Here's what the research shows: 81% of college graduates wish they'd been taught more life skills before leaving home. Two-thirds of parents worry their kids don't know basic household tasks. Students arrive at college lacking practical capabilities — not because they're incapable, but because somewhere along the way these skills stopped being systematically taught.

Life Lab addresses those gaps. We can't all be experts in everything — vehicle maintenance, fire safety, financial planning, outdoor survival. This program fills the blind spots and gives teens focused, hands-on practice in areas you might not have time or expertise to cover at home.

I'm Dale, and I've been learning to adult longer than most. At eleven, I left my family in Africa for boarding school in the UK — an 11-hour flight away. Since then I've called six countries home, visited over 50, served as a British Army officer leading soldiers from the Arabian desert to the Arctic Circle, held senior management roles in a major infrastructure startup in Botswana, built and ran my own consulting firm, and currently race direct ultra marathons in remote environments while serving on corporate and nonprofit boards.

Now settled in Durham with my wife Bri and our two kids (ages 10 and 8), I've distilled 40 years of learning the hard way into Life Lab. Five days, 40+ skills, zero lectures. Teens get their hands dirty, make mistakes in a safe environment, work alongside peers, and walk away with capabilities that actually matter when they're 18 and on their own for the first time.

If this course means they're a little better able to manage independently, I've achieved my mission.