Reach Out - Four Tops

Reach Out...

‘Now if you feel that you can't go on because all of your hope is gone 

And your life is filled with much confusion until happiness is just an illusion’…

Wow, the lyrics sound a desperate don’t they - I don’t want this blog to sound that way REACHING OUT is important as January is already shaping up to be a pilotable time in a lot of the lives of the I’m working with. People that have simply REACHED OUT. People that have been STRONG enough to acknowledge that some guidance and a different of thinking might be all they need to get things going in the right direction.

I say STRONG because REACHING OUT is all too often thought of as being WEAK or FAILURE. I know only too well myself as I felt totally defeated and ay my lowest ebb when I REACHED OUT for help all those years’ ago. The AMAZING thing was that as soon as I shared my predicament - my world took a turn for the better and it felt like the light had started to shine in on my darkened world once more.

Yesterday, I spoke about this period of my life in a podcast that will be broadcast in early February. During that conversation I was asked about my work with my clients. Being put on the spot a little, and not being able to encompass everything I do into one soundbite, I said that although everyone was different and had different needs it was interesting that I had a 50:50 split in Male and Female clients. Unusual definitely as in the world of ULTRAS it's more 85:15 and that's been my stock business this past decade. After the podcast, I thought on about that split. How my work has changed and how the Male:Female REACHING OUT differs.

In general Men want help becoming STRONGER and FASTER whereas Women want to be VALUED and HEARD - a very PHYSICAL v EMOTIONAL set of needs. Maybe it’s down to a confidence issue in both sexes. Men need the uplift in times and performance to give them the edge to take on their world - to become that ALPHA MALE and Women need their confidence reinstated after years of Male suppression to become their OWN PERSON. You see, every Woman I coach is STRONG, CLEVER and BLOODY AWESOME - it’s just a shame they find it hard to ACCEPT, ACKNOWLEDGE and ANNOUNCE. When they do, (YOU know who you are) I find it most refreshing.

I also find it refreshing when Men REACH OUT publicly and announce that they are in fact MORTAL and are finding life TOUGH (YOU know who you are too) and it’s cool – VERY COOL in fact in both cases as PEOPLE LOVE to help other PEOPLE. You might find that LOVE comes from the PEOPLE you might least expect and not from those nearest to you - It did for me when I was ill in 2016 (again YOU know who you are).

But then, LIFE is FULL of SURPRISES and YOU might SURPRISE yourself and those around you if you feel lost and about to give up because your best just ain't good enough and your feel the world has grown cold and your drifting out all on your own.

Just REACH OUT - a WHOLE NEW WORLD awaits.

1,029 Lifetime Marathons, 250 ULTRA-marathons, 9 Guinness World Records, 

15 Marathon des Sables & 25 Years' Dry