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“There are a group of folks in our Battalion who have since made major life decisions based upon this self-reflection that we did and they have they’ve referred to this training as being a really significant life experience that has drawn them to certain conclusions in their lives.”

Military Officer Shannon

“The big takeaway that I’ve shared with a lot of people is the fact that work-life balance doesn’t exist, it’s work-life satisfaction and what satisfies you to be your best self. The Retreat offered us those tools to help decrease Soldier turnover, increase engagement, create stronger unified teams, and care about soldiers. Personally, you learn how to connect with people, and this is your family.”

Military Officer Ben

“Paul presented a high-energy and positive session on emotional intelligence and well-being. He entered the room of somewhat skeptical professionals and was able to keep them engaged and participative throughout the session. . . . He is able to combine theoretical knowledge, storytelling, and audience participation in his presentation. I highly recommend him.”

Deputy Warden Marna

“Jackson’s presentation was a refreshing and much-needed perspective for our Soldiers, Airmen, and Civilians. Unlike typical resiliency training that often feels like a one-way conversation about seeking external help, Jackson emphasized the importance of internal growth and self-awareness. His message focused on the value of intentionally cultivating happiness as a core part of resilience.

Jackson’s engaging style and practical insights left a lasting impression, making this session stand out among typical resiliency training. It was an inspiring reminder of the power of self-awareness and intentional positivity in both our personal and professional lives.”

“The benefits that are associated with that are better leadership and a stronger team bond. This will improve our soldiers’ relationships . . . and also help with retention issues.”

Military Officer Josh

“aul’s presentation was dynamic and engaging. It spoke to every person in the room, regardless of their rank, past experience, and age. Paul gave my team additional tools and the motivation to keep moving towards their goal of being healthier and happier. As a result of his impactful and practical workshop, I’ve recommended Paul to several other departments in our organization.”

Director Vicki

“These tools that we’re learning will be impactful to our organization. I think it’s worthwhile to pursue and make it a deliberate part of our leadership and organization because it’ll make it healthier for the Wisconsin Army National Guard as a whole.”

Enlisted Military Ryan

“The Retreat showed me that my values hadn’t changed, but the areas and the amount of time that I was devoting to the things in my life that I thought were important really weren’t. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me, and I feel more energized, excited to see what the future holds.”

Military Officer Jimmy

“I think pulling everybody together in that environment strengthens the ability of that team to communicate, making the military organization more effective. This Retreat is very professionally done, and the organization will walk away stronger and better because of it.”

Military Officer Russ

“I lead an element of say 30-35 soldiers, and this information is going to allow me to connect with them, to communicate with them more effectively and understand them. It’s going to make a massive difference and it’ll be felt pretty much instantly. It doesn’t have to be about leadership; even emotional intelligence just understanding oneself is going to make us better in all aspects of life, be it leadership, family, soldiering; it all applies; everything’s connected.”

Military Officer John

“It’s important, first of all, to understand yourself and make sense of reactionary decisions that you make in your daily life as well as out there on the battlefield as a leader. I believe emotional intelligence is a huge tool that I’m ready to take back; this is good stuff, and we can’t wait to get out there and use it.”

Enlisted Military Steven

“Without exception, everybody is on board, and even the skeptics like me have made it very clear that they’re on board with it because I think it is really just learning what is intuitive and natural for human beings. I think and I hope that the impact at home will be that I have a better relationship with my children.”

Military Officer Kramer

“My experience of this retreat has been amazing. It’s been an amazing experience that I know that we all have the buy-in and want to take this back to our Battalion at every level and ensure that soldiers have a better understanding of emotional intelligence.”

Enlisted Military Kathryn

“My experience at the retreat has been nothing but positive. I will bring everything I’ve learned here, all of the values and understanding my soldiers’ emotions, and it will change the dynamic of how I lead for the better for the remainder of my career.”

Enlisted Military Charles

“What I really took out of the course is tools that I can use to better serve my unit and bridge that gap with the younger generation, how can we best serve them as people and as soldiers to get the most out of them individually. The experience from the Retreat that has been mind-blowing!”

Enlisted Military William

“Seeing my left and my right share, I actuall view them as stronger now than I did before. It’s allowed me to commit to a couple of things that I’ve been afraid to commit to before. It’s life-changing.”

Military Officer Josh

“I would absolutely recommend this Retreat. It’s at least 30 or 40 books on leadership and . . . how-to’s — compacted in a very digestible manner. The bonds that I made here were very intimate . . . something that I’ll carry with me in these now stronger relationships for a very long time.”

Military Officer Miranda

“My experience at the retreat was really positive. Definitely going to be taking away the happier time management piece, cutting out time for myself in my personal life to spend time with my family without cell phones, and giving myself time to get the tasks done that I need to get done to be more productive at work.”

Enlisted Military Jessica

“The biggest thing that I am taking out of this is a sense of whole authentic leadership, allowing myself to be kind of vulnerable at times with my soldiers. My experience was good — after allowing myself to take advantage of what was going on and to just dive into it, I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot.”

Military Officer Matt

“It’s absolutely worth it, without a doubt. I’m more in tune with myself as a person and my emotions, and I know how to utilize that effectively to become a better leader. The things I’ve learned and my emotional state have allowed me to build more fruitful relationships, it’s already skyrocketed my relationship with my kids, relationship with friends, co-workers, all around.”

Enlisted Military Bill

“We’ve been working with Paul Krismer for about a year and four months, and Paul has been fantastic in terms of working with our management team in two capacities. Paul has provided coaching to our senior-level staff, and Paul has also worked with our leadership team to apply the principles of positive psychology, assisting us in being better as a team. We really appreciate working with him, and we will continue to do so in the future.”

Warden Peter

“The tools taught to improve Command Climate was invaluable. It was excellent training. We are looking to take the lessons learned to a combat environment.”

Military Officer Matt

“I left with a lot of skill to help me personally, and the Army gets the benefit too. These skills will help build a stronger organization.”

Enlisted Military Bryan

“I learned the skills to better my life . . . and improve my relationships with my loved ones and co-workers. We can create a better environment for lower enlisted and their career paths.”

Military Officer Troy

“There was so much more than just leadership skills . . . . all kinds of personal and interpersonal skills. The training was beyond valuable!”

Enlisted Military Mike

“Super Positive! I am taking a lot away personally, but also so many tools to build military culture. . . . . we can build cohesion and implement soldier first care.”

Military Officer Jesse

“The retreat went really, really well . . . . our leadership team took to the course content. We will get this emotional intelligence down to our subordinates. Soldiers will get more value from drill.”

Military Officer Frank

“I gained tools to not only improve my personal life, but also bring better leadership to my troops. I definitely recommend this training to other battalions.”

Enlisted Military Cody

“I got a chance to focus more on myself. It was refreshing. Coming out of this, we can be role models for generations of soldiers to come.”

Military Officer Michael

“A dynamic and amazing speaker — we all took away great actionable advice.”

Executive Director Keith Kelly

“I took away from it that, you allow soldiers to be in a spot where they’re going to show vulnerability, and by doing that, you’re going to trust each other no matter what the mission is at hand. Realizing that what matters are the relationships you have in life, being closer, connected to my wife, being a good co-worker, being as much as I can be there for my family, and realizing that those are the things that are important in life — and take care of your soldiers as best you can?.”

Military Officer Joe

“This curriculum over two years has brought suicides down to zero. This training will have big impacts far into the future.”

Military Officer Nathaniel

“There was great value to grow as a leadership group. We learned how to build a cohesive group.”

Military Officer Jeff

“I learned a lot about myself and about people generally — what motivates them. This will improve retention.”

Military Officer Tyler