17-year-old Hannah Samson-Barry

I RECENTLY spent a Friday night sitting in the corner of one of Harpenden House Hotel's airy conference rooms, surrounded by a handful of bemused teenagers and a very animated American guy, who claimed he could change their lives.

I was a guest at the opening night of The Empowered Life, a weekend workshop for young people who strive for success, but don't quite know how to get it. Sound a bit far-fetched? Even a bit on the cheesy side? Those were exactly my first, and perhaps cynical, thoughts too.

The Empowered Life is an intense, confidence-building mentoring programme, which loves to talk. It is the brainchild of two go-getting men who have closely studied the Mythogenic Self - a well-researched thought process that essentially works on a notion of: your life, your decisions.

Des Barry is a former British National Championship motorcycle racer from Abbots Langley, and Jeffrey Leiken is a mentor and speaker with more than 20 years experience working with young people, both in his native US and here in the UK. Jeffrey and Des met ten years ago, just as sportsman Des's children were making the difficult transition into their teenage years, and his role as a concerned father pushed him into a whole new career.

"I have always been interested in young people's development," explains Des.

"There is some crucial stuff going on when you are a teenager, and I was interested in tackling that. Then I saw Jeff's work, and I realised that we could really make a difference here."

Des is more behind-the-scenes at the workshops, leaving Jeffrey to take centre stage. And the American is certainly not shy in the limelight.

"It is my intention to be a bit provocative with the kids. To challenge their way of thinking a little bit. To be courageous enough to live their own life, as opposed to just doing what they think they should be doing," says Jeffrey, with his energetic San Francisco twang.

"I get them to see what they do with their bodies in different situations, and teach them how their bodies are when they are at their very best. For example, a girl might say she is fine when she is with her close friends, but as soon as she walks into a party, she feels awkward. I will point out to her that by doing things like calming her breathing and loosening her shoulders, she can be just as relaxed at parties as when she is with her friends."

By Jeffrey's own admission, The Empowered Life workshops are not for all teenagers. The eight making up the group at the Harpenden workshop I sat in on had a certain something, an energy about them that made me think they were not quite the settle-for-a-saturday job kind.

They weren't dancing around the room or anything, in fact they all looked pretty nervous at this starting session, but the fact they were there in the first place was enough to gain my respect. Particularly as my own life plans extended no further then the final school bell at their age.

And if there were ever an advert for The Empowered Life, serial workshopper Hannah, who is Des's daughter, could take centre stage.

17-year-old Hannah has been to all of her father's empowering weekends. But she hasn't been dragged along' to a single one, and, if her confidence and communication skills are anything to go by, they have been worth every forfeited weekend.

"I know what I want now, and I know how to go about getting it," she tells me.

"Some of my friends have that quality anyway, and it stands out in them. I don't know whether I would have got it without the workshops, but they have definitely made me how I am today. And I wouldn't change that."

As I ended my evening with the group they had loosened up a little, made their introductions and found familiar ground in the playlists on their MP3 players. Jeffrey was talking music, making jokes about his accent, and telling amusing tales of transatlantic travels. But just as the kids thought the workshop was going to be more of a laugh than a lesson, he cleverly worked in the psychology.

"It is possible we could play the music on your iPods during this workshop," Jeffrey told the group.

"Because the future hasn't happened yet, so anything is possible."

And so the life lessons began, continued, and left some young adults feeling the sky is the limit when it comes to their future.

I am sure most of us declared we wanted to "be somebody" in our youths, and adulthoods for that matter (heck, it's still my favourite phrase after a couple of glasses of Chardonnay).

But when these kids make such statements, I can almost see their names in lights already. You just believe them. And that is because they have quite clearly learned to believe in themselves.

The Empowered Life Weekend Programme for Teens will next take place from November 9 to 11 at Harpenden House Hotel, 18 Southdown Road, Harpenden, AL5 1PE.

For more information and dates of future courses, call Des Barry on 01923 267 107, or log on to www.heropath.co.uk

4:05pm Monday 29th October 2007

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