January Donovan is the founder of The Woman School. She is a #1 bestselling author, entrepreneur, wife, and mother of 8 children. She studied Theology and Philosophy and worked for a Congressman on Capitol Hill for 4 years, where she worked on women’s issues. She started The Woman School, a human formation school that grew from 0 to 40 countries in three years with thousands of students, landing her the distinction of being one of Forbes Magazine's Top Coaching Schools. Her vision to create a human formation school rooted in objective truth and ordered towards Truth, Beauty, and Goodness is timely in a culture that can no longer define what a woman is.
MISSION & BELIEFS:
January believes that the prolife battle can only be won if we help women have more life in their lives, because a lifeless woman cannot recognize life within her. She builds a case that the crisis of womanhood can be solved if we give women access to integrated formation. She believes that the foundation of our sanctity has to be grounded in our human formation as women; that is how we raise an army of saints and become who God created us to be.
January raises a pivotal question: ‘Where does a woman go to learn how to be a woman today?’ It seems like a common-sense question—but then again, common sense has now become controversial in a culture that can no longer define what a woman is. She clarifies the root cause of why, despite all the freedom women have in the Western World, data tells us that they remain in shackles, overwhelmed and unfulfilled. Women have freedom, but they are not free to become who God created them to be. January brings awareness to the consequences of a women’s movement that has fought to give women unlimited freedom, which has justified the killing of a baby and the mutilation of our bodies in the name of gender care.
January also exposes the horrific consequences of a culture void of objective truth that has diminished God as the moral authority. She believes that the moral decay in our culture is due to a lack of formation; women want to be good but don’t know ‘how’ to be good. She exposes the unfortunate truth that women today are not flourishing because, for so long, they have accepted the lie that, to achieve equality, they have to be like men and abandon their nature as women. The fight for equality has led women to suppress the complementarity of men and women, pitting them against each other and causing tension in marriages, work, community, and family life.
January’s message is both timely and relevant to today's world. She offers a solution to the crisis of womanhood by building a human formation school that trains women to understand their God-given value while also equipping them with practical skills to flourish in every arena and in every season of life. Just because we are born a woman, it does not mean we know how to be one. We need to take responsibility for our daily formation and develop the skills we need to become a light in the world.
January founded The Woman School as a human formation school where women can study and grow together. Her programs are comprehensive, systematic, and practical, and they are used by doctors, professors, theologians, psychologists, therapists, lawyers, mothers, and women from different seasons of life as a blueprint for human formation that leads to spiritual growth. January is a remarkable speaker and teacher, and takes deep philosophical truths and biblical principles and simplifies them into applicable frameworks and formulas that every woman can use to achieve generational flourishing. She uses parable language so the message appeals to both the faithful and those who lack faith formation. This makes January and The Woman School applicable to the secular culture.
What is truly genius about January's work is her ability to integrate the whole woman. She trains women how to live a life of excellence that is ordered towards truth, beauty, and goodness so they can radiate Christ in the heart of culture. Her bold vision is to reclaim God’s original design for women. She is creating a movement to introduce the ‘New Woman’, a new model of womanhood that embodies the virtues of Our Lady in modern society. She has over 25 years of experience teaching human formation to women. She built a multimillion-dollar company in under 2 years that now reaches over 40 countries globally, all while raising 8 children. She teaches women how to achieve the dreams God has placed in their hearts without compromising their vocation and their pursuit of sanctity.
“We have an opportunity like never before to reclaim the lost vision of womanhood. This is truly the most exciting time to be a woman; we were made for such a time as this.” - January Donovan
SAMPLE TALKS:
How to Be a Woman - Where do you learn how to be a woman in a world that no longer defines what a woman is? She outlines the root cause of why women are not flourishing today and offers a solution on how to help women flourish in every arena.
Who is the New Woman? - The fight for equality has sold women a model of woman that denies her nature and pits her against men. January casts a bold vision to replace our current model of womanhood and introduces a vision of a ‘NEW WOMAN’ who is made for such a time as this. She creates a vision of how to live out the virtues of Our Lady in modern society.
The Art of Being a Woman - Today women or often overwhelmed because they are underskilled. “Art’ means skills that can help women develop competence and confidence. She builds a case that becoming confident is not about our vain glory, it is about having the skills necessary to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
Overcoming Overwhelm and Victimhood - Women suffer from decades of overwhelm without a hope in sight of a future full of peace. If we teach women how to manage their mind and their emotions, then we can help them see God’s hand at work in every situation. We don’t have to be victims of our external circumstances. A woman of discipline can be more available for God.
How to Discover Your Dreams and Desires - How do you study the desires of your heart? Women today either indulge or ignore their deepest desires, which often leads to rebellion or depression. Our desires carry the seeds of God’s purpose in our lives. We ought to teach women to order their desires to align with their highest good.
How to Flourish as a Mother - We have lost the sacred gift of being a mother. We have bought into the lie that motherhood is the prison that stifles our dreams and desires to flourish. How could mothers give life if they are robbed of life from within? Teaching mothers how to flourish is essential for faith formation.
Why Mothers Need a Dream - Without a vision, we perish into mediocrity and comfort. And our children are watching us. It is easy to sell women on the idea that motherhood is the death of their dreams as an excuse not to pursue a life of excellence. We ought to train mothers with the micro-skills to make the ordinary extraordinary, so they can fulfill their dreams in harmony with their vocation.
Did God Design Marriage to Be Hard? - Where do you go to learn the skills to find the right man for you and to be the right woman for him? Why are we not equipping couples with the practical skills to design every arena of their lives for and with God? January outlines the most important training couples need to thrive in their marriages.
How to Inspire Your Man? - Women have the ability to influence men, just as Eve influenced Adam in the Garden. Today, women are using their influence to diminish manhood and use it to glorify themselves. When we give women the skills necessary to inspire their man towards Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, we help couples design an inspiring marriage. It begins with awareness.
Work-Life Integration (Corporate) - Is work-life balance possible? The demands of womanhood have caused so much burnout in our workplace, and it directly impacts our home life. January focuses on work-life integration and helping women discern their purpose for the season, which becomes the compass to deeper fulfillment. Each woman has a call to fulfill in every season of life, and God gives us the grace to fulfill His will. But we have to continually develop skills to help us scale our light to new heights; otherwise, we will be vulnerable to mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion.
Designing Your Domestic Church - How do we design a domestic church that incarnates both the physical and the spiritual purpose of our homes? We have to train women to design a home that invites our spouse and our children to want to be home. As a mother of 8 and business owner, January gives women practical strategies to make our homes a refuge.
Finding Your Purpose of the Season - We often put limits on God’s purpose for every season of our lives. Our lack of formation does not allow us to follow the path to achieving the seeds of purpose that God has placed in our hearts. By equipping women with practical tools to discover their dreams and purpose, we help them achieve God’s call in every season of their lives.
Teaching Your Children to Dream - If you want your children to live the faith you are living, then they have to love the life you are living. We can’t tell our children to dream when we have abandoned our own dreams. We have to train mothers to be walking inspirations for their children because it is not what is taught but what is caught that shapes how our children will live their faith.
Honoring Your Self-Worth - You can tell women that their worth comes from God, but deep inside, they don’t believe it because, for so long, their brains have been conditioned to believe that achievement is the sole metric of their value. When women doubt their God-given worth, they resort to toxic comparison, which eventually leads them to loneliness and isolation. January helps women rewire their brains to honor their worth as the foundation to spiritual life.
TESTIMONIALS:
"January’s genius is her ability to take complex philosophy and make it simple for any woman to apply. She teaches us how to integrate the whole woman and how to live out holiness in modern times. Her understanding of women makes her a masterful teacher, and her message is not only relevant but prophetic for our times." - Angela
“The information and inspiration that January has provided would cost hundreds of dollars in counseling fees and major time/travel to those sessions. I wish I had this training as a younger woman and young mother.” - Marcia
“January has made such a dramatic, lasting, and positive impact on my life as a mother, wife, daughter, and friend. So much so that my husband and I now refer to time as either "before January" or "after January." It has been such a light of Christ in my life, and I could not be more grateful for this gift.” - Melissa
“January, I wanted to reach out and thank you for being a leader in teaching women, in teaching me. I have learned so much from you. My eyes are open to search for the truth and beauty in a way that I see the human person now, and how I see relationships. You have been part of my journey of healing and discovery, and The Woman School has helped me start to understand the gifts that God has given me to share with others to help them heal and grow as well.” - Leandra
“Through January Donovan, I have learned to dream in each season. I have developed a language and skill set that helps me take inventory of each arena of my life. I have new habits that help me wake up each morning with energy and joy. (I am now in the 5 AM club!) It has been truly life-changing. My husband and children can also testify to its fruit in my life and in our family life.” - Elizabeth
