closer. While you are permitted to attend the same training class with loved ones, in the training process you will be directed to work with people you do not know prior to the training.

While tuition can be transferred once after purchased for a fee of $45 plus any difference in the cost of a particular training, refund rights remain with the original registrant.  This means that a refund will not be granted to the transferee after the three-day refund period.

No. The curriculum for this leadership training is not rooted in any religion nor does it have religious elements included in the training. We welcome students of all denominations, belief systems, and religious and non-religious backgrounds. The feedback we invariably receive from people of various faiths that have participated, is that this work deepened their faith. Boston Breakthrough Academy is truly a family-oriented organization. Our events are all alcohol and drug free and children are welcome to many functions.

BBA believes in creating the most powerful possible experience for students, whether within our center or elsewhere.  We are honored to have volunteers who feel the same way.  We understand that several centers around the country provide trainings similar to those provided by BBA, and that, at times, our volunteers wish to participate in other center programs in addition to ours.  
 
When a volunteer is not actively participating as a student, staff member or senior in a BBA program, BBA has no issue with that volunteer supporting another program.  However, when actively participating in a BBA program (i.e. class, mastermind, training program, etc.), we ask that our volunteers remain focused on providing the best possible experience for our students during that time, and focus their efforts on supporting that BBA program.  Any exceptions will be handled on a case by case basis.
 
Should an active BBA volunteer wish to support another program for one day, they are free to do so.
 
And if a BBA volunteer is not actively participating in a BBA program and wishes to staff or senior in another center’s program, they are free to do so.
 
When we all focus on providing excellent support to our students, everyone wins.