More Resources
The Long Game: Why Showing Up as Husband and Father Pays Off for Life
Being dad—and being present with your wife and children—is probably the hardest task you will ever undertake in your lifetime. But make no mistake: the benefits of doing so are unmatched. While culture often glamorizes freedom, independence, or momentary...
Quantifying the Crisis: Father Absence and Its National Impact
The Numbers Are Stark Let’s face it—the numbers are in, and they’re alarming. •Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. children live without a resident father—over 17 million kids grow up without the daily presence of a dad in the home [1]. •Among single-mother households, 34% live in...
Forging Men: Reclaiming Masculinity with Resolve and Purpose
We’re emerging from a cultural moment that confused strength with toxicity, where the assertive presence of men was labeled as something to fear or suppress. But the tide is turning. Slowly, society is beginning to recognize once again that strong, authoritative...
“When Control Isn’t an Option: A Lesson in Surrender at 3 A.M.”
By John Williams My wife and I are high-octane people. Driven. Focused. Results-oriented. We live and thrive in a world where systems matter, order wins, and there’s always a plan—preferably with contingencies. We believe that if you work hard, show up prepared, and...
Why We Decided to Pursue the Forging Fatherhood Project
Program Rationale Across the country, a quiet but urgent crisis is unfolding: millions of children are growing up without an active, present father in their lives. Today, 1 in 4 children in the United States — over 18 million youth — live in homes without their...
“When Dad Shows Up: Reclaiming Homes, Healing Communities, and Securing Futures”
🧠 Why Father Presence Is Critical: National Data •According to 2022 U.S. Census data, about 18.3 million children—nearly 1 in 4—live in homes without a biological, step, or adoptive father . •Children in father-absent homes fare worse across multiple dimensions....
Why North Alabama, and Especially Cullman County, Has a Deficit of Men Showing Up for Their Families
Why North Alabama, and Especially Cullman County, Has a Deficit of Men Showing Up for Their Families In North Alabama—particularly in Cullman County—a quiet crisis is unfolding. It’s not always visible in the headlines, but it’s present in courtrooms, school systems,...
Why Alabama Needs the Success Sequence — And How Life That Counts is Leading the Charge
Why Alabama Needs the Success Sequence — And How Life That Counts is Leading the Charge ⸻ Across the country, youth are navigating a cultural moment marked by overwhelming complexity. From mental health challenges to fractured family systems, young people are...
The Hidden Key to Ending School Shootings Might Not Be Security… It’s Connection
The Hidden Key to Ending School Shootings Might Not Be Security… It’s Connection Walk into any school in America today, and you’ll likely hear the same uneasy undertones. Conversations about safety protocols, mental health supports, and hardened perimeters have become...
The Need for Innovation In Education
“The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again, but expecting different.” ~ famously attributed to Albert Einstein From the archives: Nov 19, 2018 From infancy, we trivialize and quantify every aspect of our children’s lives from how much...
Set Your Triggers
Ever been in a situation that totally caught you off guard? Did you react in a way that wasn’t helpful at all? In this video, John discusses how to be ready for those moments that matter most!
Read more“John’s message resonated with many of our students. After the presentation several students approached him to talk and he continued to drive his message of a better life in those conversations. It was very evident he is a caring and passionate man. I am glad he got to come to our school.”
– Mrs. Harriet Jacobs, School Counselor, Woodland High School
A Better Life
"John's message resonated with many of our students. After the presentation several students approached him to talk and he continued to drive his message of a better life in those conversations. It was very evident he is a caring and passionate man. I am glad he got...
Read more“To be honest, your speech today at Johnstown really got to me. I appreciate that you came to our school. I already had a future planned for me and I’ve gone through a lot of things, but…”
– Maddy (High School Student)
Thanks a lot!
"To be honest, your speech today at Johnstown really got to me. I appreciate that you came to our school. I already had a future planned for me and I've gone through a lot of things, but..." - Maddy (High School Student)
Read more“A few months ago I was in a really dark place in my life…at times, it was hard to sit and listen to what you were saying but I realized it was only the truth…
– Shanel (High School Student)
You’ve helped me so much
"A few months ago I was in a really dark place in my life...at times, it was hard to sit and listen to what you were saying but I realized it was only the truth... - Shanel (High School Student)
Read more“Thanks a lot for coming in to talk to us, it really means a lot to me and i hope to the others. You really opened my eyes to a lot of things just by what you said…”
– Shaun (High School Student)
Made a difference
"Thanks a lot for coming in to talk to us, it really means a lot to me and i hope to the others. You really opened my eyes to a lot of things just by what you said..." - Shaun (High School Student)
Dr. Horacio Sanchez
Dr. Horacio Sanchez is the President and CEO of Resiliency Inc., an agency leader in helping schools improve school climate, instruction, and discipline. Horacio is recognized as one of the nation’s prominent experts on promoting student resiliency and applying brain...
Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness – October 2019
Dear Friends in Education, On October 30, 2018, we received a message from a young man, a 10th grade student on social media, who told us that was supposed to be the day that he took his life. He had no hope for the future and he was tired of being hit on by his...
Check Your Battery
⚠️WARNING⚠️ This was NOT created for social-sharing (Disclaimer for this post is at the bottom) https://youtu.be/_m2NIpQGSJw But it makes sense to share it anyway because so many of us are type-A driven, hyper focused, driven individuals who are always working to...
Quick Tip for Helping Achieve Compassion on Campus
So often, we look at problems head on. Bullying, for instance. Have you ever seen a sign on campus that read, "Bully-Free Zone"? The downstairs portion of our brain, aka Lizard Brain, automatically associates the subject of the sign, Bully, without working the...
We celebrated 3 years in business this past month
We celebrated 3 years in business this past month. 3 years in business. 3 years as a startup NPO organization. The Small Business Association reports that somewhere between years 2 and 5, the number of startups which fail rise from 30% to 50%. Inc.com says that...
Students Gain Valuable Life Lesson
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Ending school shootings: Expert tells Gainesville parents peer mentoring is the answer
by Josslyn Howard | Thursday, March 22nd 2018 GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WGFL) — Leadercast of Gainesville hosted John Williams Thursday, a youth-culture expert out of Alabama, to engage and spark the minds of the community on how to end school shootings. "This is about...
Peer Review of “Education is Broken, Pt1”
Guest post by Dr. Vivian Jackson Peer Review of "Education is Broken, Pt1" John Williams begins his article, "Education is Broken" by stimulating us to engage in a comparative analysis of education today, and education in the mid 1900s....
Education is Broken
Part 1 Let’s pretend for a moment, that it’s not. Let’s pretend that it actually works just fine. The only difference in the impact of education today versus that of, say, 50-60 years ago is the type of students entering our schools and going to our classes. By and...
Celebrating One Year of Life that Counts
Year One – In the books Last summer, we announced that I would go full-time with Life that Counts, the 501c3 committed to helping people make better decisions for healthy outcomes. August 1 marked the first full year serving in this capacity and literally living my...
How to Live a Life that Counts
When Larry Hagner asked me to be a guest on his show several months ago, I was immediately humbled. He’s had a who’s who of guys on from professional athletes to best selling authors and the list goes on. This was hard to do. The conversation took a bit of a turn that...
Why Being “Dad” Can’t Get Lost
I travel a lot championing the cause of helping to build future generations, leaders, and world changers- but what if I did it at the expense of my wife and kids? We’ve got a full agenda this summer, for more on that, visit here. For each trip which requires...