"A gift is not a gift until it is given. A gift is not a gift until it is received."
— Bruce Anderson

About the training

What if there is something about us all that goes deeper than what we're good at?

Your Core Gift isn't a skill, a role or a personality trait. It's the particular quality of contribution you naturally bring through who you are and the way you show up with others. It is revealed through your life experiences, including the challenges and moments that have changed you, and often becomes clearer when you look back at the difference you've made in other people's lives.

Naming that gift can give us a different way of understanding ourselves and making choices about where and how we want to contribute. For many of us drawn to work that supports others, it can also illuminate something of why we do the work we do.

This two-day training introduces you to the Core Gift Discovery® process, a guided conversation that helps people discover and name their Core Gift. You'll experience the process yourself, learn how to facilitate it with others, and leave with a practical, structured process you can begin using straight away.

The training also prepares you to become a certified Core Gift Master Facilitator, with a short period of practice and review afterwards to complete your certification.

What we'll explore

Over the two days, you'll:

discover and name your own Core Gift
learn how to guide someone else through the Core Gift Discovery process
explore how a person's gifts begin to emerge through conversation
practise staying with the process when the answer isn't immediately clear
explore some of the wider thinking and traditions that inform the Core Gift approach
look at how Core Gifts can be used with individuals, teams, organisations and communities

There is no previous experience required. What matters most is your curiosity and your willingness to explore.

Why Core Gifts?

We're often asked what we're good at, what our strengths are, or what role we play.

The Core Gift approach takes a different starting point. Rather than focusing mainly on what we can do, we look at what lights us up and what kinds of contributions want to come through us naturally.

This can open up a different kind of conversation about purpose, relationships, leadership and belonging. It can also help people recognise what they already bring, rather than always looking for something they need to develop or fix.

This way of understanding gifts draws on a much wider lineage than the Core Gift Discovery process itself, including Indigenous knowledge and cultural traditions, psychology, community development, research into purpose and wellbeing, and living-systems thinking.

Who is it for?

This training is for people who enjoy helping others discover what matters to them and how they want to live a meaningful life.

It may be particularly relevant if you work as a coach, facilitator, leader, educator, community worker or team builder. Or perhaps you are simply curious about a different way of working with people and their gifts.

You don't need to be doing this work professionally. You just need an interest in people, their stories and what becomes possible when we recognise what each person brings.

Meet your facilitators

This training is hosted by the Core Gift Alliance in partnership with the Core Gift Institute and Befriend Inc.

Nicola, Filippa and Diane are Advanced Core Gift Master Facilitators, Certified Trainers and members of the Core Gift Alliance.

Nicola-Jane le Breton — Community Story Weaver and Certified Focusing Trainer, helping people belong through deep listening, story and connection.

Filippa Araki — Certified NVC trainer, coach and educator, helping people find their own unique melody and communicate from it with courage and honesty.

Diane Hewat — Executive and leadership coach, helping people recognise what is already within them and discover how their unique gifts want to be expressed.

What past participants have said

Everyone has a gift and deserves to have that gift discovered, named and celebrated.
— Mitch Gainey, Transpersonal Counsellor

The last 12 months have been a roller coaster for me and working through the Core Gift Process gave me a sense of peace that I am where I am meant to be, living out my Gift with authenticity and intentionality. I didn’t have the words or clarity before, but now I do.
— Meg

I feel strengthened in my own understanding of my purpose in life, and empowered to help others discover theirs—especially those who have ever felt that they were not valued or appreciated.
— Anon

The workshop not only encourages deep self-reflection but also provides a platform to connect with like-minded individuals in a way that is nurturing and inclusive.
— Kim Hutchinson, What Unites (Neurodiversity and Inclusion)

The training was beautifully organised and presented. I loved the sense of community connection and support created right from the start, and the mix of presentations, discussions and Core Gift Discovery practice, with mentor support along the way.
— Geoff Nelson, Mentor & Coach

The gift approach is helping us build a resilient workforce that is able to stay hopeful and not get lost in the pain, sadness and fear of very difficult work in increasingly challenging and unsettled times.
— Deb Everley, CEO, Kenora Association for Community Living, Canada

We'd love to have you join us

We'll send you some simple preparation information about a week before the training.

If you have any questions before then, please get in touch. We'd be very happy to hear from you.

Warmly,

Nicola — nicola@befriend.org.au
Filippa — discover@yourcoregift.com
Diane — diane@brilliancebeyond.com.au

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