Sunday 25 February 2018

Move Any Mountain - The Shamen

What were you doing in the summer of 1991? I can’t remember either - but if you were the Scottish Band ‘The Shamen’, you were riding high at #4 in the UK chart, ‘Moving Mountains’. If are too young to remember or weren’t even born in 1991, take a listen here and you’ll get a snapshot of this really positive anthem that perfectly accompanies today’s blog.

I will not fail nor falter I shall succeed
My perception is altered I do believe…

You see, it’s been one of those weeks at Coleman Coaching –  as we’ve been ‘Moving Mountains’. Well we haven’t but a lot of our clients have. I’d like to put it all down to good coaching, leadership and pure hard work but maybe it’s down to the passage of time and the first signs of Spring finally breaking through the harsh and dark days of Winter. Of course, our message is always to succeed and not to fail and if you are ‘Moving a Mountain’ one rock at a time, it’s going to be some time before there’s any evidence of any visible change taking place.

Faith is so strong now nothing shall bar my way
Firm conviction is no fiction this is my day…

And that’s the major problem in a process where it takes time to see results. Faith is what’s needed, big time and it’s the thing that everyone has to grab hold of if they want the success they’re looking for. Holding on for dear life, pays dividends too. Lots of folk kind of ‘Juggle’ their ‘Faith’ and it’s more ‘Hope’ than ‘Belief’ in their approach and of course their resolve is always questionable, as are their results.

Well you know that any mountain is capable of moving…

I’m someone that thinks any mountain can be moved – you just have to have enough energy and expertise to make it happen. I’ve moved many in my time, dug a few tunnels and circumnavigated others. I tried climbing a few in my younger years, only to fail and find out the hard way that having a clear-cut path to success made the gradients far less ominous and my thought process about ‘Success’ change, along with my personality.

You can be what you want to be
Let your soul and your body and your mind be free…

And there’s the key. A real ‘Nugget of Success’ in the lyrics of a long-forgotten song from a ‘One-Hit-Wonder’ Scottish Band. Who’d have thought it eh? I never thought I’d be writing about ‘Moving Any Mountain’ nearly 27 years later but when you’ve relocated a few ‘Everests’ of your own, you’ll then know just how good it feels to celebrate and broadcast your success.

With delivery smooth like water from a fountain
That's why I can move any mountain move any mountain…

You’ll be surprised too, that ‘Success breeds Success’ and once you’ve ‘Moved one Mountain’ you’ll want to move more, even other people’s. Working in a team always helps even when building mountains just as the folk did in Taff’s Well, South Wales. After WW1 the locals discovered that Garth Hill was in fact a few feet short of being a mountain. Together they added the necessary elevation, restored the local pride, inspired a book and even spawned a 1995 Hugh Grant Film.

So grab some inspiration from our Coleman Coaching Clients, it’s gradually happening for a lot of the people we are working with. Probably not in the more instant, earth shattering, obvious transition that we love to shout about but hey, ‘Moving a Mountains’ takes time.

Is it time to ‘Move YOUR Mountain’? Buckle up, ‘Spring’s Springing’ and we are too…

Better get yourself ready for the next transition
'Cause the time is right for a new vibration…

Rory Coleman - rory@colemancoaching.co.uk
1,011 Marathons - 245 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records

Sunday 18 February 2018

X-Press 2 Ft. David Byrne - Lazy


I'm Lazy when I'm loving, I'm Lazy when I play… Listen Here

‘Lazy’ is such a bad word. Being ‘Lazy’ is such a bad personality trait, and I spend a lot of my time trying to eradicate it, like someone trying to a relieve the world of a deadly disease or virus. I see it as a modern day plague. The dictionary definition is ‘Unwilling to work or use energy’ – Ouch, what a ‘killer’ definition. Personally, if I was ever described as being ‘Lazy’ I’d be mortified yet in recent years, it’s become a national pastime. There’s even a clothing brand called ‘Plain Lazy’ which has umpteen designs and logos based around doing erm - ‘Nothing’. How does anyone have the balls to wear that gear?

I'm lazy when I'm speakin’, I'm lazy when I walk…

But they do as it has a whole ‘tribe’ of ‘Plain Lazy’ followers. As part of my quest I engage with the more ‘Lazy’ of folk, (that’s a complete spectrum of ‘Laziness’ btw - from the bone-idle to athletes that could become ‘world-class’ if they could only shrug their ‘Laziness’ off), so I can become the catalyst of a personal revolution that converts lethargy to energy.
 
I'm lazy when I'm dancing, I'm lazy when I talk…

It works too… It should do as it’s my job and the results speak for themselves. It’s amazing how ‘transformed’ people become as soon as they are ‘Accountable’. The disappointing part for me, is that after the ‘Accountability’ period runs out, the ‘Laziness’ in some cases manages to work its way back in. It’s said that ‘water will find its way through anything’ and ‘Laziness’ seeps back into folks lives corroding every fitness landmark and achievement in its way reverting to type those that don’t close the heavy watertight doors of energy to keep their lethargy days well and truly behind them. If only there way of guaranteeing continued success for everyone.

Now, Imagine what it feels like, Imagine how it sounds, Imagine life is perfect and everything works out…

For those that make it to the ‘other side’ and I class myself amongst the best of them, I can only say that there’s a whole world of magic and opportunity - if only folk get off their couches and start heading for the horizon. It’s an old cliché that ‘after travelling for five miles towards the horizon, the horizon is still five miles away’ but the five miles travelled is the part that interests me. And that’s the part that ‘Lazy’ folk simply don’t get… Imagination!

Imagine there's a girlfriend, Imagine there's a job, Imagine there's an answer, Imagine there's a God…

Yep all you need is some imagination and NO excuses.

Hard men, Hard Lives, Hard keepin’ it all inside, good times, good God...

So this week, look around at folk that aren't 'Lazy', draw some inspiration from the Winter Olympics, make some plans, take in a deep breath and make it happen. Stop being ‘Lazy’ – ‘Lazy’ at anything and live life a whole lot better, for a whole lot longer.

Amen

Lyrics:- Lazy - Beedle, House, Rock & Byrne

Rory Coleman - rory@colemancoaching.co.uk - 24 Years' Alcohol Free - Never 'Lazy'
1,009 Marathons - 245 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records

Monday 5 February 2018

Watercolour - Pendulum

Throw your fists up, come on with me…
I simply love ‘Watercolour’ and have ‘Thrown my fists up’ many times listening to this Pendulum track, when I’ve been out there pounding out the miles - it’s no wonder it’s in my ‘Top 25 Played’ playlist on ‘i-Tunes.

Music’s played such a huge part in providing the drive I’ve needed to take on some of the world’s toughest challenges and races over the years – and I say that because I’ve used tracks such as ‘Watercolour’ to reach the ‘Out-of-body-state’ needed to achieve those goals.

You see, I’m often asked where that ‘Motivation’ comes from. Well, sadly it’s something you can’t buy or order online and I believe it comes from within. We all have ’Motivation’, you just have to find the right PIN number or Key to access it – and you have to have the ‘Desire’ to go and find it AND be prepared to go ‘Looking’.

I spend my life, helping people ‘Look’.

When I'm falling down, will you pick me up again?

When you’ve found it, remembering your ‘Motivation’ PIN number and not losing the ‘Motivation’ Key is the hardest part. How many times on social media do you see posts of people ‘Falling Down’ asking for their ‘Friends’ to help ‘Pick them up again’. There’s never a shortage of people posting superficial re-inflating messages of support, but I believe real 100% ‘Motivation’ is a far deeper emotion and something that can be super-powerful if used correctly.

When I'm too far gone, dead in the eyes of my friends...

Are you ‘Dead’? What would your ‘Friends’ say? I mean, just who are your real ‘Friends’ anyway? Do you really have any? Or a ‘Best Friend’? Or are YOU, your own ‘Best Friend’? Or Worst Enemy? Are you someone that has equal amounts of Krypton and Kryptonite in your psyche that neutralise your ambition?

Will you take me out of here when I'm staring down the barrel
When I'm blinded by the lights, when I cannot see your face?

It’s so easy to become ‘Blind’ or ‘Blinkered’ without even recognising the becalming effect of everyday life. Escape actually comes down to ‘Desire’, ‘Dedication’ and pure ‘Hard Work’.

Take me out of here…

Fighting your way out can be a very frightening thing to do. Folk tell me it is, all the time. Handing over their remote control to someone else after a lifetime of choosing their own path can be most unnerving.

All I believe, and all I've known, are being taken from me, can't get home…

And there’s the worry. I mean, what happens if then it all goes wrong? Well in truth, it rarely does – success is almost guaranteed. If it doesn’t go to plan, so what?

When worlds collide, let their fear collapse, bring no surprise…

And if you haven’t tried yet, isn’t it time you started. Lots of people ask me what ‘Freewheeling’ means during our Average2Awesome Programme lectures when being asked to choose negative words that might describe them and their colleagues from a list. The funny thing is, it’s often chosen to describe others yet hardly ever for themselves.

Maybe it’s time for a ‘Personal Revolution’ – Time to Paint a fresh image – a time to break-free from the chains of mediocracy and…

Feed the fire, break your vision
Throw your fists up, come on with me…

What do you think?

Rory Coleman - rory@colemancoaching.co.uk - 24 Years' Alcohol Free
1,009 Marathons - 245 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records