Gold Rush - Danny Byrd (feat. Brookes Brothers)

Lyrics:- 'I knew where I was going has forced my directions' - Byrd

Song Choice:- I spent yesterday coaching my latest #Average2Awesome Group at Stepnell UK, a building and civil engineering business headquartered in Rugby. And, as the weeks unfold I'll write more about my work with them and the journey of discovery the 12 candidates will be undertaking with me. 

It’s always good for the ego of course to speak to a fresh group of people about my life adventures and achievements – for me though that’s just my history which I’ve lived a thousand times over and yes, I’m proud of my work but the fascinating part of my first A2A talk is always where I turn the focus back on the audience and start to understand the personalities in the room, their needs, the way they interact with each other and their direction.

'I just spoke my mind' - Byrd

You see, I knew where I was going on my journey when I set off headlong on 5^th January 1994 – it’s been well document and luckily, I’ve never looked back but the journey for my #A2A Stepnell People has yet to unfold. For me it feels like I’ve just been given a favourite ’Boxed Set’ to watch, with a plot that will twist and turn and a hero that will of course save the day in the final episode. It's really exciting and as in all of our previous A2A's I'm looking forward to getting to know the strangers I met this morning.

I came away feeling very buoyant and ran my old ‘Cross Country’ course in Stratford-upon-Avon on the way home in the searing heat of the day and ran only a couple of minutes slower than I did back in 1994 when I first started running when I was 31 so that made me feel quite ‘Awesome’ rather than ‘Average’. That's when I listened to the above track. It's really worth a listen if you are out there pushing yourself.

It’s really ‘forced my direction’ and my advice today is - If you are currently being diverted from the path by folk, you know the ‘Failure Enablers’ and the ‘Energy Vampires’ we all interact with on a daily basis, don’t even listen – don’t waste your time telling them to ‘b***** off’, just get your head down, keep the faith and be the ‘Awesome’ person you want to be TODAY and FIND a direction to follow as the direction isn’t going to FIND you. I can tell you that one for sure...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 994 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,568 Days' Alcohol Free - 417 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

Life of the Party - All Time Low

Not much  'Life' left in these Parties...

Song Choice:- Thanks to Apple Music for suggesting today's belter from a new band to me 'All Time Low'. It delivers the lost feeling of alcohol addiction and sobriety that folk often feel when they are in the transition phase from being the 'Life of ANY Party' to the notion of a far less 'exciting' lifestyle. I know, as I've been there myself. I've had those thoughts...

Have a listen to the track here and listen closely to the lyrics as they speak volumes to me and hopefully my clients whom are going through this process right now and are finding it hard to stay positive without a party to go to... I'm so down with the kids as their album isn't out 'til June 2nd...

Lyrics:- 'Now it's four in the morning, and I'm trying to fix myself. What the hell did I do? I'm the life of the party' 

Somewhere in between who I used to be, and who I'll be tomorrow when the champagne blows my mind. Thrills don't come for free, price you pay for dreams. In the sea of strangers, I can't find me anymore.

Looking back, I don't know why I needed to be the 'Life of the Party' anyway. Maybe it's because Parties are really a bit of rubbish. There's nothing worse than a 'Fancy Dress' or a surprise '40th' or '50th' to get roped into in my opinion. Thinking about it, getting hammered was possibly the only good thing about them, so I've kind of answered my own question there I suppose.

Alcohol withdrawal however does cause a feeling of being 'Lost' - it took me ages to 'Find' myself and there's no quick fix to happiness and inner calm, I can confirm - only time provides the solution to that problem I've found. Looking back, I've probably been through a few personal updates since, as I'd found myself only to lose myself and then find myself once again.

It all sounds a bit nutty, but self-realisation and self-recognition really helps with ANY addiction and finding out which 'Parties' to avoid being the life of, means that the odd piece of 'Birthday Cake' with 'Kryptonite Icing' doesn't slip under the barbed wire and mess up all that hard work.

Being between the person you used to be and the new you is such a 'Minefield' where the longer you survive in it, the danger keeps building like a giant pressure cooker in your head. That's until you realise you don't have to be the 'Life of the Party' as EVERYDAY in your new life is a PARTY not the one where you act the drunk idiot - as let's face it, no-one really likes the 'Life of the Party', as secretly we always think they are a bit of a tw@t.

Be the 'Life of your own Party' everyday - Amen...

More tomorrow...

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,520 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Avicii - Levels

Lyrics:- 'Oh, sometimes, I get a good feeling, yeah' - Pournouri, Kirkland, Bergling, James & Woods

Song Choice:- This great dance track from 2011 provides an excellent backdrop to my thoughts today about 'Levels' in a kind of 'Life Graphic Equalizer' way if you are into my way of thinking. All those different frequencies make up who we are, and how much emphasis we place on them is fascinating for any 'Life Coaching Voyeur' like myself.

You see, I understand completely that folk need to go out and conquer a marathon, Marathon des Sables or even a 100 miler to get 'A good feeling'... but if you did this at weekend for instance and are using the 'Marathon/Ultra-Marathon Experience' as part of a new life-journey - my point is, 'That was yesterday and what are you doing today to help you along that journey'.

If anything at all...

'Cos that's the thing. It's so darn easy post event to take your foot off the gas and return from 'Awesomeness' back into 'Averageness' in a period of less than 24 hours. I believe it's better to do a week of 20 milers on one's own rather than bash out 100 miles and not to leave giant windows in one's recovery process.

It's what you do on the days in between the 'Good Feelings' that count - So, what are you doing to 'Feel Good' today?

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,518 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Time - The Pink Floyd

Lyrics:- 'Waiting for someone or something to show you the way' - Gilmour, Mason, Waters & Wright

Song Choice:- Taken from their 1973 album 'Dark Side of the Moon', Time's lyrics deal with Bass Player, Roger Waters' realisation that life was not about preparing yourself for what happens next, but about grabbing control of one's own destiny - hmm sound familiar?

I've used this track many times to accompany my blog, and it's a track that encompasses everything 'Pink Floyd' in my opinion - from the heralding quadrophonic chimes, warmth of Wright's vocals, to an amazing Gilmour Solo - it's always spoken volumes to me about the passage of 'Time' and how we 'Fritter' our 'Time' away.

So for once, I'm not going to 'Witter on' about 'Frittering' - I'm going to write about how I see 'Time' and how I don't use mine worrying too much about what other folk are up to with theirs.




You see May Bank Holiday weekend gives everyone in the UK the opportunity for the first 'Time Out' of the year and with light evenings, green trees and a warming sun, lots of folk are out there looking for adventure rather than taking some deep breaths of oxygen before returning to work next Tuesday.




Forgetting our own personal exercise needs, there's the crescendo of Football's Premier League, World Championship Boxing and even another Grand Prix to fall asleep in front of if you need entertain and prefer being an armchair athlete.

I'm more into using the break as a building opportunity and thinking more about recharging my batteries rather than expending what mental 'Kinetic Energy' I might have built up so far in 2017.

It's especially relevant as it's a year tomorrow since I went into hospital and started circling the drain on my GBS Journey.

My next personal development over the next 12 months are now my main-focus...

The lyrics continue to say, 'The time is gone' and how right that is as we can't wind back the clock. However, I believe that the best times are still to come and if you only look up from the grindstone you too can see the bigger picture. What might appear to be an impossible journey of self-development is actually only one step away and any mountain can be climbed. Literally...

You just have to get up and run before that sun sets... and not just talk about it as that gets you nowhere fast but you know that anyway.

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,515 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru