Mother - The Pink Floyd

‘Mother should I trust the government?’ 

My favourite line in ‘Mother’ from Pink Floyd’s 1979 double concept album ‘The Wall’. Since it’s release we’ve had a few governments, a few wars and a few health scares. With the latest Coronavirus providing an unprecedented heightened level of worry as maybe, like me – I don’t place any trust in the Government at all.

I mean their track record isn’t good…

Four years ago for instance there was another health scare in the UK – acknowledged by Public Health England in a letter sent out, nationwide, to every Doctors’ Surgery in the UK in January 2016 informing of a heightened level of Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases in South Wales (10 for your information). By February 2016, the number of cases had reduced and sadly for me, no further action was taken. On March 21^st I was taken ill with GBS. No-one had a clue what it was in two visits to my GP’s surgery and a further two visits to the University of Wales Hospital. With that in mind for Covid-19 and as a person defined as being ‘at risk’ – ‘No’, I don’t trust the bloody Government!

I’d rather put my trust in common sense and listen to those around me who know exactly what to do and what course of action to take. In my opinion – it’s going to get a lot worse from here on in. The world is changing, and changing too fast – 1979 is merely a dot in the rear-view and long forgotten.

You see over the last forty years the world has changed - things kinda speeded up somewhere around the Millennium and went into overdrive mid 2000’s and since then it’s spiralled out of control. The latest news has Boris and Trump are telling us that everything is under control and that everyone within the government and it’s departments are working overtime to contain the spread of one the world’s most contagious viruses – you couldn’t write this stuff let alone imagined it back in ‘79. Boris and Trump – as much use as the Chuckle Bros.

Back then, we trusted more – I believe we had more faith. Back then as a 17 year-old young man I was still trying to find out who I was and spent a lot of energy experiencing life for the first time. My those times were exciting – carefree, innocent perhaps but not frightening as they are today and becoming bleaker every hour.

So if you’d like my thoughts - What happens during this next few weeks and months may become completely out of our control. I for one will be listening and making my own judgement on what to believe/not to believe and taking a course of action based on a) what I know to be true and b) what’s the best for me and all my loved ones.

Until then, trust only in yourself and have faith in what you believe.

1,052 Marathons - 255 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 15 Marathon des Sables

Sheep - The Pink Floyd

Better watch out...

It’s a subject I’ve written about the most over my last fifteen years of blogging  - yes being a Sheep. It’s also the title of my most favouritist song ever by The Pink Floyd which has the lyrics - ‘Harmlessly passing your time on the grassland away’ and ‘Get out of the road if you want to grow old’ as it’s opening and closing lines. Just perfect for today''s blog.

You see, it resonates with me as I’m not someone to follow the crowd and go with the flow. In fact, I’m quite the opposite as I like to make up my own mind on things and really balk when I feel like I’m being backed into a corner. Clearly, I’m someone that’s prepared to walk on any cracks in any pavement and tackle things head on if necessary. That’s why it’s frustrating when I see so many folk take the easy route and go with the flow, in case they upset those around them or even worse, appear to stand out from the crowd - Gasp!

It’s not exactly life-threatening to make your own choice and have your own voice. Isn’t that the basis of democracy? The basis of personal freedom? The right to choose your own destiny? Then why not adapt your thinking so you can liberate yourself from those around you. Take my 'Am-I-a-Sheep-Test' and see for yourself over the next 24hrs how much you go with the flow, rather than nbeing your own person making your own decisions. I'd be interested to hear your findings...

In the meantime stop Flocking about and stop being a Pushover (AKA Sheep) - Baaa.

1,047 Marathons - 254 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 15 Marathon des Sables - 25 Years' Alcohol Free

Signals - Rush

I’m sure you were taught to Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre (MSM) when you were learning to drive. I know I was, way back in 1986, and I’m still aware that I MSM whenever I’m driving around the UK as the only thing you can be sure of nowadays is what you are doing and not necessarily what’s going on around you. I saw one person make it from lane three to the off slip using what must have been a handbrake turn last week which made whatever hair I had left stand-up and go one shade whiter. Talk about last minute… and it got me thinking

You see we can all be a bit last minute – about most things, if not everything in some folks cases. I mean how often do we look in the mirror, look around for danger, sum up where we are in the grand scheme of things and then signal our intent to let everyone around know in which direction we are heading - without hesitation and then safely manoeuvre.

Have a think. But don’t take too long about it, as right now you are hurtling along and might miss the many opportunities that are coming your way.

Don’t leave it to chance as that could prove to be fatal.

Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre-Amen

1,047 Marathons, 254 ULTRA-marathons, 9 Guinness World Records, 15 Marathon des Sables & 25 Years' Alcohol Free

Gilmour v Hackett

It’s actually a serious question and for those of you who haven’t got a clue whom David Gilmour or Steve Hackett are, they are guitar heroes of mine and many a prog rock fan from 70's Supergroups, Pink Floyd and Genesis.

You see, the question illustrates perfectly that we are not always 100% convinced of our choices and of our feelings -  and that we can change our minds on a whim to what we think we believe in most.

In this particular case in 99/100 times, historically I would instantly say Gilmour. The solo in Comfortably Numb is often highlighted as #1 solo of all time, yet maybe it has that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ quality about it as most folk when asked what their favourite Queen song is, never choose it. My Pink Floyd choice is actually Sheep, and Queen is Hammer to Fall, so that backs my theory up quite nicely.

It was all going Gilmour's way then this week I started listening very closely to the early Genesis ‘Hackett’ albums and his later Solo and Live work and I think my hard and fast opinion of some 40 years’ changed. Yikes, I’m swinging Hackett’s Way.

I feel a bit of a ‘Pink Floyd Traitor‘ if I’m being honest and it’s confusing as in my monochromatic world I’ve always made things into a ‘yes/no choice‘ rather than saying I like ‘two things at the same time’. Back as a teenager in the 70’s, we were identified by the music we liked and the bands logos we had drawn on our schoolbags and books. For me it's always been Pink Floyd.

It’s also interesting that only Gilmour and Hackett were in the frame as there are plenty more incredible guitarists that I could have chosen. Jimmy Page, Steve Howe, Alex Lifeson etc. and no matter how much I love Zeppelin, Yes or Rush, none of them match either of the above.

Anyway, I'll cut to the chase and my thought today is that choice isn’t as black and white as maybe I’ve often made it - and that it will and CAN ebb and flow with life and it’s challenges. Let’s see if I’m thinking and feeling the same way this time next year.

Oh my choice... Well today it’s Steve Hackett sorry David.

1,046 Marathons - 254 Ultras - 15 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records

Young Lust - The Pink Floyd

Still Life - Pablo Coleman

How often do you say ‘I used to’… It’s a phrase I hear all the time especially from new clients as they recount their earlier lives through rather saddened rose-tinted spectacles. I said it myself this week on recounting my artistic Van-Coleman period of 1979-80. I painted the above still-life when I was 17. 

And forty years on, being as pragmatic as I can about my former self - I would say it shows promise. For the record, it was my first (and only) real venture into oil-painting which I did in my own time at home and not at school where we were more forced to be creative perhaps. What I find interesting now, is why I didn’t paint any further masterpieces as maybe I could have become a really proficient artist - who knows.

All I can say is ‘I used to oil-paint… but that I might again’ - It will not only be good for me to see what I’m capable of now, but also for me to recapture my youth and the enthusiasm I possessed as a 17-year old young man. 

So, I wonder how many other former artists, musicians, sportspeople, etc. there are out there. There must be thousands, millions even. There must be as it seems like everyone I meet, is a former something-or-other or in a state of regret about how they once lived a much cleaner and simple life or played pro-sport etc.

But hey, all’s not lost - and don't get depressed.

We are all still young at heart no matter how old we might be. I think it’s great to revisit the things and activities you loved in a former life and enjoy them all over again. You’ll find that as soon as you put whatever is stopping you from reliving your youth to one side, you’ll enjoy being in my case, back in 1979, with a blank canvas ready to create and paint a future. How exciting...

What did you used to do?

1,046 Marathons, 254 Ultras, 9 Guinness World Records, 15 Marathon des Sables

How Soon is Now - The Smiths

When you say it's gonna happen 'now', well, when exactly do you mean?

The first few days of the week are always special. You see, they are full of 'Success'. Well, 'Reflected Success' if I'm being honest, as it's a time when I hear tales of goals being beaten, pb's being smashed and excess-weight being simply melted away. And it's easy to shout long and hard about how brilliant it all is, but then there are always the times when there's an odd one out that stops you in your tracks and makes you think on.

Now, I'm the first one to admit I'm far from perfect and just as mortal as the next man. Yet I'm still feeling very numb about a person I spoke to only six weeks ago about the possibility of working together. Being less than 50 and overweight at 20st and having, suffered a first heart attack - I felt perfectly placed to help turn this person's life round and possibly help them enjoy a long future life of health and happiness. Whether I fitted their idea of a Lifestyle Coach or whether it was cost prohibitive - I will only ever have their word for it but I yesterday I heard this person had died in their sleep. 

Now, I'll never know if I could have made a difference but I hope it wouldn’t have played out the way it did - I'll never know. The only thing I will have is the text saying - 'I'll have to think about it', which is what I'm doing today, only thinking more - what if? 

I'm not sure if you'll understand where I'm coming from. Sad and Helpless doesn't even start to cut it. All I can say is that if you are thinking of reaching out, even if I'm not the right person, please do as 'Now' or even sooner...'Money shouldn't be an object'.

Amen.

1 Life - Live it...

Sanctify Yourself - Simple Minds

'If you take one step closer, it'll lead to another' - Kerr

Just how determined are you? 

It’s a simple question with a very complex answer as it’s possible to cover all aspects of one's life in a simple YES/NO Tick Box, or list of adjectives or as a score ‘Out of Ten’. The dictionary definition of ’Determination‘ is ‘The quality of being determined; firmness of purpose’, with an interesting illustration of how to use, ‘Those who succeed because of sheer grit and determination’.

Interesting that Succeed and Determination are used together along with a good old dollop of 'Grit'.

I always ask Clients’ how much they want to achieve their goal - usually using the ‘Out of Ten’ method. I receive some 8s, lots of 9’s and a few 10’s but funnily seldom an 11. In reality I see their bandwidth more of a 3 to 9 as some can only provide lip service to their effort and the investment needed to achieve. The 10's are easy to spot. Over the years I’ve gained a sixth sense to other people’s level of determination.

Determination doesn’t mean that you have to succeed at all costs. But being driven, determined and focussed is actually a pretty sexy attribute. Let’s face it, we are more attracted to people we find exciting, different and determined.

It might be worth considering how you checkout on the ‘Determined Scale’ today, especially if you are in a period of self-change. How high are you scoring today?

Shall we try using the 'Out of 10 Method'?...

1,045 Marathons, 254 Ultra-Marathon, 15 Marathon des Sables, 12/10 Determination

Different - Pendulum

It’s a great track and well worth a listen. I always feel pumped when I listen to Pendulum and this hit my iPod mid-run, mid-rain today. And it got me thinking…

Don't hide baby, let them see your true colours…

What is it that makes you different from all the rest? It’s a question I asked in this mornings in my ‘Quotebox’ too. I mean, just what is it, that sets you apart from everyone else on the planet. You see we are all unique - even twins have different fingerprints, yet we are programmed even at an early age to fit in with the crowd.

Don't mind the camera, let them see your black heart tonight… 

Personally, I’ve always been happy to stand out from the crowd and be different. It hasn’t made me any more likeable, in fact quite the opposite, but it does mean that I have my own opinion and I’m able to make up my own mind without feeling the need to please anyone else. I have complete freewill on that.

Don't hide baby, show them just how deep it goes…

And yes, I don’t feel I have to hide about who I am or what I do. Not many can say that. How deep it goes, well that’s to the bone and it always will be. If you’ve ever had a life threatening illness then you’ll know just how the world changes and how much your thoughts change towards situations or people that are simply wasting your time.

Don't mind the cameras, let them see your black heart baby…

Black Heart? Warm Heart I’d say. Well warm if you know me as what you see is what you get. Being different means that you can be more honest about yourself and more honest to other people - it cuts out a lot of the Professional BS that we are surrounded by every day of our lives. 

Time to toughen up perhaps, stick out from the crowd and say what you mean this week - what do you think?

1,045 Marathons, 254 Ultras, 9 Guinness World Records, 15 Marathon des Sables

1 Very Different Person

Future's Bright - Richard Ashcroft

If you haven't seen the film Adjustment Bureau, then you've missed a 'Cinematic Classic IMHO. Matt Damon plays a brilliant Matt Damon with the beautiful Emily Blunt in tow. The film's soundtrack features the music of Thomas Newman and especially today's featured track 'Future's Bright' - co-written with Richard Ashcroft of 'The Verve' fame. 

Everywhere I look, I can see the faith...

Now, I've never been the biggest Ashcroft fan but the lyrics when read in full make amazing reading - real modern day poetry if that exists? They paint a wonderful bright outlook on life and the future. They also feel very personal somehow. I mean I can see and do see the 'Faith' in folk - every day. You see 'Faith' equals 'Hope' in my book and I see hope all around me, in everyone I meet. I mean we are all hoping aren't we? - we all have 'Faith'. It's just hidden away right deep down yet it's right in front of our eyes.

Reflecting back at me, and now I'm in this fate...

Although we can believe in 'Fate', or put things that happen to us down to 'Fate' - I believe we're able shape our own 'Future's' to a certain degree and feel that 'Fate' is more controllable that you imagine. When you look in the mirror and see your reflection looking back you, you don't only see yourself but you also see your surroundings. Where you are in that one moment, where your life-journey has taken you with your life to date etched into your features and reflected in line's around your eyes.

I'm shaking all the hands, I'm doing all the plan...

So try this...How about this weekend trying to let some light into your darkness. Draw some of the last of the Summer-Sun's rays deep inside and feel the 'Brightness' lighten up your world. There's nothing better than feeling good. After all, that's what we all yearn for isn't it? I also love the 'shaking hands reference'? Shaking someone's hand's a warm sign of welcome isn't it. A sign that says I'm not a threat. A sign that says I won't hurt you. It's kinda reassuring and as for the plan - well make one and follow it and that will also ignite your future. 

I guess I'm in control, and look how high it goes...

I feel I'm in control a lot of the time but are we ever fully in control? I seem to get tripped up by some unforeseen mishap when things are going well or trip myself up by being over-enthusiastic or misread. My current mission is to keep trying to reduce such occurrences and keep believing that the 'Future's Bright' - so bright that we'll need more than shades.

Amen

1,045 Marathons, 254 Ultras, 9 Guinness World Records & 15 Marathon des Sables

School - Supertramp

Yesterday, I wrote that I’ve definitely had value for money from life so far and scrolling back through the years, I’ve certainly lived a full life. I haven’t filled up my time with things that I’m not good at or are not interested in. And if we wind my clock back to March 1976, I have only happy thoughts of that time and being 14 at school. Indeed, I wrote in my book ‘A Rebel and a Runner’ - 'My overwhelming memory of school life is one of happiness and fulfilment'. Only on reading my school report of that term, my teachers observations were quite different. In fact, in my last school report at 18, the headmaster’s comment was ‘He has never developed a serious attitude to his work’. Nice soundbite for seven years in one of the top Grammar Schools in the UK - and not one that reflects my current work ethic.

I was never highlighted as a child with a complete mental-block when processing written language(s) but on scanning a few of my reports – it’s clear where I was failing. Don’t get me wrong as this was the 70’s and the education process was more about exam preparation and university entrance than providing pastoral care. Learning how to find a route through the confusion of education, probably taught me more if I’m being honest and has given me a way of dealing with a complexity of adult life.

Told you it wasn't great...

Okay, I’m not the most literary of people as you’ll know if you are one of my regular blog readers’, but I do believe that the life-experience that I now broadcast has an in-built message that delivers both achievement and fulfilment.

Possibly my school years' taught me to be more pragmatic than anything else – putting my energies into knowing what I was good and where I could achieve - making a platform to bookmark my success perhaps. No wonder my marathon running and Guinness World Records etc. have been so fundamental in marking my success and investment into what I believe has been an important part of me becoming the present-day me.

I’m sure if I went back, I would invest more of my time and energy into my education and pass far more of my A and O Levels but what would it really achieve? Absolutely nothing. The 'School of Experience' offers much higher qualifications and I've achieved way beyond where predicted some 40-odd years on.

For this reports, I’m going to continue with my serious attitude to my work (that I’ve always had) and continue believing that I'm happy and fulfilled.

Are you happy and fulfilled too?

A* in 1,045 Marathons - 254 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 15 Marathon des Sables

Choose Life - Underworld

Life is a matter of degrees. You see whenever I speak to a new client that is looking for an abstinence from alcohol, I always say that I’ve worked with folk that drink as much as four bottles of wine a day and are now living a life of sobriety. The reply is always, ‘Well I’m not that bad, it’s only drink one bottle!’ It’s the same for my dieters – as their being 100kgs is just as bad as 125kgs in my book.

I mean – just how bad is bad? Where is the point of no return - that person ‘Failsafe’ where nothing, and I mean nothing can save you from yourself.

We have a strange eating and drinking culture in the UK where 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath will make you a drunk driver but 34 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath means you are ‘technically’ sober. Only you’re not – you are simply 1 microgram less drunk. Food is seen as a leisure pursuit, a reward or even as TV entertainment (do you know how much I hate ‘Bake Off’). Anyway food - along with drinking it’s so much time wasted IMO that’s reflected by the size of your waistline.

There are so many other things that you can do that are far more rewarding, if you give them the time you currently choose not to give them.

What are you wasting your time on today?

1045 Marathons, 254 Ultras, 9 Guinness World Records & 15 Marathon des Sables

Vera - The Pink Floyd

‘Where the hell are you Simon?’

It’s a line that features right at the start of the 1979 Pink Floyd track ‘Vera’ but in fact comes from the 1969 film ‘The Battle of Britain’ – One of the truly great British War Films IMO. Anyway, it’s a lyric that always gets me thinking - especially when times are tough or if I’m feeling a bit out of sorts like I have been lately.

You see, part of my recent dilemma has been whether fatigue is good old-fashioned wear and tear, old age or remnants of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome that makes some of my days grind to a dead halt. It’s crazy as some days it feels like I’m flying and back to the old Rory days, pre-body anaesthesia. And if I’m honest, yes it does cheese me off, but how much I can blame that feeling on to my ‘outside influences’ is debateable and actually irrelevant as I can only now work with what I’ve got and I accepted that, if with somewhat gritted teeth.

I reached my ‘acceptance’ in 2016.

Can’t say it’s been easy but looking back I’ve had to accept many things over the years. At an early age I ‘accepted’ I’d never be a professional footballer, a brain-surgeon or a cross-channel swimmer. My mother said she’d found my old school reports that made poor reading. Shucks eh? But in my favour, I have one big advantage - I know what I’m good at, what I really like doing and give things 100%. 

  

What has become of you?

And that’s been my ‘Modus Operandi’. It’s not always a good thing as it means that sometimes it’s hard to find the brakes when things are proceeding headlong in the wrong direction, but on the whole, it’s brought me a more than satisfying level of success. I can hardly look back and say I haven’t had value for money, can I? And from what I have done, I can easily say that I know exactly where and who I am.

The fascinating thing is that many people I meet haven’t got the same level of location or proprioception. They are lost. Maybe the Global Positioning System could crack people’s psychological predicament as well as their location – what an invention but imagine that, being told how you feel – I mean, how would you feel about that?

And yet, where are you today? Drowning in data, unsure of what to do for the best? Scared of making the wrong decision. Scared of making the right decision. It’s a complete minefield. Knowing what to ‘like’, ‘unlike’, ‘friend’, ‘unfriend’, ‘trust’ a lottery one you feel you can never win.

But you already have the winning ticket, if you find ‘acceptance’. It’s an instant win – 90% complete with just 10% needed to conquer anything you put your mind to. 

I do hope you understand where I’m coming from today. As even if today’s rubbish, it doesn’t matter as tomorrow will be slightly better and the day after hopefully better still – just give it a go and build on whatever solid foundation you can find however rocky it might feel as that’s what I’m doing… ’Does anybody else here feel the way I do?’

1,045 Marathons - 254 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 15 Marathon des Sables

Change your Mind - The Horrors

'Mindset' is a concept that's been around since the early 1900's, according to Wiki. It's a word that's become part of my daily vocabulary when speaking with clients and I thought I'd investigate the philosophy behind the terms 'Fixed' and 'Growth' Mindsets, as I try and evaluate my own 'Mindset' traits.

However, I'm a bit confused to which 'Mindset' set I belong to. You see, I believe I'm in the intersecting part of a 'Venn Diagram of ‘Fixed’ and Growth Mindset' where the two circles intersect, if that makes sense.

To help clarify things, I looked to the expert in the 'Mindset' field - Professor Carol Dweck. Her primary research is in motivation, personality and development and speaks volumes - if I had the right 'Growth' Mindset, I could read all about it in her 2006 book 'Mindset: The New Psychology of Success' but as a ‘Fixed’ Mindset non-reader, I was a bit at a loss but luckily Wiki helped again...

Dweck states that there are two categories (Growth Mindset versus Fixed Mindset) that can group individuals based on their behaviour, specifically their reaction to failure. Those with a 'Fixed Mindset' believe that abilities are mostly innate and interpret failure as the lack of necessary basic abilities, while those with a ‘Growth Mindset’ believe that they can acquire any given ability provided they invest effort or study. Dweck argues that the ‘Growth Mindset’ will allow a person to live a less stressful and more successful life'.

Now, as soon as I see 'Failure', I immediately identify with the ‘Fixed Mindset” character trait as the 'F' word (Failure not ****) is like Kryptonite to my inner soul. Yet my ‘Mindset’ isn’t so myopic that I don’t believe that investing effort and study won’t bring results – well apart from swimming or triathlon as my mindset has been ‘Fixed’ by having the same buoyancy qualities as a house-brick. But then again, I’m pretty much stress-free and have had enjoyed many successes over the years which swings me back into the ‘Growth Mindset’ group.

So you can see why I’m confused. Or perhaps it’s how we like to label people nowadays and maybe I’m just someone that you can’t label. Or group, or even want to group. And maybe you are the same? No-one needs to be anything really – you just need to know who you are, where you are going and what’s needed to get you there.

And that’s all that matters…

1,044 Marathons, 244 Ultras, 9 Guinness World Records & 15 Marathon des Sables

Go - Public Service Broadcasting

Go, Go, Go, Go, Go...

On Saturday I was lucky enough to see the excellent Public Service Broadcasting play at Caerphilly Castle. I’m not sure what Gilbert de Clare, the 7th Earl of Gloucester would have thought about his 13th Century Castle creation being used for such purpose but hopefully he would have marvelled at the songs and videos featuring the story of the Titanic, the Race for Space and the rise and fall of coalmining in South Wales.

I came away with my mind working in overdrive. A lot of the songs and footage captured events that have happened in my lifetime. A fifty-year span where Man land on the Moon, industry changed forever and the world went digital.

Has it all been worth it and are we any happier as a result?

Has the immediacy of the modern world enhanced our lives or made it as even tougher place to exist? I believe the world has changed more in the last ten years than the previous forty. I mean, when did you last play a Cassette, CD, DVD or take a photo using a camera? The notes in my wallet have been there for weeks as I simply don’t use much paper money these days. Banks, Shops, Cars, Life...there's a massive revolution taking place. One that when we look back in a further ten years wish we'd been part of as I believe that people are missing out not only on their future but also on their present.

You see, I went to the gig, sober, stayed sober and then drove home. However around me, some folk were completely legless, whilst others smoked endless joints throughout. And hey, it's a free-world and people are there for a good time but there's a whole world out there to create, enjoy and feel part of - and not to miss out on.

The grainy 60's footage of the Apollo Missions highlighted just how long it was since I was a seven-year old boy looking skywards in wonder at the heavens - what I've achieved so far and what I have yet to achieve with my time left on this amazing planet of ours. 

Take some time and think about whatever it is that you are doing today. If you are not doing it very well, do it better and if it's not good for you, don’t do it at all.

Amen.

1,040 Marathons, 242 Ultras, 9 Guinness World Records & 15 Marathon des Sables

Who are YOU? - The Who

Today’s blog title is taken from the 1978 Who Classic album of the same title ‘Who are you’, the last album released by the group before Keith Moon's death in September 1978 - which feels a very, very long time ago.

Anyway, on listening very closely to the song, it got me thinking, ‘Who do we really think we really are’, ‘How do we project ourselves?’ and ‘How are we perceived by others?’. It’s something that became more and more apparent to me as I spoke to a fresh batch of clients this week. On hearing their stories, I learned how they fitted into their worlds. How they were perceived by their family, friends and colleagues – how unhappy they are. 

You see, it’s amazing how we come over to others, what it means and how limiting that can be on our progress for instance within the corporate world. Some people will hold out for years in a job ever hopeful for promotion or even a redundancy package only never to reach their goal because they just don’t ‘look’ the part or have a ‘perceived’ value – or don’t fit in.

The lyrics go, ‘I felt a little like a dying clown’. I’ve seen it many times as I’ve coached people that will joke and laugh their way through their day when inside they are literally ‘dying’ inside – crying later alone at their predicament.

They continue, ‘I know there's a place, where love falls from the trees’– and it’s such a sweet place. Feeling you’ve got there is one thing, getting there a whole different story as for many that journey is literally limited by their outlook and by what they project.

The person that knows it and feels it the most is you. And when you know it, the doubt sets in as the sing continues,‘How can I measure up to anyone now’. It sounds like a modern-day social media message reaching out, looking for reassurance and love from anyone that can be bothered to reply. For the record, self-worth doesn’t come in the form of a Facebook reply – it comes from within. 

From setting goals, sending out the right signals and cleaning up one’s act. And when you do that – you’ll find out who you really are – and you’ll find out it’s not as bad as you think and everyone else (well the majority anyway) will think you are okay too.

Have a think: ‘Who are You?’

1,040 Marathons, 252 ULTRAs, 9 Guinness World Records & 15 Marathon des Sables

Good Morning Beautiful - The The

I do love a dark song to start the day, and the 1989 classic ‘Good Morning Beautiful’ from The The, always searches deeply into my inner soul as I prepare for my day ahead. The amazing thing is, that you can never truly plan for what the day has in store. One moment you are sat relaxing on a sofa enjoying a fresh cup of breakfast tea - the next you are chatting to Richard Dreyfuss (him of American Graffiti, Jaws and Close Encounters to name-drop a few) as I waited to be interviewed by Chris Evans on his Virgin Radio Breakfast Show (he said name-dropping again).

An out of body experience if ever there was one and my fluent gibberish was in full flow. For the record both Chris and Richard are amazing, and it made me realise just how lucky I am as I’m constantly amazed by where my exploits have taken me and by who I meet along the way.

Maybe the song was telling me something - You see I first heard it when I was in the darkest period of my life, out of control in what felt like a ‘Living Hell’. The lyrics say that ‘The only path to heaven is via hell’ and maybe that’s the truth. If you’ve been there, you’ll know.

What does tomorrow have in store, well I’ve a good idea but no doubt there will be a few ‘Close Encounters’ along the way.

1,040 Marathons - 252 Ultras - 15 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records