Ed N. Smith
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2025 New Year Virtue Forge (for Men):
In Pursuit of Virtue
Fraternal - practical - intellectual
Application to my January 2025 course opens Mon 9th December 2024.
A four week course for FOUR Catholic professional men to grow in virtue whilst making good Christian friends.
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire" - Catherine of Siena
In this course, you will put into practice ancient teachings of virtue using modern day understanding of habit formation, and make real progress that will last. The virtues are their own reward. Gain peace, joy and happiness. Flourish in all areas of life. Become who you are meant to be. Grow closer to God, and respond to His work in you.
- Make the fullest Advent preparation you have ever made. Be ready to make big things happen in 2025
- Respond to the universal call to Holiness.
- Put into practice the building blocks of habits that lead to holiness through evidence-based habit building techniques popularised by James Clear’s Atomic Habits.
- Discover how to reliably ask for and receive increases in the God-given Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.
- Become who you are called to be by growing in the Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice by your own efforts and as a gift from God.
- Make lasting virtuous friends along the way.
Take a look at the list below. Do any of these statements resonate?
Spiritual Life 🙏
- You are a Catholic who lives an ordinary life but wants to make more of it
- You want to pray morning and night but you rarely manage to do it consistently
- You pray but you don't order your life around it
- You want to know more about your faith but you haven't set aside time to study and instead satisfy yourself with listening to chatty podcasts
Personal Growth 🌱
- You want to get on top of things but are "naturally" disorganised and think that is just how it will always be
- You listen to respond but don't listen to understand
- You want to be grateful but instead focus on what is lacking or wanting more
- You want to be trusted but you realise you often speak badly about people behind their backs
Career & Satisfaction💼
- You want to get more out of your work life but you spend too much time on your phone
- You want to be more industrious at work but you are unfocussed and distracted
- You want to get a promotion at work but you find it difficult to focus on a task for more than 10 minutes without checking messages
- You aspire to run your own business but you are afraid of what your family and friends might think
- You want the satisfaction of building something but you watch Netflix instead
Health & Fitness💪
- You wished you were in better physical condition but haven't found a way to consistently exercise
- You want to be in good shape but you snack more than you'd like to admit
- You want to get more out of the day but are always tired because you don't get enough sleep
Financial Management 💰
- You want to be a better steward of your finances but you never seem to find time to understand your current spending and plan for the future.
Relationships & Social Life ❤️
- You are single but you want more courage and confidence to pursue a real relationship
- You want to stay in touch with your friends and family but are afraid to call so you just text
- You want to be invited to more social engagements but have gained reputation for cancelling on your commitments
- You see your friends could be better but you do not help them because you are afraid of seeming judgmental
Life & Mission🌟
- You often feel rushed off your feet but you want to enjoy your life peacefully and still get things done
- You want to be "outdoorsy" or have more experiences but you are too comfortable at home
- You want to do more charity work but if you're really honest you make excuses for yourself
- You are afraid of success, which holds you back from doing much good
Did any resonate? Some certainly resonate with me. You will probably have thought of more. We can all be more than we currently are - we’re called to it.
What do we do in the course?
Included:
- Fraternity of 4 Catholic male professionals (this course is not open to full-time students)
- Four 2-hour evening sessions including dinner (+1 follow up session)
- Two-course home-cooked dinners + drinks
- In-person Virtue 101 course + extra resources
- In-person Habit formation 101 course + extra resources
- Four 30 minute weekly 1-1 solution-focussed coaching sessions to help you achieve your goals (optional)
- Daily online group chat and accountability in the “Superhabits” app or equivalent (there is a smartphone-free option)
- Personalised ad-hoc virtue and habit goal-setting advice
Bring your knowledge and experience to benefit the fraternity - we learn from each other.
What people have said about my fraternity programmes
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was surprised at how much the regular fraternal support of the fraternity group helped me make progress on goals and aspirations that had long seemed unachievable - in my case, quitting snacking on junk-food and instead just eating healthy meals. Ed's good-humoured air of quiet authority made the sessions both fun and focused, and meant I really looked forward to them each week.
Olly C., Bristol.
Ed’s Exodus 90 Fraternity 2022, Advent Fraternity 2022, Lent Fraternity 2023, Advent Fraternity 2023, Lent Fraternity 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A better prayer life, better habits, great fraternity, accountability and greater focus, all thanks to Ed and his leadership. One can easily forget how important having other Catholic friends is, this was yet another reminder.
John H., London
Ed’s Lent Fraternity Group 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I gained a regular and grounding habit of prayer and saw many small improvements in daily discipline. The accountability was far more powerful than I expected, it was invaluable for motivating to act on my commitments.
Matt D., London
Ed’s Lent Fraternity Group 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I liked the accountability and encouragement of my fraternity in practices such as fasting, and developing ongoing friendships out of it.
James T., London
Ed’s Exodus 90 Fraternity 2022, Advent Fraternity 2022, Lent Fraternity 2023, Lent Fraternity 2024
Your commitment
You make a formal commitment in writing to attend every in-person meeting (in Oxford) without exception (in your power). You make a contract with your fraternity to check in every day on progress (at minimum via text) with your habit progress with 1 free pass - or be expelled from the group.
This may seem a bit much, but I have found it is a key element for the success of all participants.
What are the course dates?
Weekly, 7-9pm (in person, Oxford)
Dates will be announced Mon 9th December 2024
Each week, there will also be:
- + 30 min coaching call at mutually agreeable time during the week
- + 5 min check in with fraternity daily
Cost
I am offering this course at a discount, as it is a pilot course: £95. The cost of subsequent courses will be full price.
Course fees are payable in advance. 10% of gross fees I donate to Dominican (Order of Preachers) charities.
Guarantee
A full money-back guarantee is available if for any reason you are not happy with the course, or you have not seen a marked improvement.
How do I apply?
Have an initial call or meeting with Ed to find out more, then make a formal application.
Why not choose to join with 3 friends to make up the full cohort of 4?
Formal application deadline
TBC
Find out more and apply
Get in touch with Ed to discuss more. Book a 15min chat to find out more and whether it is for you
or
Contact Details
07897194483
About Ed
I am a Catholic based in Oxford in my late thirties. I am married to Jo. I have a deep interest in the meaning and purpose of life and how to lead a flourishing life, both naturally and super-naturally. I enjoy building and working in teams. I have worked in academia, Formula 1 (as an engineer), and in pro-life organisations. I enjoy performing Improv comedy.
Why Virtues and Habits?
I had a wonderful realisation being part of a fraternal group (Exodus 90) in early 2022: that change for the good was both possible and simple to achieve by following some very simple rules that work for everyone. During those 90 days, I made some of my closest friends as we accompanied each other in growing in virtuous habits.
A few examples of lasting change I never knew would be possible:
- Maintaining a daily push up and sit up streak of 209 days (previous best was a 2- day streak)
- Building a nightly prayer habit that I rarely miss
- Eliminating snacking from my life for months at a time
- Eliminating mindless phone use before bed time
- Overcoming (to a degree) perfectionism and procrastination and instead making meaningful progress on things that matter to me
- Building a weekly routine of phone calls with important people in my life
- And more examples reserved for people in the course!
Please note that I do not keep the above going all the time. The above list I have achieved for long periods of time (many months) and have also not managed to maintain for periods of time. Life circumstances change: we can change job, get married, lose a loved one, move house or city.
Yet I have learned how to also re-engage these habits successfully without going back to square one - and I believe this is a key realisation that forms part of the syllabus of this course. I’ll teach ways to “get back on the horse” and navigate life changes.
Interested but not the right time?
Add your email to hear about upcoming courses and coaching, plus the odd newsletter with hints, tips and musings. With a touch of humour, of course. (Please check your spam for the confirmation email).
FAQ
Why do you charge for this course? A labourer deserves his wages. Hundreds of hours of my own time has gone into the preparation, research for and delivery of this course, and many hundreds more of the Dominicans (and others) who provide much of the educational resource underpinning it.