LifeShot

As we age we lose muscle mass, joint movement and bone density. This is a slow and gradual decline. Some older people are in care homes because they cannot fully care for themselves physically, but that does not have to be the case if you start now to maintain and build muscle mass and joint mobility. Listen to the interview I had with Daniel Rollins. He is an Osteopath that I myself visited and had treatment with. He is so intune with peoples bodies, it's unbelievable. You may have never thought of visiting an Osteo, but after this interview you may just think about going to get advice and remove those niggles like back pain https://www.dynamicosteopathy.co.uk/daniel-rollins Also, check out https://lifeshot.co.uk/shop/ for your dose of collagen to keep and feel young!   

Vitamin D is so vital to our health that it is the first vitamin supplement recommended by many health governing bodies such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the World Health Organisation. It is also the first supplement that biohackers like Dave Asprey would recommend in your pursuit of living longer and healthier. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in a few foods, artificially added to others like milk and cereals, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight hit your skin, this triggers what they call "vitamin D synthesis" I have a link for you to get the vitamin D that I use by love life supplements. (this is an affiliate link, thanks for supporting) Before you listen to the podcast I would like to tell you about the collagen powder that I sell. Its made from PEPTAN, the worlds leading collagen producer, it is the highest quality collagen you can get on the market. Collagen protein is the building blocks to your bones, skin and joints. You can increase muscle recovery, look great and feel great when you supplement your diet with Lifeshot Collagen powder. Mix it in your smoothies or coffee, or with juice or add it to some recipes. I have a few of them on my blog, check them out here. If you are looking for top-quality coffee we sell that here too, its called Lifebrew coffee, it's our own brand here at lifeshot and its speciality grade, medium roasted micro-lot coffee. From farms where we have a relationship with the farmers and where we can track the quality and consistency of the coffee beans. Get yours here. 

Mari Williams The Mind Architect. Learn how to become a better leader for your family and your business or your career.  I am now selling my own brand collagen peptides. I chose to sell this product because I believe in what it does. It helps me to keep my skin more elastic, it helps reduce fine line wrinkles and it helps me with muscle recovery. I also believe strongly in the benefits of drinking top quality coffee, and that is why I started selling organic whole bean coffee too. See my links below Lifeshot Collagen - buy now Lifebrew Coffee - buy now

Liz and Clint are at it again in this weeks episode of the lifeshot podcast Should losing weight make you feel great or make you look great? Find out how we suggest you go about this week on the lifeshot   Get your lifeshot live well and age well collagen protein right here https://lifeshot.co.uk/our-protein/

Muyiwa (Muui23.com) has interviewed over 100 people on his Day in Day Out Podcast. Let's learn from him about all the nuggets he has taken away from talking to so many experts in their fields.  We speak about mindset, body focus and the spirit of community and relationships.  Check out my collagen powder that can help you age well, feel better with healthier skin, bones and hair. 100% pure bovine collagen peptides is what I take every day to slow down the ageing process and keep my skin looking good.   

A podcast episode about losing weight. George is a personal trainer and runs online as well as face to face training. After coaching hundreds of people he knows what he is talking about and he shares his knowledge with us in this episode on how to lose weight the right way.   

Sean has a therapy practice where he helps people heal from injuries and pain. When he was playing rugby he hurt his back, he was not able to play for months until he went to see a person who did alternative therapy, much like Bowen Therapy. Listen in to how he helps people with this neuromuscular style of therapy Sean's website http://www.structuralmedicine.co.za Check out my website here http://www.lifeshot.co.za Please subscribe so that you don't miss another episode. You can also like my pages here  https://www.facebook.com/lifeshotpodcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_CaqSgs8t2LVJik4ztPg8w    

In this podcast episode, I speak with Martyn O'Dare from Firetree Chocolate. An artisan chocolatier who sources the beans and produces the chocolate himself along with this team in Peterborough UK. Listen in to some fascinating aspects of chocolate production and the makeup and composition of my favourite snack. You can get a 10% discount on https://www.firetreechocolate.com when you checkout (over £10 purchase) using LIFESHOT10 until the end of October 2020  

Find out the best water to drink for optimal health and which water to consume that is best for the environment. There is so much hype about water, alkaline and hydrogen water, sparking and still, mineral or spring. Listen in to this short podcast about what water you should be drinking.  Here is a link to the water I suggest at the end of the program  

This week on the lifeshot podcast I speak to Hannah Danielle who runs her own dance business up in Doncaster UK. She is super passionate about dance and all its benefits to your life. Benefits such as feelings of accomplishment and belonging to the physical and mental benefits it provides.    She is also keen to advance into the area of dance movement therapy which is a great way for certain people to overcome fear or get in touch with their emotions, and of course many other purposes.    Listen to the podcast now and hear how Hannah has taken her life long passion and turned it into a business of helping others have fun, feel free and dance their way to wellness.    Article about the benefits of dance here (as you may have heard in my intro)

This week we welcome endurance athlete Jamie Marais who has written a book called Determination, and he wants to inspire people to reach for their dreams by being determined, and by having a belief system that says I can achieve anything I put my mind to.    Jamie is a very determined person. He is helping out as much as he can during this coronavirus pandemic, two of the ways he is doing it is by helping to raise awareness of poaching and raising funds for the anti-poaching unit at Kariega Game Reserve.   He is also raising money to help feed almost 1000 people in the communities surrounding the game reserve who are finding life very difficult at the moment with no income coming in from tourism.   You can help by donating money to this great charity here https://www.kariega.co.za/about/save-the-rhino See his other interview about his climb on table mountain in Cape Town.   https://www.facebook.com/jamiemaraisSA/   http://www.awesomesouthafricans.co.za/jamie-marais-summits-table-mountain-22-times/

I had the privilege to talk to Breathing Expert Tim van der Vliet on lifeshot! It was a great talk as I am super passionate about breathing exercises ever since I discovered the Wim Hof Method almost 2 years ago.    Check out Tim and Wim Hof doing a video together here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-4qfTtOb8s   His website is here for enquiries into coaching and counselling https://www.timvandervliet.com/  

Confidence coach Scott Hardiman joins us in this episode of lifehsot. We are talking about mental health and wellbeing today. Find out how Scott leads his clients to success and how he holds a vision for his clients so that they can overcome the problem or hole they have dug for themselves, it's the reason we say we are in a rut sometimes.  We tend to carve paths or ruts by our actions and Scott coaches people around carving new and more exciting and beneficial paths for their lives.  Listen in now to this exciting podcast.  Visit Scott's page here if you are interested in coaching with Scott. https://www.scotthardimancoaching.com/ Remember to check out https://www.lifeshot.co.uk for supplements which can also help with your mental wellbeing. One product that I recommend is Ashwaganda, you can find it here 

Liz Marsland from https://www.LMFIT.uk talks to us about our Nervous system. It is such a vital aspect of our daily motion. How we function, whether it be muscle function or brain function our central nervous system is the central point of all interactions. Learn how to look after your nervous system so that you can perform well in your job and have great relationships

As an employer do you provide a healthy and exciting work environment? Do you encourage your workers to look after their mental health, and what steps do you really take to make your company a great place to work? Find out in this talk with Sally Acton from https://www.torque.pro Check out my online store where you can buy health and wellness products https://lifeshot.co.uk

In this episode of the LifeShot podcast, we explore holistic health. How does your mental state affect your health, and how does your gut affect your mood and mental health? I speak to Leanne Spencer from Body Shot Performance who runs us through things like healthspan vs lifespan.   Check out my online store where you can buy health and wellness products https://lifeshot.co.uk

I speak to Liz Marsland from http://www.evolvingwellbeing.com Don't die early by not doing the right thing during the day at your office job. Things we spoke about during this podcast session Getting out in nature Standing up and moving during meetings (active meetings) Massages at work Habits that help your wellbeing at work Movements that promote health (primal movement)   Check out my online store where you can buy health and wellness products https://lifeshot.co.uk

I spoke to DJ Eazy in a live Facebook stream and I thought I would upload it here on my podcast. I hope you enjoy the stories and are inspired to keep living and working on your dreams!  I am running a free live webinar "How To Kick The Sugar Habit" this Saturday the 16th May 2020 at 4 pm UK time. Please register here  https://clintgrove475.clickmeeting.com/how-to-kick-the-sugar-habit/register?_ga=2.63489644.2125437440.1589185206-550713875.1589185206   Check out my online store where you can buy health and wellness products https://lifeshot.co.uk

I speak with Dietician, Dalia Maori from Cambridge, United Kingdom. We had a very interesting conversation about lifestyle choices, what to eat and possible lifestyle changes we might encounter on our return to normal life after Coronavirus lockdown For more info on Dalia check out https://www.daliamaorinutrition.com/  

I speak to Lee Grigsby today about goal setting and finding meaning and purpose in this turbulent time You can find Lee here on FB https://www.facebook.com/liveallgood44-100619014748685  

I speak to Julie Langlois, a life coach and Qigong specialist. We spoke about meditation, diet and movement in this live Facebook streaming session.

I watched an interview with Peter Attia on Health Theory and I loved his tag line "Kicking ass at 100" I thought, yes, that is what I want to do! I hate thinking of getting old when I look at the norm in society, sure there are some guys who defy that like  Hélio Gracie a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master who is 95 years old at the time of this recording and he still does jiu-jitsu.  But sadly for most the prospect of getting old fills us with dread when we see old people crippled over and using zimmer frames, walking sticks and the usual oversized waist area. Listen in this week to find out why it's beneficial to both yourself and to our earth to have people living longer and longer! https://www.clintgrove.com  

Social, economic and political turmoil. We are in the biggest pandemic our generation has known. It is unprecedented. No one knows what just hit them. Will life carry on as usual? Will life be forever changed? I speak to Wayne Dilles, a scholar in political science and economics.

It's so important to look after your body in a time like this where we have a pandemic running riot around the world. Learn 3 things you will get and benefit from when you do a detox body cleanse. You can join my online group program which starts sometime mid-2020 subject to the Coronavirus situation. Click below to access more information about my online group program Register your interest in the online group program here

In this session, I answer a question from one of my clients who has just gone through my 14 Day Body Reset Program. You can join too by clicking on this link, spaces are limited and the course begins on the 15th April 2020 https://www.clintgrove.com/coaching/14-day-body-reset/ The question was "How can I stop craving sugar after my main meals". Have a listen to this short podcast to gain some inspiration on how to kick the sugar habit. 

A weak core is one of the main reasons why people have back issues. What nutrients and supplements do I need to maintain a healthy back -> Omega 3, Magnesium and Calcium Stress is what walks through the door each day at Dr Warren Jordan's office! In the Cambridge area, playing touch rugby a few weeks ago, I swooped down to pick up the ball. As I pounced up off the floor an amazing pain shot through my body, I knew immediately it was a herniated disc and that it would see me out of action for a few days. Never did I think it would keep me off work for 4 days and actually make it difficult to walk in the first few days! I asked my old friend Dr Warren Jordan who I have known for over 15 years about how injuries like mine can be prevented, if at all. I had a really insightful and great chat with him. I am sure you will learn so much from this highly experience holistic Doctor Read more about Warren Jordan here 

Join me on this fun and fast-paced podcast where I speak with previous guests, whom you might know. George O'Farrell, a Fitness and mindset coach, is first at 2:44 into the podcast. I then speak to Lee Grigsby who is a Health Coach from the USA (6:18) about his lifestyle where he works nightshifts Dr Carmen James shares her views on CBD and how it can help you get better sleep (11:05). And lastly, I have Dr Ian Tennant who challenges us to keep it dark at night and fill up with good light during the day. Book a free coaching session with me, I can help you understand other ways to balance your blood sugar levels. You will discover what you really want from your life and health. It's a breakthrough session and you will gain so much from this which might even take you on a new journey! https://calendly.com/coachclint/60min Thanks to Podcorn who is our sponsor for this episode. Explore sponsorship opportunities and start monetizing your podcast by signing up here: https://podcorn.com/podcasters/

Today's session is slightly different in that it looks at a different set of relationships that influence our health. If you're someone who likes to ‘treat their body as a temple' – today we're challenging where the temple is – and where your body/temple/home starts and finishes. We'll talk a lot about microbes – which I believe are the interface between your inner and outer worlds.  The interface between the biology that makes you ‘You', and the biology of food that makes food, ‘Not You'.  From this example, we will see how we can only be as healthy as the environment that we're bathed in. (Goldfish example) Putting this session into the context of this 6-week series – which has been all about health. The first five episodes we've spoken largely about common behaviours, habits and lifestyle choices we can do day to day that affect our physiology, our biological rhythms and support our wellbeing.  From getting a good night's sleep, meditation/mind/emotion/relationships, cold/heat, light/dark, movement/rest etc. In this session  Gut ecology and health - we want the right team of buddies supporting us from the inside. [wild fermentation bridge] Soil ecology and plant health – plants need a ‘dream team' of buddies to help them stay robust and to provide us with nutritious food. Glyphosate and health – the main component of the herbicide, Roundup, has detrimental effects on soil ecology and our gut ecology. Other ecosystem services – forests, rivers, cloud systems working for us.  What is the monetary value of these? Gaia hypothesis – the earth is a self-regulating organism that supports life What can you do?  - Daily choices and the use of purchasing power. The book from where we get the topic for this episode is available here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Restoring-Balance-return-natural-health/dp/1089556977 A link to Ian's site is here https://restoringbalance.life/

Your body is an orchestra and the conductor is everything it is exposed to, the environment, the ingredients you put in your mouth, the images you see and the sounds you take in. Some bodies are playing a great tune, others are off tune. Most of the time we can sense when we are off, something does not feel right, we lack energy, we feel inflamed, maybe a little heartburn. I speak to Dr Ian Tennant about a topic in his latest book - chronic inflammation and chronic illness. Everyone is susceptible to becoming chronically ill, if you expose yourself to bad toxins, bad food or a bad environment for long enough you are in danger. Learn about how you can balance your body with some techniques such as breathing, good food choices, how you rest and how you sleep. The book from where we get the topic for this episode is available here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Restoring-Balance-return-natural-health/dp/1089556977 Ian's website is here https://restoringbalance.life/  

With so much man-made wifi, 5G and other signals what are we to make of all this is it affecting our health and if so what should we do about it. This is session 4 of 6 of the Get Healthy series with myself Clint and Dr Ian Tennant a professional healthcare practitioner. Listen to this week's show and leave us some comments on what you enjoyed the most!  The book is available here  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Restoring-Balance-return-natural-health/dp/1089556977 Ian's website is here https://restoringbalance.life/  

See www.clintgrove.com/podcast for more details on this episode Ian Tennant website is here https://restoringbalance.life/   Music on intro: I Saw Three Ships by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/  

Ian Tennant website is here https://restoringbalance.life/ Listen here or on your favourite podcast app. To see more detail about this episode before you listen navigate to my site www.clintgrove.com/podcast for more

Ian Tennant website is here https://restoringbalance.life/ Listen here or on your favourite podcast app. To see more detail about this episode before you listen navigate to my site www.clintgrove.com/podcast for more

Listen here or on your favourite podcast app. To see more detail about this episode before you listen navigate to my site www.clintgrove.com/podcast for more

Listen here or on your favourite podcast app. To see more detail about this episode before you listen navigate to my site www.clintgrove.com/podcast for more

With guest, Jamie Bower and Lee Grigsby. When you think of your future self what do you see? Do you see a vibrant, confident, giving and fulfilled person? Or are you too scared to dare to dream? If you want your future self to be different to your current projection then you need to start making small incremental changes to a better you in the future. Behaviour change leads to belief change which ends up in identity shift. Having an identity shift is a great thing, but it comes with some downsides like others not liking this new you, and others not liking your new success. I speak to Jamie Bower and Lee Grigsby about their thoughts on this matter

Listen here or on your favourite podcast app. To see more detail about this episode before you listen navigate to my site www.clintgrove.com/podcast for more

In his short time here on this amazing planet, George has accomplished a lot. He has started his own coaching business at 18 years old. He already has an established list of clients and has entered a bodybuilding competition called the USN classic 2019 where he won the category for Teenage Men. His drive and ambition is inspiring and I hope that many young people watching will go on to do great things like George has. We speak about nutrition, and how important it is to educate yourself so that you know what is good and what is not good to eat. George gives us an insight into how taxing it is on the body when going into a bodybuilding competition. Training and how to keep motivated. If you are a coach then hear about how George guides his clients through routines. All this and more in this week's episode. This episode is sponsored by Phoenix Fitness https://www.clintgrove.com/recommends/phoenix-fitness Check out more episodes at www.clintgrove.com I recommend Inov8 Running and walking shoes, get them below (this is an affiliate link) https://www.clintgrove.com/recommends/innov8-running-gear/  

James has a varied background. He was a combat soldier for 8 years and left the military in 2009 and has been somewhat obsessed with food ever since. He has used food as medicine in order to counteract the effects of PTSD. James told me that when you reduce the inflammation in the body by eating foods that are anti-inflammatory you will give your mind and body a better chance to overcome depression and other chronic diseases.  After speaking to James over a month ago, and then subsequently doing this podcast I was intrigued by the concept of building gardens that supply food on a continual basis. I came across a TED talk where a lady from the UK decided that she wanted to do this in a town called Todmorden. What is a Permaculture garden? Permaculture gardens are engineered as self-sustaining systems for growing food. By utilizing processes inherently found in nature, we can increase productivity and reduce energy input. Plant Guilds are designed into the food forest system working together to produce food or support the production of food. I hope you enjoy this episode and that you are excited about perhaps starting one in your community Join my facebook community here Links here  This is an example here in the UK https://www.incredibleedible.org.uk http://www.fao.org/agroecology/en/   https://www.groundswellinternational.org/approach/agroecological-farming/   https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Syw1yfaWieQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ZukMyejLk      

I hear from Lee Grigsby and Jamie Bower about their personal stories, and how life has led them to become health coaches. Lee found himself close to having full-blown diabetes and has pulled it back with great diet and rigorous exercise, Jamie's story is not dissimilar, he fought arthritis and asthma in the same way, the battle still continues but both men are in great shape and are an inspiration for those fighting the same battles Our sponsor is Phoenix Fitness Please check our their great store online for great equipment for keeping fit at home https://www.clintgrove.com/recommends/phoenix-fitness For more great episodes check out https://www.clintgrove.com

Our sponsor Phoenix Fitness(Paid link) How do we know what our optimal energy level is? In reality we do not know what our maximum potential is. We can however have a feeling of bliss and feel a state of high energy and I suppose in this state we can use it as a measure to compare our previous states or alter states with.  Claudette is a psychologist with 19 years of experience dealing with patients who have varying issues they wish to overcome or goals they wish to accomplish. In her past experience she has covered many topics and speaks to us today about her passion in the field of nutrition and energy levels  We also speak about my favourite subject which is heart coherence. Meditation and breathing can increase the ability to connect with your heart. What was interesting in our conversation is that I discovered that Claudette is a an affiliate to them at the heart math Institute and uses one of their eMwave pro's to guide her clients  on creating better heart rate variability. 

I talked to several friends of mine this weekend about the joy of music, what it does for us and how it helps us in our every day lives. I truly believe that music has the power to move us out of bad times and into good times. Allow the music to do this for you, don't forget to put the radio on when you are feeling low, don't forget to use it with your kids and use it at a party, don't even have a party without one! And when you are trying to get romantic with the wife, put those jams on man!  In this episode, I speak to my wife Esther Grove, Mark Bell, Colin Young, Angharad Bell, Karen Peachey, Mel and Tom Petie.  This week's episode is sponsored by Phoenix Fitness https://www.clintgrove.com/recommends/phoenix-fitness (this is an affiliate link)  

To help you manage stress, my step program  that I offer in my coaching consists of  1- meditation  2- breathing exercises  3- moving (core body strength) in this episode I mention rest, the ability to say no and balancing blood sugar levels.  Your ability to deal with stress and relieve it so that it is intermittent and not continuous is the key to a sustainable life filled with happiness and joy. 

We should enjoy our food, we interact with food at least 3 times a day. Our relationship with food is so important and we cannot neglect to spend time on really being honest with ourselves about how we feel about the food we eat.  Your body is the most powerful, least expensive and BEST dietary experimentation lab in existence. Why? Because the body has innate wisdom beyond any book or authority. No matter which phase of life you are in, your body is the ultimate dietary authority (HCI Stacey Morgenstern) There is no perfect diet, every person is different and you should not feel that eating is a chore or that you need to restrict yourself. You need to find what is right for your body, listen to and feel your body as you try certain foods. Mix and match the guidelines from different diets and see what works for you.  In this episode: Intuitive eating, emotional eating. Alcohol, cakes and why it's important to enjoy your food Dalia's website This weeks episode is sponsored by   Phoenix Fitness (Affiliate link: I may receive a cut from any purchases you make)   

The future of AI and our creative minds. Antony Wootten speaks to us from an authors perspective. Creative thought is still needed to write, draw, paint and imagine worlds beyond what experience. It's not all futuristic or science fiction, but also nature. When Antony speaks about the beautiful environments that have been created in video games he is talking about scenery. The amount of effort and creative energy that has gone into making these stunning sceneries is phenomenal and it is a testament to the fact that creative energy is still alive and kicking in the UK and around the world Children in our modern day do not always have the time to express themselves artistically, although well meaning schools have provisioned time in their curriculums for this it is almost seen as an inferior part of a child's learning, and rather SATS are put at the forefront of what is measured and what is seen as a successful school is the marks that children get for reading, writing and maths. Reading and maths are not as creative as creative writing, painting and drama. Allowing children to express themselves artistically is vital to our future world. Our future creative minds lie in the hands of parents now. We need to take time to nurture our children's minds by allowing them the freedom to play, create and build whatever they want and with guidance from us to encourage them on their journey. I found an article about this topic on Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2018/04/30/creativity-is-the-skill-of-the-future/#6ffa49034fd4 https://www.antonywootten.co.uk

Ron Wallwork is the 1966 Commonwealth 20 miles walk champion. On a hot day in Jamaica in 1966 Ron went on to beat the favourites Ray Middleton and Don Thompson when he decided to not take a drinks break and carry on walking to gain a lead. This move was first thought to be a bad move and would cost him the race or worse cause him not to finish, however it paid off for Ron and he went on to claim the victory. I spoke to Ron about his life and about how a champion is born. What it takes to live the life of a champion and what it takes to win on the day. If you are looking for great walking or running shoes. I highly recommend Inov-8 (paid link). These shoes are superb and will leave you comfortable and supported during your walking or running activities. For gut health and better overall wellness, I recommend Sense Nutrition products (paid link) (This description contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.)

Helen runs retreats several times a year in the beautiful Cornwall coast. As a well-seasoned Yoga instructor, Helen coaches people in order to be able to enjoy running more by using Yoga as a means to prime the body and get it into the right shape to enjoy running even more.  Running shouldn't hurt the knees is something Helen said during our interview and running should not be a burden on your system. Cardiovascular training is not all bad and it should not be totally deleted from your training routine. If you are a strength trainer like me you should also find time once a week to really get the heart pumping.   Check out Helen's website here https://www.runbetterwithyoga.com Ever hear of Inov-8 running shoes? Check out our TRAILROC range: back and better than ever!   If you are into contact sport of any kind I recommend Safejawz mouth guards. Get them here    (This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links)  Transcription:  Interviewer: Helen Clare from 'Run better with yoga', it's good to have you on the show. Interviewee: It's great to be here, thank you for inviting me. Interviewer: And is it sweltering hot in Cornwall as it is here in the East of England? Interviewee: It is, Cornwall is amazing today. I spent a little time in the garden today, it is sunny.  Interviewer: I know, it's beautiful. But it's actually a bit hot in my office. Interviewee: It's been a warm [00:00:39] I think. Interviewer: I think it would be good for our listeners and our viewers to get a background of who Helen Clare is, the business that you set up. It's quite inspiring to see your posts on Instagram, that's where I started following you and saw your different posts. I am quite jealous on where you are running, all of these beautiful hillsides and seasides. What was it like growing up, where did you grow up and what led you into this path? [00:01:10] Interviewee: Okay, sure. That's quite a story. So I actually grew up near where you are now. I grew up in Essex, up until I went to university and I did a lot of travelling. And I started practising yoga around that time, so my early twenties were when I started practising yoga. Throughout my youth, I was a competitive swimmer, so I came to yoga from quite an athletic background and I wanted to use that as a way of balancing out all the athletic endeavours and training sides of things that I was doing. I ended up living in Japan for a year after university. And that was the time where I started to get further into the meditation side of yoga and started to really experience the well-rounded practice that it is. I travelled for a few more years longer, I started running a lot more than swimming. Running is much easier to do when you are traveling, you can do it anywhere. And then I ended up down in Cornwall. I've been in Cornwall for 10 years now. Just before I arrived here, I trained as a yoga teacher. So I trained as a yoga teacher from Scotland after all my travelling through Australia and New Zealand, Japan. I came down to Cornwall and that is where I started teaching. I started working with a lot of runners here and that's where my yoga has grown from it, the last 10 years. It evolved into what it is today. But taking my athletic background, going deep into my yoga practice and then see what I can share with people. And now, what I love to do the most, is help runners to run better using a lot of the principles from yoga. So helping them to avoid injury and helping them to run in a much more natural way. And a lot of that can come from a yoga practice.  Interviewer: And less injuries, I suppose?  Interviewee: Absolutely. Yes. Interviewer: So tell us about your business, you say it's been going 10 years. What was it like in the beginning? Has there been a rise or has it been a steady growth? [00:03:28] Interviewee: Yeah, I think there has definitely been a growth and an interest in yoga over the last 10 years. I think there's no denying that. And I think, from a personal point of view, when you're growing the business in a location, people start to hear about you and that's another reason why your business is going to grow. So yes, my classes have definitely grown in size over the years and it is lovely to have word of mouth recommendations. So I have a lot of students now and I get to see a lot of students on a one-to-one basis as well as in group classes. And I have retreats down here as well. Interviewer: So do people travel to your retreats from around the country? Interviewee: Yeah, they do. From around the country and from around Europe as well. So I've recently had a few people who were from Belgium and Holland. And definitely all around the UK. I've done a couple of retreats over in Portugal as well where we've had international students there as well.  Interviewer: I saw your website, you've got a digital business going on as well. Are you offering videos online? [00:04:37] Interviewee: Yeah, apart of my weekly blog, I send out a free video each week, yoga for runners, a specific aspect of yoga that they can do at home or sometimes a running tutorial. I've started this digital aspect of the business to try and help more people experience 'Run better with yoga' and the things that I do. So yeah, I have an online program now, where I can get on track and I have people around the world using it and getting all benefit from it. Interviewer: So the reason I ask is because it would be good to get some of your business advice. Because there's a few people doing this type of thing and obviously the market's wide open and there's a lot of need for online training. I'm going to be also providing some video training on my platform under my personal brand. So what kind of advice can you give for people who are just starting out, they want to do this e-learning or video series, what is the first step that they're going to take?  Interviewee: The number one thing has to be your free content. So make sure you are offering something free and valuable every single week. So whether that's a blog post or a podcast, like what you're doing, or a video in my case. So people have to be able to see that, that you have somebody really valuable to offer and then they're going to start following you and eventually go further with you and perhaps buying a product or course. Interviewer: It's about getting that brand loyalty first. Giving some value.  [00:06:10] Interviewee: Yeah. You've got to show people what you can offer and they have to know they can trust you. Interviewer: Yeah. Building that trust is a big thing. So I had some questions lined up. Thanks for telling us about yourself and it's great to get to know you. I want to know the benefits to the cardiovascular system, also the benefits to your mental and your physical being with running. Because you hear a lot about running being bad for the knees. Cardiovascular is not that good anymore, you always hear conflicting advice, don't you? And as the years go on, advice changes. Because yours is called 'Running better with yoga', what do you have to say about running in particular and cardiovascular? [00:07:08] Interviewee: Okay. Well just first off, running should not hurt your knees. If it does hurt your knees, you're not running in the right way. That's one of the main things I help people do. I help them to get strong and balanced, so that they can run with correct alignment. Then you won't getting any pain or serious injury. As for the cardiovascular, I believe that we definitely need a cardiovascular element. We have to have that in order to have sufficient fitness to strengthen the heart, improve the whole blood pumping system and lower our cholesterol and lower our blood pressure. It can strengthen our immune system. So I think it's definitely still an essential part of what we need to include in our weekly, daily activities. Interviewer: So would that look like doing a bit of strength training, but not totally neglecting high cardiovascular, breathing really heavy type stuff? Interviewee: Yeah, definitely. I teach runners yoga routines that are strengthening and mobilizing. So that might be something they do in the morning. They get their strength work. They might do a longer strengths session on a day when they're not running. Or they might do a shorter one and then go for a run and get that heart rate up. They're working their spiritual system and they're getting the body moving. And then after that, they might do a post-run yoga session, which is going to be a recovery session to stretch out, release the muscles and the tissues then. Interviewer: I've been listening to a doctor, Joe Dispenza and I haven't yet got to the part of his book where he talks about walking meditation and it just sprang to mind, is there such a thing as running meditation? [00:09:08] Interviewee: Yeah. So when you get into the flow of it, it becomes like a moving meditation. And I think for me, I have to be here in Cornwall along the coast path, when there's no one else around and I have the wildlife and the ocean crashing against the cliffs and I don't have to think about anything else. I can just go into my rhythm and follow the coastal path and flowing with the environment. And it becomes this really peaceful, calming state of mind. So that I would relate to and call that a bit of a moving meditation.  Interviewer: What if people that aren't in such a beautiful part of the world, what do you suggest? Interviewee: That's a good question, because I know not everybody is as fortunate as I am. I would say that you can probably still find at least an element of that. Most cities are going to have a park at least to run around. I know a lot of people who actually prefer to run on roads. It depends on your personal preference and maybe there is sort of this rhythmical sense of running on a flat road just with that buzz and the traffic in the background, maybe that can be meditative as well. We've got to experiment, give it a chance. You've got to get into it and you'd have to be able to run in a comfortable way. If you're dealing with injuries and niggles and complaints, it's not going to be quite such a meditative experience, is it? Interviewer: Yeah. You don't want to be thinking about pain in your joints when you're trying to zone out.  Interviewee: Exactly. Learn to run properly and then it can become really, really enjoyable.  Interviewer: So what are some of the things that you would do for somebody who might come to you, they might say that they really want to do this, but have had knee problems in the past or hip problems. What are some of the exercises that you'd give them? [00:11:02] Interviewee: That can vary so much from person to person, which is why I love to work on a one-to-one basis. Most of the times though, I would run someone through a series of very simple tests. I would test the strength of particular muscles, particularly around the hips. I would test for tension and over-tightness in the muscles, again, particularly around the hips. And then I'd watch and observe them in a simple yoga routine and I can see further where areas of potential weakness and potential tightness are, and then I can tailor a sequence to suit them. Where we are going to strengthen the areas that they need to strengthen and release tension in those other areas where they need to do that. Interviewer: Do they get almost immediate feedback from doing these exercises? Because I'm thinking it's hard work sometimes. And if they don't see results, they might tend to give up.  Interviewee: Yeah. So, in many cases you can see results really quickly just from a session or two. Depends on the situation, obviously. But if there's a real either weakness or tightness, you'll start to see results quite quickly. It might take a few weeks, but all of my students have seen positive results. Interviewer: What does it take mentally to do this? Because it's one thing to say "Alright, do this stretch". But sometimes that's hard and sometimes it takes more than just trying to do it. How do you teach them mentally to go beyond and really push past the limit?  [00:12:46] Interviewee: I think where yoga is different to just doing a series of stretches, is that it does encompass much more than just the stretches. You make it part of your routine. It involves breathing, finding focus and awareness, really becoming aware of your whole body and feeling what's happening. And those poses can become really enjoyable and very calming. And there's that relaxation element of it as well. So, I make a sequence for someone and then I suggest how they can make it part of their routine. And if you can start to implement it at the same time regularly each day or every other day, or whenever, it becomes more of a habit. And because you're getting more from it than just doing a stretch, you're getting all the other benefits, enhanced awareness and the mental benefits, more clarity. You're getting the relaxation side as well. It becomes a more enjoyable process and you can feel more benefit. I think when you feel benefit from something, then you have motivation to continue.  Interviewer: Yeah. What's going on in my head is this world where people come to you every morning and you are like their guide and then they do the yoga with you. Like the old aerobics thing where you go to a class and everyone just follows the leader. Is it similar to that or do you just say "Hey guys, come for a few sessions. This is the routine and you've got to go and do that at home"? What does it look like for you? [00:14:23] Interviewee: If I do a weekly class - which I do, I have weekly students that come see me every week - I will lead the class and I'll walk around as I'm teaching and I will help people as I'm teaching them through the sequence. So that's a little bit different. They are following my instructions for an hour and a half. If I see someone on a private individual basis, they'll come to me perhaps with an injury or post-injury and I'm trying to help them through something, then I'll give them a personal sequence and then I'll send them home with that sequence with suggestions of how to implement it. And I'll stay in touch with them throughout the week to motivate them and answer any questions that they have. And then we'll meet up the following week and we'll see what differences there are and do some other tests and I can tweak and modify the sequence that they have. And then on a retreat, I get to spend longer with the groups, I see them for a morning strengthening and mobilizing session and in the evening for this relaxing session and then get to speak to them individually in between about their own little individual things. So that's a lovely experience, because you get to spend much longer with someone and learn more about how you can help them. Interviewer: And the relationships are strengthened, then people get to know you better. Great way to build rapport with your following. Interviewee: Yeah. It's lovely to spend that time with people. Especially if they've been coming back for retreats for a few years or if you know someone's been following you online for a while. Interviewer: How has this type of training - yoga and running - helped you to overcome any challenges in your life where you could say "Doing this type of thing has really helped me to overcome this challenge"? Is there anything that comes to mind? [00:16:16] Interviewee: I don't think I've had any major challenges to overcome in life, but I know that both the yoga and the running seems to have enhanced my life greatly. I can't imagine my life without them. And I know that there's definitely been a mental and emotional shift since I started practicing yoga. I think yoga has this amazing ability to allow you to just sit back and become more mindful. You start to observe yourself more from within and you start to respond more carefully to other people and throughout life rather than reacting instantly. So it's definitely been that, that I've noticed. And similarly with running, we already talked about that moving meditation element. You get to go out and just run and then everything feels much better.  Interviewer: That's brilliant. Let's go on to nutrition. Do you have advice to give our listeners? There's lots of different advice out there now. You've got the keto, which is good for some people, but maybe not for others. Some people need carbohydrates, maybe. And there's the Paleo diets and there's so much different advice out there about what we should be eating, vegan diets. I spoke to a guy from the Original Gym here, Jon Nicholson. And his advice was simple and it didn't really have any kind of rules about it. It was just to eat, as much as you can, whole natural food, not processed food. But he didn't mention anything about meat and fish and all that, but as far as nutrition goes, to make sure that your body is primed, in tune, as in best performance. What do you think?  [00:18:14] Interviewee: So my opinion - and in my experience from both personal experience and my experience from seeing results in my students - I recommend a plant-based whole foods diet. So it's a vegan diet, but rather than just using that word vegan, we say plant-based whole foods. So, completely natural foods, unprocessed. Lots of high alkaline foods to keep our PH-levels up. If we allow our PH to drop too much and become too acidic, then that's when we're at much higher risk. Interviewer: What would those foods look like? The high alkaline ones? Interviewee: You want high alkaline foods, which are really dark leafy greens. Spinach and kale in particular, spring greens, that kind of thing. And other vegetables as well. Fruits for carbohydrates. Interviewer: I found this difficult, because I'll wake up in the morning and I want to follow this. I've been challenged to try the vegan diet. I did it for a few weeks and I just wanted rump steak on the barbecue. But then after that, I think "Let me try the keto".  And that's also difficult because I wake up in the morning, I'm like "Okay, cereal". No, cereal is not going to work. It's processed first of all. And if I was on a vegan diet, having eggs is not an option. Breakfast is quite a tricky one, isn't it? What do you have for breakfast on your mornings? [00:19:56] Interviewee: Well, for breakfast, I do tend to have porridge most mornings. I try and find the most unrefined oats that I can and then I put in chia seeds for protein. So I think that's a good breakfast. Or if you had the time to make a chia seed [00:20:14], coconut milk overnight, then that's also a great really high protein breakfast. Interviewer: And no sugar? Interviewee: No sugar. Interviewer: That's tough. Interviewee: Maybe you could add date syrup, that's good. Interviewer: Okay. So you recommend a vegan diet and has that not hindered you in a physical way as in doing sporting things? You don't lack energy? [00:20:41] Interviewee: No, I have enough energy for sure. Interviewer: You are getting enough protein in there? Interviewee: Absolutely, you don't need to eat meat for protein. We get more than enough protein from a well-balanced plant-based diet. And we need to think about also digestion. If we can eat foods that digest easily, then we are left with more energy. So if you go and eat your rump steak, that's gonna put a lot of effort on your digestive system, you are going to be left with less energy. But if we can eat something that's much, much easier to digest like vegetables, then we have much more energy to go run then.  Interviewer: Yeah. So I read the Sadhguru book, 'Inner Engineering' and he mentioned that fact, when you eat a raw vegetable, that digests in a quicker time than a cooked vegetable, I think you said that. Which is quite an interesting thing. They said that fruits and vegetables digest within two hours in the system. So that's very quick and that we should chew our food a lot, as much as we can, so that our stomach doesn't have to do as much work. I thought it was interesting advice. And I have seen the results myself where I've eaten vegetables and I find that my energy is good after a while, but you don't get that immediate satisfaction, like eating a doughnut, for example. You don't get that immediate rush. And maybe it's an emotional thing. Do you think that we are emotionally attached to our food in the way, we've got maybe a bad relationship with food? [00:22:18] Interviewee: Yeah. I think many, many people have an emotional attachment to food, for sure. And that can take a while to get over. Perhaps it shouldn't be a case of cutting off the stuff that you love and enjoy 100% straight away. But doing it gradually, cutting down on those high sugary foods gradually is going to be much easier process. You're not cutting yourself off straight away, but you're starting to feel the benefit.  Interviewer: How long have you been doing the vegan diet? Interviewee: Almost 10 years. Interviewer: 10 years. And this is about as long as you've had your business going on?  Interviewee: Yeah, yeah. So I was mainly vegetarian before that. Then, when was vegetarian, I adjusted a couple of years and then it just came about naturally, really. I just felt like I naturally didn't want to eat dairy anymore. Realized that I was then living pretty much a plant-based diet.  Interviewer: Let's talk about getting older now. How do you see the future going for yourself, doing this type of exercise? Are you like "I want to stop when I'm 70" or "I'm going stop when I am 80"? How do you see yourself aging in this process? [00:23:56] Interviewee: That's a good question, because I have thought about that, too. I can't see myself stopping what I'm doing for a long, long time and I would like to think that I am still definitely practicing yoga through my seventies and eighties and possibly even still teaching it. There are plenty of yoga teachers that have gone into their seventies, into their eighties and still been teaching yoga. I think it does have a way of keeping you young. So fingers crossed that happens to me as well. And running as well. I know plenty of runners who are running into their old age. I think if you have that proper efficient strength and mobility, you look after yourself, you're eating the right foods, then there's absolutely no reason why you would need to stop running. Because running is a natural thing to do, we were made to be able to run and move across the land. So yes, we're going to get older, obviously. And that is going to have its effect and we might start to run a bit less or a bit slower, less often, but I can definitely see myself still running. Yeah, definitely until 80, let's say. Interviewer: Not giving up. I think you've done well in your business, you obviously have these retreats, have people around and go digital as well. Is there a plan for the business to go into different areas or expand or are you happy at the moment that it is as it is? [00:25:35] Interviewee: It's going to expand, but within what I have already. So I'm gonna stay with my retreats, but my retreats might go to some different venues. I might adjust the content. I regularly do long weekends here in Cornwall, maybe I'm going to extend them to four weeks. Because there's a lot I want to teach on the long weekends, particularly this year, I felt like I needed more time. So I might extend those. I've just launched my first online course and I'm about to film my second online course, so that's going to be launching in October. And then I have ideas for another one for next year. So retreats and online courses. Just giving people more value and looking at what my students really need and I want to be able to offer them that.  Interviewer: So what is it that you want to teach people at these retreats? You said you didn't have enough time. What is it that you think you missed out? What's the most important things that you want to get across to people? [00:26:39] Interviewee: It just a lot that we can cover in terms of the yoga practice and different ways of practicing that I want to share with people and that is going to ultimately enhance their running ability. Obviously, you're never going to be able to teach everything on a retreat. A retreat is always going to be an infinite amount of time. And the idea really with it is to inspire people to continue with it. But on these retreats, as well as the yoga, there's also the running workshops. And it was quite hard to fit in all the elements of natural running that we want to cover in a long weekend. So just having maybe a bit more time for that would offer people more to take away with. Interviewer: I interviewed a lady, Joyce Crawford, she walked a hundred miles in 24 hours. And I spoke to her about the mental challenge of doing that race over 24 hours and trying to stay awake and get there in time. She does nature walks all the time. So always walking out in nature. I'm interested in that connection we have with nature. I just wanted to explore that a little bit with you before we go. How important is it and what benefits do we get from being out in nature? Do we have to think about it differently? Do we have to take our shoes off and walk on the ground sometimes? What do we need to do?  [00:28:18] Interviewee: Well, I think if you have the opportunity to go barefoot outside whenever you can, I would. The physical perspective of strengthening your feet, I think is an absolutely great idea. But if you don't want to go to barefoot, and it's not always practical to do so, just being outside in nature has incredible benefits to your overall well-being. So it's definitely been shown that being outside in nature boosts our mental well-being, it boosts our inner joy that we have. It makes us feel happier.  Interviewer: What do you put it down to? Is there a reason for that or can't we put our finger on it? What is it? Why does it do it to us? Interviewee: I don't know exactly why nature has that effect on us. I think we could maybe find out, but I would say it's where we are meant to be. We're not really meant to be cooped up in boxes and in buildings. We need to be outside in nature. And I think that's our natural habitat and that connection with wildlife and with trees and being in the grass and listening to the ocean and feeling the sunshine, all of that together gives us an incredible boost. Interviewer: Yeah, I think that the very fact that we need to breathe every few seconds shows our reliance on nature. And the fact that the trees give us oxygen and we give them back carbon dioxide. It's a beautiful relationship. [00:29:58] Interviewee: Yeah, that's exactly what it is, that relationship. Interviewer: Yeah. So, Helen, it has been great talking to you. I'm going to put your links on the YouTube description. So for anybody watching on YouTube, check out the description. You'll get some links to Helen's business and a go for a retreat in Cornwall. That'd be great. So I don't know if they get booked up pretty quickly, do they get full quite quick, Helen? Interviewee: They do tend to sell up pretty quickly, yes. So dates for next year will be up in the autumn, so September or October are released then, the 2020 dates. Interviewer: So people have to wait a whole year pretty much, if they want to join? [00:30:44] Interviewee: There will be two or three retreats next year. But yeah, just a couple of months to wait to find out when the dates are to book.  Interviewer: And how do people follow you? What's the best way? What's the single point to say "Hey, I want to get a hold of Helen", if they don't click on the link, where would they look for you? Interviewee: Well, the best place is the website runbetterwithyoga.com. And Instagram @runbetterwithyoga. I'm on there regularly. Interviewer: So you got that name nailed. This is it, Run better with Yoga.  Interviewee: Yeah. Nice and clear, to the point. Interviewer: Brilliant. Helen, it has been great talking to you. Thanks for being on the LifeShot podcast. Interviewee: Thank you so much.

Public speaking can be some peoples worst nightmare. It is important that if you are going to be an influencer or if you are going to run a successful business or climb the ladder in your company, that you learn to communicate in a more effective and powerful way.  Tamara is a Communications specialist coach. Day in and out she is teaching people who work in business about how to communicate, how to make a speech or do a presentation without losing your audience. It is quite a job to keep the attention of an audience. We see all these Ted talks and they make it look so easy. But it takes time and dedication to really nail the art of speaking Tamra teaches about breathing, taking a pause, using different words, our comforters and learning new things to get the neurons firing in our brains. If you are interested in improving your communication this is your first step in your journey. Find out what a person like Tamara Wentzel could do for you or for your business.    You can find Tamara on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamara-nicola-wentzel-28293212a/ Or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tamaranicolawentzel/   Transcription:  Interviewer: Welcome to the LifeShot podcast. We've got Tamara Wentzel. Tamara, welcome to the show.  Interviewee: Hi Clint, thank you for having me on your show today.  Interviewer: My pleasure, all the way from South Africa.  Interviewee: Yes. Interviewer: In sunny Durban, I take it? Or is it raining there?  Interviewee: A bit. Slightly cold. I think it's about 16 degrees, but you know, that's warm in the northern side of the world. But yeah, in Durban we're having Winter at the moment, so we're quite enjoying it. It's still sunny outside. You can still go to the beach. It's quite enjoyable.  Interviewer: Oh man, I miss the beach. I like this type of thing, because communication is one of my things. I'm speaking to a communications person here, but I just want to introduce you to the listeners. So Tamara is a communication specialist who helps people in corporate industries to communicate better. So using speech development, vocal range and tone, body language, gestures, eye contact, speech formula patterns. And her top four skills are public speaking, vocal management, customer service communications and English development frameworks. Tamara, it's so good to have you on the show. And today we're gonna talk about communication, like listening and speaking. You were telling me that you're gonna be traveling soon, just tell us about your travels that are coming up. [00:02:35] Interviewee: So I train different types of groups for different trainings in Durban and also locally and internationally. So it all depends on different workshops that we do. Sometimes it's customer service, sometimes it's communications and public speaking. For example, I taught a one day eight-hour public speaking conference yesterday with 10 people from a transport company and there are all different types of conflicts. Sometimes people are sales managers, some of them are executives or some of them are in management and they just don't know what to do when they come up to present in front of a class or in front of their team. And they freeze or they start stuttering. Interviewer: Stage fright. Interviewee: Stage fright. And yesterday we had one example of a man, he was a sales manager and he came up and I just asked him to read one passage. It was a speech from Nelson Mandela and three times in the passage he ran away. Because he could not keep standing there. And it's really this fear that we have of conversations, of dialogue, of public speaking. So I travel to all different places. I've been to Nigeria, I've done training there. I've done a training in Sao Paulo in Brazil. I'm often called after Johannesburg or Cape Town for training. I work with different corporates, like in Empangeni and Richards Bay and Kokstad. And at the end of September I will be going for a mini conference. One of my clients are setting up a public speaking forum at their academy and I'm going to just be talking about the aspects of accent neutralization as well as different phonic sounds when it comes to the English language. So that will be happening in Tel Aviv, in Israel. And I decided that I'm not just going to go for one day, fly all the way there for one day. So I've also joined a touring company. So I will be exploring Israel, Jordan and Egypt over 12 days. It will be my first time in those countries. I'm quite excited. But also, I'm going to be going looking at the history, historical aspects of different religions as well and obviously through the Christian religion as well. But I'm quite excited for it, because what I like about my job is that it takes me places. And wherever I go, I try and squeeze in an extra day or two to find out about the cultures, about the people and the languages. And I think people are amazing. You're really out of your comfort zone when you get to travel. And you also miss home a lot more when you travel. Interviewer: And you're taking your kids with you? [00:05:10] Interviewee: My son, Luka, he's 21 months old, so he won't be able to come with me. But I've got my grandparents and my parents and his nanny will be watching him. And this will be the longest away from him. I have normally gone five days. Last year I went twice to Nigeria for five days and I travel and I come back. So this will be the longest, but he is used to me traveling and then I often take the week off of work when I come back to spend time with him. He's still young, but I do like to take him when I travel as well. When I go to Cape Town, he comes with me. We're going back to the UK next year, hopefully in May. So he's going to come through. You've got to juggle it.  Interviewer: You have to come see us. Interviewee: Yes, I will come through. We're mainly looking to go to family in Bristol and Colchester and obviously Monmouth and Wales. But we will definitely find out where you are and just try and map it through. Interviewer: We can collaborate in something. Interviewee: Yes! Interviewer: You've got a small child and obviously the way we communicate can really help us in life or hinder us. Just give us a framework of why it's important. I think we all know intuitively why it's important to communicate well. But I suppose from your perspective, you're trying to teach people how to communicate well, maybe doing a speech or something like that. But just from the life perspective, would you encourage people to get better communication just for general purposes? [00:06:45] Interviewee: Yes, I would definitely recommend them because if you look at the human form in all types of nature, even when you're looking at animals, they communicate. Dogs through barking, lions through roaring, different gruntings. And when it comes to humans and the psychology, if we look into it, we have to communicate through eye contact, through gestures, different cultures have different gestures. You might find that Italians or Brazilians like to use their hands more. Different people like to have closed-off gestures. But your body without you even speaking is giving off signals all the time. Your body posture, your eye contact, what your eyebrows are doing, whether you're smiling or not, your head position. So that all comes into factor before even someone starts talking to you. If someone starts to talk to you and already they're squinting their eyebrows, you already feel, "Okay, this is quite serious. What are they saying?" And you might even think that the person is... Maybe they've lost their glasses and they're actually squinting at you because they can't see you. But you think, "Oh my goodness, they're so rude, so disrespectful". So communication is key to all elements because for you to be taken seriously, whether it's a conversation between a husband and wife, between a kid and the parent or a boss and his employee, we've got to take into effect our communication. And with having cell phones, we constantly have the screen in front of our face. So when we go to a restaurant, the first thing we do is we sit down and we put our phone on the table. And even though you're talking to a friend or a spouse or child, you are already adding a third person into the conversation. We've also stopped describing. So before we used to say to people, "You know what, I watched a beautiful movie on the weekend, it starred Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. And it was in Venice. It had great stone walk areas. They had little cafes". Nowadays, we don't even describe colours or pictures or sizes or shapes. We just say, "I watched this movie on the weekend, now here's the trailer". So we're actually going back, we're not learning anymore. So then people coming to the workplace, often enough... There was a communication expert called Dr Leo Buscaglia, and a lot of his videos - he died in 2006 - so his videos are quite old on YouTube. But 30 years ago, he was talking about how we need to communicate better. And nowadays, can you imagine what he would say if he was here? So a lot of the time we stop using face to face interaction. We treat people like robots or machines, in a machine type of way and we are not like that. And I think it's so essential, even myself, we all make mistakes as parents, but I'm trying my best with my son. I only really look at my phone or laptop when he goes to sleep. Interviewer: Oh, that's tough. [00:09:51] Interviewee: It is very tough. Interviewer: I'm there with my phone. I'm thinking "I should get off this phone, but I just got to do this thing quickly". You always got to do something quickly. Why?  Interviewee: And you always feel like saying to the child or kid, "Just wait for me to finish. I'll be with you right now". Which is fine to some point, but I always say, even when you're out with the kids, I know myself when Luka's flown on the airplane, he had my phone and he watched Postman Pat. Because it's the only way for him to not scream and cause havoc. But when we go to the restaurant, it's also looking at the element of play as well with the kid. Describing things to your kids. Even on the table, you might have a salt and pepper. You might say, "What shape is the salt? What colour is the salt? What does salt taste like? What does salt smell like?" It's a simple thing like salt, you could really describe with your kids. The other night when I was in Empangeni, I was by myself and I went for supper and I found a couple and they had three young daughters. I think the oldest was nine. There was a five-year-old and a two-year-old. And the parents, the whole time, were on their phones. And there's these three little daughters waiting for their food. And the whole time the parents are like this. And I just felt so sorry and you can't intervene. I mean, I'm a communication specialist, I feel like saying "Get off your phones", which you can't, because they've got to realize it themselves. But these three daughters ended up playing with themselves and the youngest one obviously being two years old, running around and the parents disciplined her about three times. But I looked at that and I said, "You don't realize that you are the problem, being on your phone". So I always say, if you don't need it, if it's not urgent, you need to prioritize your time. So you can say to the child, "Look, two minutes. I've just got to message this person. I've just got to send this email". Then put it away and try to spend time with them. And we need to prioritize our kids and the communication factor. And I always say it starts at home because whatever starts at home is related to work. If you're successful at home, you're successful at work. If you communicate well with your spouse and your kids and your parents and whatever, you communicate well at work. A lot of people don't think it's interrelated to them. And every day a lot of people in corporate go to work for eight hours a day. You're spending eight hours with someone that is a colleague and you might not like that colleague, but you spend more time with your colleague than you do with your own spouse. Because you only see them at night, in the morning and the weekend. You spend more time with your colleague than your child. So say if you can practice communication at home and at work, it has a bounce-off effect and you'll find that you're more open with people. And life is to be lived once. I mean, tomorrow - if you think about it - if you didn't go to work, they would replace you. But if you had to pass away, God forbid, the next day, your family would suffer. And I always say, "No one ever remembers what you have to say, but how you said it". When people pass away, a lot of my clients, they always look at pictures of their moms and their dads, their brothers, but they say, "I just want to hear their voice one more time". And I always say to clients, "Make sure you record your voice". All our iPhones, all our devices have recordings. It's free. And sometimes it's just life advice, which I like, it's what you do, Clint, your podcasts. Because your kids, can you imagine, in maybe even 10 years' time, they are going to want life advice. And maybe you're traveling and you can't always talk to them. At least they can have somewhere to download your files, to inspire people. Because audio is so important when it comes to psychology and memory. Interviewer: That's brilliant. I spoke to Carvin Goldstone. I labelled him the master storyteller, he's really good at telling stories and it just really, really struck a chord when you said, "We don't describe things anymore". And for me, I find it hard to describe things, with all these pictures. So is it something that we could work on? Even now as adults, is the dog too old, basically? [00:14:02] Interviewee: No. We always have the saying "A dog is never old for new tricks". I've got clients, I had one neurologist, he was 74 years old and he spent his whole life figuring out the brain and surgeries and dealing with people with back injuries and strokes. And he came for an eight-week communications course and he said it was the first time ever in his life that he's actually heard his voice. Because every day you're in conversation with people, every day you're listening to what the person has to say, how to respond, how to diagnose. You're not paying attention to your pitch, your volume, your control, your breathing, your dynamics. Interviewer: It's almost embarrassing, in a way.  Interviewee: It is. Because he's this professed neurologist in our country and he goes to tons of conferences and he's like, "Oh, I didn't know that, my r's, I over-pronounce it". So what happens is, with our words, we need to be aware of how we sound, like recording our self every night. But also, what we can do is look at synonyms. A lot of clients, I say to them, "You need to get a thesaurus". And they go, "What, is that a dinosaur?" And I said, "No, thesaurus is a dictionary". They said, "What?" I said, "Yes, it's a dictionary for all the synonyms". So they're like, "What's synonym? Is it an ingredient?" I said, "No, a synonym is another word to describe something similar". And for example, we get very mundane. We say "That's very good. That's very great. That's good. That's good". All the time. I say change it up every week, adopt a new synonym. Interviewer: I caught myself on my podcast. I always said the word "Interesting". I said "Clint, you have to stop saying the word 'interesting'.  [00:15:47] Interviewee: Yes. So all you can do with Google, it's amazing. And when people use 'good', I say "Say perfect, say fantastic, say phenomenal, say amazing". All these words, you can even just Google every week and say, "What's another word, or what's the synonym, for interesting?" And then there will be at least 12 other suggestions and choose one of those. And every day, implement it. So every day say 'phenomenal'. "Oh, that is phenomenal. That's a phenomenal cheesecake. Oh, that was a phenomenal talk". Interviewer: So you have to change it every week or something? Interviewee: Yes. So say 'phenomenal' at least nine times a day with different circumstances applied to the right situation and then the next week choose another synonym. And you'll find that, "Oh wow, I'm learning new words". And also, the best place to learn and the cheapest place to learn is the newspaper. When we read, our attention span is so short, because on Instagram and Facebook we just swipe all the time. And I say, get the newspaper down, choose the front cover and read every single word out loud from every article on the front cover from the top to the bottom. And then you start to realize, "Oh, there's words there that I've never heard before. What does the word 'methodology' mean? Okay, let me Google it. Oh, it means this". I mean, Google is so amazing now, you've even got the Cambridge dictionary, you've got the normal Google, and it gives you the audio. So you can hear the pronunciation, the American and the British pronunciation of it. It's incredible. It's actually just us reteaching ourselves and keep on inspiring. I've got a bachelor of arts in English literature and a lot of people think, "Well, once you've studied there, that's enough". I'll still be learning new English words until I'm 90 years old. One of my goals in life is just to master myself. And that I think that's the process of it. No one can fully understand each language. And I believe also expanding our languages help. I'm fluent in Portuguese because I spent some time in Brazil and through that, a lot of words are similar. The letter structure... Interviewer: You see similarities, don't you? [00:18:08] Interviewee: English came from Latin. So in English you will have the word serpent. And in French the word serpent means snake. And then in Portuguese, there'll be a word 'differentia', which means differences. So it's not completely different. But I think the most important part of life is that we learn all the time, continue learning. My mom is one of the great examples. She got her PhD two months ago, in oncology nursing, in compassion fatigue. So she's looking at burnout for doctors who have cancer patients, so they get suicidal and depressed. So she looked at interventions and my mom's 56 years old and she got her PhD and she's continually learning all the time. And I get sick of it when people my age or in their thirties or forties say, "You know what, I've got a masters, I've got a PhD, I'm done for life". You're never done. And the learning is not always just at a university or courses. Learning is for anyone. Around us. I always teach this to my clients, in an office - like yesterday - I had 10 clients and within those 10 clients there were four languages, English, Afrikaans, Zulu and there were two Chinese people that spoke Mandarin. And I said, "Sometimes, if you notice someone who speaks another language, just ask them every week or every day, "What's the word for sugar, or milk, or conversation?" And you just get a little book and write it down. And then you've completely learned and you're starting to learn a new language". There are apps that are free, like Duolingo as well to help you with languages. But once you keep on learning, your brain develops new neurons and the more you have new neurons, the more intelligent and wiser you become, because you are more sensible and humbler to the world and it's understanding. Interviewer: We did have a whole lot of questions. We kind of covered a lot of ground already, which is great. So I mean, we can always repeat some things. I was listening to one of the guys you recommended.  [00:20:11] Interviewee: Yes, Julian Treasure.  Interviewer: Yeah. And I really liked what he had to say and I know you learned from him and others. So when I was younger, I got a Larry King book and I was like, "Yeah, I want to learn how to speak better". And in that book, he was talking about something like prosody and all that. So I want to get down to that question, why is the use of vocal intonation or prosody important? For people to hear our voices so that we're not monotone and we're so boring? What do you have to say about that? [00:20:44] Interviewee: So prosody, we normally simplify it in South Africa as emphasis and infliction. So when we're looking at the voice, there's all different aspects that you need to work on. Breathing, there's resonance, for example, if you're speaking from your chest resonance, your throat resonance, your nasal resonance. And then you look at all different aspects of the voice. But the most important we look through is prosody and modulation, which is really to say how your voice sounds different. So a lot of people are monotonous. They speak on one tone all the time. So their pitch is not falling through. And sometimes we practice pitch exercises, like when you're singing. Highs and lows, like if you can say the word 'sweet' for me? Interviewer: Sweet.  Interviewee: Very good. And can you say 'low'? Interviewer: Low.  Interviewee: So your e's and vocal range are normally higher pitch and your o's and ow's are lower pitch. So can you try say 'sweet', but say it low? Interviewer: Sweet.  Interviewee: Can you say 'low', high pitch? Interviewer: Low.  [00:21:53] Interviewee: Okay. It's uncomfortable. So what happens is, with our vocal range, you often find that we need to practice those through. So what we start doing is using infliction, because we use infliction every day. If you think about Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, he was very sarcastic. So he was never asking the right questions. He might ask a question like, "Do you want a cup of tea?" You're not like, "Are you stating that? Or are you asking it?" So we have the rising infliction on "Do you want a cup of tea?" which is part of prosody, because it's an infliction. But if you have to denotate someone's name or let's say we have a really bad relationship with Larry, you'll put a falling infliction, you'll say, "Don't speak to Larry". So the Larry goes down at the end, the last R and the Y. So that's the importance when it comes to prosody because people know what you're saying. And they also have emotions to it. I'm not saying to you that Larry's a negative person, but just from the falling infliction of Larry's name, you know that you can't speak to him. So there's really a huge psychology behind prosody and how our mind wires it and it comes from parents as well. Because we have grown up with parents that speak a certain way. When we communicate at school, the teachers used to say to us, "Say the sentence". And we used to practice questions and answers as a child at school. So from there, our memory comes in and we know the differences between prosody high rising and falling, but sometimes when it comes to life, that falls away and we forget. So we really have to go back into that and make sure that we are asking right questions. I have a lot of corporate clients that end up asking this question, "Is the report finalized?" But they'll say, "Is the report finalized?" And you're like, "Is that a statement? Is that a question? Are you interrogating me?" If you want to talk fast paced, make sure that it sounds like a question. "Is the report finalized?" You might emphasize report. So 'is the' will be quite plain, 'report' will be emphasized, 'finalized' will then have the rising or falling infliction. Naturally, when there's quite a severe circumstance like death or if there's been an accident or something very negative, our voice will automatically go to falling inflections. Like "I'm so sorry to hear that". So it will continue to go up and down, up and down, but it's important to have prosody, so people can understand the emotion also behind it. Interviewer: Very good. You spoke about speech formula patterns that you teach. Let's say there's somebody listening to us right now. They want to get better at public speaking or they speak at their work, they do lunchtime talks, whatever they do. It's quite popular at my company where I work. And they want to be better at talking. So do these speech formative patterns play into that scenario? [00:25:09] Interviewee: Yes, they do. So speech formula is looking like the mathematical equation of how to make something. When you look at for example a cake, you need the ingredients for the cake to make the cake. Because if you don't have ingredients, the flour, the eggs, the milk, the sugar will just sit there. So when we look at the ingredients and we look at the cake, we need our method and that's what we look at speech formula for. We have our ideas in our brain on one side and then we have our speech on the other, but we're really not sure how to patternize it. So some people come on and say, "Hi everyone. Today I'm going to talk about..." The next minute as they're talking, something else comes up or someone talks to them. So they need sort of a structure. And that's what we call 'speech formula'. So there's all different types of speech formulas that you can find online that you can apply for. You do have your basic speech formula, which we also use for essays. So we normally say with that assignment or your speech formula, we have your special start. So you always start with your audience - be it in person or on radio, or whatever - with something special, to get their attention. Because you have seven seconds to get your audience's attention.  Interviewer: That's not a lot of time.  [00:26:30] Interviewee: So if you start "Hello everyone, welcome today...", you've lost the audience. A lot of people end up doing that. They'll say "Today I'm going to read..." and then all of a sudden everyone's off. So you can start a speech, general speech formula, special start, people like to use humour. Like a joke. Some people use statistics. I had a client once, she runs Blue Sky Society Trust. So they look at elephant conservation in Africa and she started with a statistic and she said "Did you know that 42 elephants are killed every day in Africa?" And then the whole audience kept quiet. That's the special start. Now you've got your audience's attention. So once you've got your audience's attention from the special start, just do your introduction. So you say "Today I'm going to be talking about..." And your introduction shouldn't be long. Normally with writing, we write a paragraph, it should be two sentences. So you can say like "Today I'm going to be talking about how to effectively use your voice for public speaking". Very simple. And then the basic speech formula you go through is your middle. So you cover a couple of points and then you summarize at the end and that's it. But I've managed to come through different speech formula patterns with different clients. And as the one I discussed with you here, I'm just gonna read it out a bit, as prep. So I've got a couple of clients that are in government as well. And what happens is, they need to have a type of acronym. And I love acronyms. I think they are fantastic because it helps you remember what you have to say. So the one that is often used is 'prep'. Like a preparation. So the P is 'presenting that idea', what are you presenting? So you might say, "I'm presenting a new water system to happen in the city". And then R is for the 'reason of the idea'. So you put statistics, the needs, the complaints, the recommendations. So you can say, "We've had a dire situation in Cape Town where there were water problems. There was dehydration and they're all statistics. Everyone knew about it. It was all over the world". Complaints, recommendations. And then you talk about the 'efficiency'. So you're going to say, "How will this idea be implemented?" The time frame and quality controls. So you can't say, "Oh, we will get it fixed next week". You've got to say, "Okay, it's a five-year plan or it's a ten-year plan and the Department of Waterworks or the local government or the different water companies across the world will be coming in. They will be constructing a dam or constructing new pipes". So you've got to talk about the efficiency of it and then you end it off with the 'purpose'. You have to sort of re-incline why we need it. So who will benefit, how the community will find purpose with this idea and where will this idea factor be within the next 5 to 15 years? Because we've always got to look to the future aspect if you want something positive. And this prep-acronym that we use as a speech formula has helped so many clients. Because sometimes they will get people asking questions at the R or at the E, the efficiency. And then they just summarize and remember, "Oh, I've done P, I've done R, I've done E. Well let me finish up, I've got five minutes left, let me finish the P". And it helps you in your mind to just gauge control of what you have to say, how you've said it. And also ending off on a positive note, making sure everyone will benefit. Because when people listen to you, they want to benefit in some way. So that is the speech formula framework. I'll go through them again, for the listeners out there, P: to present the idea, R: the reason for the idea, E: efficiency, and P: purpose, that is prep. So you can try and shape your speech patterns or formulas into that. It could be that you're talking at your school, it could be that you are talking at your office, it could even be a wedding speech or that you are doing it for a friend. That speech formula will help you to summarize and be concise. And it will help you summarize what you have to say and coherent in what you say. Interviewer: Yeah, that's a nugget there for the listeners. So go ahead and use that from Tamara, prep. So Tamara, we've spoken about some really good things thus far and I'm just conscious of time here. So I want to move on to eye contact, because it's something that I'm not the best with, at the best of times when I should be doing it. Because it probably takes a bit more effort to do it. But with eye contact, we talk about when we talk to someone and when we are listening. People who are not confident, they struggle with that. But how do we deal with it? How much emphasis should we put on eye contact? [00:31:34] Interviewee: I think quite a lot of emphasis on eye contact is very important, because within the digital age, we do become very distracted. So our eye contact is always going somewhere else. Even right now, I'm talking to you on Skype, if I just had to - while I'm talking to you - start looking over here, you can see that my eye contact is completely away from the screen. So then you feel like the person's not listening. So that often happens, I've got clients who like to take notes on their phone when they're in a meeting, so they're taking notes and then I say to them, "But then your team doesn't feel that you're interested". And they said, "Yes, that's so true". Because often they get told, "Are you listening? Is that important on your phone?" So I said "Rather take notes so they can see that you're not just distracted, but you are listening and they obviously have something valuable to say if you're taking notes", on paper and pen. Getting back to the importance of writing. Writing is so important. Typing is using the one side of your brain. Writing is using both sides of the brain at once. So writing is so important, as well as people feel that you're listening, especially with eye contact as well. So if you're taking notes, you're looking up to the person and you're writing, they can see it's more important than if you were on your phone. Because how often do we also just look on the phone for other things? We get distracted and see messages and emails. So with eye contact, you can also practice this through. So for example, the tellers at the shops, I don't know if it's in the UK, I know sometimes they have those self-service tills, which I got very confused about two years ago when we were trying to use them. But what I liked to say is, often enough when we go to the tellers, we don't think we need to look into their eyes. We just say "Hi, here's my card". We're almost too scared to use eye contact and I say use it as a practice with people around you. We do have like a cultural cloak sometimes to some cultures, especially in South Africa, they're told not to use eye contact, because it's disrespectful. For example, in the Zulu culture, in the Islamic culture, young women aren't allowed to use eye contact. But when it comes to the professional climate, I say we have a cultural cloak. And what we do is we take off our cultural cloak and we hang it on the door and we ask people permission. We are going to say to them, "Every one, I'm going to be using eye contact today. Not to be flirtatious, not to be disrespectful, but to talk human to human". And then you've got to work on your eye contact as well. Practice going through every person in the room, one by one. You don't want to bulldoze someone and give them direct eye contact or intimidate them, because they're probably going to run away. But you also don't want to avoid them. Because sometimes you don't like someone in the office. We all have people that we don't get on with, it's human nature. But if we completely avoid that person and talk to everyone else, that person who you are avoiding will take out their phone, take out their laptop and start talking to the person next to them. If you don't like the person, give them eye contact. Obviously don't be demeaning eye contact, but give everyone adequate eye contact and that's something you need to practice. You also have to assess it. I know there were studies being done at Cambridge University that children and animals, pets at home, they felt to be important in more adult contact. They felt that they needed a screen in front of their face. Because when you get home after a long day at work, you have your phone in front of your face. So kids and animals are growing up thinking that this digital device is important to have contact. And you know that when you come home from a long day, if you have a dog, he'll probably look at you and your eyes. The same with your kids. So we know eye contact is important, but somehow through awkwardness and all sorts of different types of disrespect, we think we can't use it. So it's something for you to practice with, making sure everyone feels included in the audience, as well as just practicing and implementing it every day. Interviewer: Yeah, I notice that, the other day I was in a social environment. There were a few guys talking. But one guy kept on talking at me and I'm quite conscious of body language and eye contact. And so, is it important that that person be rather looking at all the people in the group? Or is it just natural that people are like, "Oh he's an interesting person, I'm talking to this guy"? Even when there's three other people around? [00:36:14] Interviewee: It is hard, because I'm also a body language specialist, so I do assess the whole element. People who are tilting their heads, moving their hands, which fingers are moving. So sometimes you might find that someone's more comfortable with you, because you get people that are socially awkward. So they might find that by looking at you, you might not even know it, maybe in the circle of group of friends, you might have had someone who doesn't like eye contact. That they grew up in a family that doesn't use eye contact at all. And I think it's a British nobility thing, as a British culture, that if you don't like something, you turn your head away. So often we don't see things, like class and being superior and that's all to do with eye contact. So you might find that someone's grown up in an environment where they don't like eye contact. So this person might've been talking to them and they're looking on the floor, they're looking up or they're looking away. It's also very militant eye contact as well. So, in the military you don't use eye contact, you don't look anywhere but at the target. So when it comes to eye contact, sometimes that person might have felt more comfortable looking and talking to you because you're engaging with them. But then you feel like, "Okay, he's just talking to me" and you might then see that those people actually move off. And then it becomes a one-on-one conversation. And then they are probably thinking, "Did I say something wrong?" Meanwhile, it was just eye contact. You never looked at them. It's so important. Interviewer: We spoke about the body language and our posture and folding arms. And I find that quite difficult. And you had something to say about that as we were growing up. About when we're crossing our legs. What is it that you tell your clients about the actual body itself? [00:38:09] Interviewee: When we are speaking in public, so public can be one-on-one or it could be quite a few people, you might find that you are feeling uncomfortable. Now this could be for various reasons. It could be that you don't know the person. It could be climate, that you're actually quite cold and you need a jacket. It could be that you're just tired. But your body language, without you knowing, is sending off signals. Let's for example say that I don't know the person, or even in public, we're having a conversation, I'm feeling uncomfortable. So your body, psychologically, if you think about it when you were a child, we were hugged, we were held. When we fell on the floor, our parents would hold us. If you think of a baby, when they were born, they were swaddled, they were held. So in our subconscious, we have those psychological emotions that come through. So when we're feeling uncomfortable in public, you might find that you actually hold yourself. So that is crossing the arms, this is a comforter. So right now, I feel very good. So I have clients that sometimes sway. And that goes back to the swaying mechanism of when you were a child. So right now, I could have a really good voice and I could have correct pronunciation, a great facial expression. I could have a fancy suit on and amazing jewellery, but me just swaying and closing my arms is really distracting you. So it doesn't matter how you sound, your body has to be in sync with your voice. So what we always say is looking at gestures, finding out the right gesture to use, descriptional gestures. Because sometimes people use their hands too much. But also having your hands just on the sides of your body is better, so you don't fidget too much, we are not closed off. I do find a lot of clients, especially in corporate, they end up putting their hand here. And they think it's to be taken seriously. But if someone's looking at you like this, it's almost a closed body posture. So that's the most important thing that we need to look at, getting rid of our comforters. Some people use words as a comforter, like 'hmm' or 'ah'. A lot of people use the word 'so' or 'like'. So, to continue. So, so as we, so, so, so or like, like this, like that, like that. So the words are often used as a comforter for something you're feeling. Like insecure, you're not practiced in your speech, you're not practiced in public speaking. And it happens. But we always say, take a deep breath in, go back to your normal body stance, and you carry on. And it's about letting you have a deep breath. And you know, [00:40:55] said "There's nothing wrong with silence". A little bit of silence can't do any harm, especially if you're rushing and rushing and rushing. Your breathing will be fast, your heart rate will be fast. There's nothing wrong with just doing a pause. Interviewer: Pause, get your thoughts back together. [00:41:12] Interviewee: And then re-engage with your audience. You would probably know that, with all your experience and radio and recording. But a lot of people don't know that, and they feel that they have to talk fast because people aren't listening or they're wasting someone's time. But the faster you speak, the more that you can make mistakes. So you need to take that pause, that deep breath in and then re-engage with your audience.  Interviewer: No, the audience is not going to go anywhere.  Interviewee: No, they're not.  Interviewer: Not within two seconds.  Interviewee: And people can always go over-time, as long as you ask them. If you're really engaging, you might say to everyone, "Look, I'm just going to be an extra two minutes. Is that okay with everyone?" And more than likely, no one - unless they're very rude - will say "No, you can't".  So you can always ask the audience and just remember, when you have an audience, it's like having a conversation, everyone thinks it needs to be a performance. And within drama and performance, what I've studied, it's important to see the audience and yourself as a performance. But also, it's a general conversation. Can you just have a conversation with 50 or 100 people at once instead of one-on-one? So if we can treat each other just like a general conversation, be more comfortable, you'll feel more comfortable and they will listen to you more of what you have to say.  Interviewer: And then it could be more influential. Interviewee: Yes. Interviewer: Which leads me on to listening and being influential. So... There's that word 'so' again.  [00:42:43] Interviewee: It's fine. Don't worry. It also happens to me. And I'll be honest with you, because everyone thinks that when you're a coach, you supposed to be 100% perfect. I also review and analyse people in public. If you watch Prince Harry in the UK, he often has a comforter where he puts his hands in his pockets and he's been taught in public speaking because you can see it. Look up a couple of videos with Prince Harry, you'll find that he'll try put his hand in his pocket and then he'll take it out. So it's somewhere in the back of his head and he's like, "Oh, I shouldn't do that. Let me undo that". So even people in big public areas, people in monarchy, they also make mistakes, but it's knowing about how to make your way around it. We're human, we're going to make mistakes. But it's about comforting, the thought of it afterwards, to practice. There's even the king of Jordan, king Hussein, he has a comforter and it's in speech. He likes to say the word 'tremendous' all the time. "It was tremendous. It was a tremendous time. We had a tremendous number of people". And that's his comforter and he's been doing public speaking for 34 years. So there's always areas that we can all improve on. So it doesn't matter if you're top in the monarchy or just an average person like me, you will always find ways to improve.  Interviewer: Yeah. So this is going to be a good lesson for me. I'm on a journey. So my journey is one of  self-exploration, in a way. I've been intrigued by a lot of podcasts that I've been watching myself, with the London Real and Lewis Howes and Joe Rogan and Impact Theory, I've been watching all those guys. And so what I'm trying to do for my listeners, is to help them to be a better version of themselves and also to be confident about who they could be in the future. So when it comes to being somebody of influence, this is what I want to tackle right now, which is listening. Because sometimes we think that we always have to speak and speak to inspire and talk so that people can hear us. But what is it about listening? I've been listening to you awhile and I'm gaining a lot of information. But what could we do as listeners in a conversation? And it would also help us to influence people to say, "Hey, this guy is a good guy", even without saying words. "This guy is somebody who is influential".  [00:45:18] Interviewee: Well, a couple of listening techniques I just jotted down here earlier this week that's important, it's also just about knowing that the person is listening. So sometimes when you're talking to someone, you know they're listening if they're doing something like vocal or verbal signals like 'ah hah', 'yes, really', or nodding their head. I always say, put digital devices away. So, if you are influential and you know that you're making an impact to your audience, not a lot of people will be on their phones. And you are allowed to, as the speaker, to ask everyone to put their phones away. It's okay, I often say it. The biggest group I've ever taught was about 400 students at UK's Den, they've got this new thing where every student has a laptop. And I just say to everyone, 'I just want to this to be a professional climate. Please, could you just put your laptops away? And then once I'm finished, you can open them up again". I think it's very important information. You don't need your digital devices. You might find one or two people might have to take a call that is urgent, which is okay. But if you can address it in the beginning, you're going to help with problems later on. So I always say, put all digital devices away. Use your posture inclined towards another person. So what happens is, my body posture is right now to the computer to you. You know I'm talking to you. If I just had to swivel my body posture just over here, you can see my shoulders are posturing towards - obviously you can't see - the door. But if I had to talk to you like this, I can turn my head, but you will know that I'm not really listening because my posture's inclining towards somewhere else. We always say: Don't let architecture stretch your body. If a chair is stuck or even a podium is stuck, you can still move around on stage. There's nothing wrong with a short walk to get your audience's attention. I have a lot of clients, who have podiums at the city halls, who are stuck on the stage. And I say, there's nothing wrong with walking forward, backwards. Don't get stuck behind the podium or the microphone. Sometimes, if your audience is quiet enough, you can talk without a microphone. It's all about vocal projection. Or I get a handheld microphone. We'll try walk through with a microphone on a cord. But make sure your posture is always - we call it sometimes the performance V - so everyone is in your V. Make sure your audience is in your V, that no one's behind you, your posture's inclining towards everyone and that you can be open and talk to them. Because a simple thing like a square, if you have a boardroom and no one's in your performance V, then someone is going to feel left out. And then they won't be listening. Another one is use open arms and hands to show that you're listening. If you're pointing at people, people will start feeling a bit destructive, "She's singling people out". Also, if you have your hands closed, a lot of people do this, which shows sincerity, but at the same time it is closed. So, you know people are listening also when you mirror their body language. If they're open, they're like, "I agree with you". Then you know they are listening. Make sure your back is always straight, your shoulders are composed, it shows you are awake and listening. There's nothing worse than talking to an audience like this. Interviewer: Slouched in their chairs. [00:48:56] Interviewee: Because they are going to fall asleep. With some presentations, especially if I'm presenting towards the end of the day and people have been sitting in six and seven hours of meetings, I say to everyone, "Everyone stand up, take a deep breath in, breathe out and sit down". And then they're like, "Oh, that was refreshing". And that was a couple of seconds and their backs are straight, they're listening again. So sometimes you physically have to put them in that element. Nodding your head, using vocal or verbal signals like, 'aha' or 'yes, really'. And then also ask for clarification. So I often use this with my clients and I think it's so important. When you're talking to someone, get your fingers out of your hands and you portray it as 'what', 'when', 'how', 'where', 'who', and also 'why'. So we always say what happens. So when you're talking to someone and they are over-expressed and emotional, they are rushing you say "Okay, can you tell me what actually happened?" And then you move on to "When did it happen?" Time, what part of the week, the day, whatever. Then you say "When did it happen?" And then you say "How did it happen?" "Where, who was there? And do you know why it happened?" And with those simplistic things, already they know that you're listening, because you're asking for specifics. So you are reverting back questions to them. And that really helps with listening skills.  Interviewer: There is a steep rise in podcasting. I think it's because people, maybe they want to learn more. I don't know. Is there more of an appetite for education? I'm not too sure. Maybe there is, because for me personally, I'm starting to listen to more podcasts. I want to learn more, I want to become a better version of myself, I want to transform, I want to be on this journey of bettering myself. And so, there's this rise in podcasting and with the rise in podcasting, people need to talk and people need to listen. It's important then that, if you're going to be a speaker, that they take on some of this advice that you've been into. You've given us a lot of recommendations already today, but are there some resources out there? What could people do as a next step, to take their communications to the next level? [00:51:29] Interviewee: There are a lot of free resources on Google, there are also different vocal coaches in the world. And there's all different types of training companies that you could join. You could also always follow me on Instagram or LinkedIn. I'm very active on LinkedIn as well. There's a lot of places like the New York business insider, the London insider, they talk about communication skills, because if we look at soft skills, everyone used to call them soft skills. So people thought, "Oh, it is to be softer". So they've re-branded it as communications skills, which is much better. It all has to do with listening, to speaking and reading and writing and all these types of things that you need. But I think the most important is being aware of how you speak. And I think if anyone wants to do a podcast or any type of audio or going to speak in front of people, you need to go home tonight, take one page of a book, choose a random page, number 72, and read it out loud and record it on your phone. And after that, listen to it. And if the first thing that comes to your head is, "Oh, my voice sounds horrible!", then you know you need to work on it. Because you don't have a relationship with your voice. We're born with a voice and we die with a voice. But a lot of people end up not knowing how they sound. So you need to build a relationship with your voice. And that's what I do as a vocal coach, I often train people, but you can do it yourself. And through that, you need to start recording every week how you sound. So you can start to hear if there's improvements. The most important factors I look at is pace, modulation as you know is prosody, breathing and emphasis. So rarely looking at the pace of your voice, notice that most influential speakers use pace. If you are on a podcast and two minutes in, you are hearing, [talking fast] "Welcome today, and as we go through here, we're going to, la, la, la, la, la". That's all you hear. You'll switch it off. You know, so look at your pace. You don't always have to stop at the full stop or the commas. You can choose pace whenever, there's a difference between written and spoken language, like written and spoken English. So maybe after every two or three words you might pace yourself.  Interviewer: So changing the pace? [00:53:52] Interviewee: Yes. Changing the pace, you create your own pace. You might have a sentence, for example that will have no commas and only a full stop. "Hello today we're going to talk about the world". So there are no commas, just a full stop. Now if you had to talk with that on one breath with no pace, it would sound like this. "Hello we're going to talk about the world". So maybe for my example I'll say "Hello. Today, we're going to talk about, the world". So I've already added in two pacing lines. You, however, might do differently. You might say, "Hello, today, we're going to talk about the world". So you've got to figure out your pace. But pace is so important with speaking. You obviously don't want to be too monotonous with pace, like saying "Today.. we.. are.. going to.. par-ti-ci-pate in..", obviously those are the politicians, because they've been taught about pace, but they do it incorrectly because they're not practicing it. So you really have to figure out, where does your pace come into? And the next would be then modulation, the prosody. So looking at how you say words, are you going to be influential? Or are you just going to speak on one tone all the time? Because if you have good pace but you are speaking very low, you might find that your audience will doze off. If you're talking for 20 minutes and you really want to look at the fact that you want to sell something or you want to talk about the importance, you've got to find out when you can re-invite your audience to feel enthusiastic about what you have to say. For example, a song. You get the chorus of the song, that's the part when everyone goes mad, they love the chorus. You've got to find a part of your speech that has a chorus. If we had to take the song Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, the whole Bohemian Rhapsody doesn't really have a chorus. But it continually goes up and down and up and down and up and down. But everyone knows that the most amazing part is the opera 'Galileo' and that guitar solo at the end. So obviously they emphasized to that point, but if Queen took the Galileo and the guitar solo by Brian May and put it in the beginning of the song, it wouldn't have the same impact. So you've got to look at your speech like Bohemian Rhapsody, which part of it do you want to emphasize? How are you going to emphasize it? Through pitch, through influence? You might play a song, you might even stop for a pause. It's really important. And with those things, you're going to look at inflection, asking your audience questions. And one thing you should do is ask your audience questions, you shouldn't lecture. When I was working at UK [00:56:51], I found that every time I did workshops or lectures, you've got to influence your students to keep awake. And the way you do that is with questions. Ask people questions. Don't always state the facts. Say to them, "How many of you got eight hours of sleep last night? Did you get to sleep last night or did you suffer from insomnia?" But if you had to state "Many people don't get to sleep at night, they suffer from insomnia", it's completely different when you turn it into question, because you personalized it in your audience. So they want to listen. And then I forgot what other elements I was talking about. [laughs] Mainly modulation, asking questions. And pace is the most important part when it comes to speech. And really also being enthusiastic.  Interviewer: Yeah, you have to love your topic, don't you?  [00:57:40] Interviewee: We've got to have more fun as people. We're so boring all the time. And then we have this Instagram post and we go and quote this amazing quote. I say every day should be enthusiastic. Like Leo Buscaglia, who I completely loved. If you watch this video online, it's called 'Only you can make the difference'. It's on YouTube, but it was recorded many years ago and he was saying that he would love to greet people on campus. He was the type of person that would say "Hello!" And he sometimes would get strange responses from people and they would say, "Do I know you?" And he says, "No, but wouldn't it be fun?" And the person said, "No, it wouldn't". So he walked off and then he said the next day he would go along the campus and say "Hello!" And the person would say, "Do I know you?" He said, "Yes, we met yesterday". So the whole element of it is just being fun again. You never know when that person comes back into your life, that audience member. They could end up being your next boss, your next partner in work. Maybe your family ends up marrying them. But the amazing thing about people is that we need to keep connected and we need to be enthusiastic. And if you're enthusiastic in your podcasts, you will find that people will listen to you. Also start to assess people that you listen to, on podcasts, there might be a certain people you want to listen to more. If we look at political figures, like Barack Obama in the USA, he had a very soft, comforting voice. Donald Trump, he has a very loud voice. Some people like it. Some people like Barack Obama, we may never know. But when you listen to your podcast, think of the people you currently listen to and assess their voice. Not to be a copy of their voice, but look at the elements. Do they talk loud or soft? Are they enthusiastic or boring? Do they use high pitch? Do they use low pitch? Where do they speak from their resonant passages and what do they have to say? Look at the words they use. Are they simplistic words, are they academic words? Maybe they repeat words throughout. And those elements apply to your own podcast and see how you are talking, how you can inspire others around you. Interviewer: Tamara, it's really been great talking to you and I'm really going to take on board some of this advice that you've given. Hopefully improve the podcast, yes. It's been really good.  [01:00:12] Interviewee: That's great. I'm so glad I can help you inspire. And I love to inspire people everywhere, to realize that you don't need a lot. You just need your voice to inspire. And certainly as people, we have a lot of noise around us. A lot of the time, we have audio clips or we have pictures and we have things flashing. But the most phenomenal people, if you think about it in your life, talks you've gone to, people you've listened to, they didn't have all that noise. It was just themselves. And that's the phenomenal part of about life. I think one of my most amazing performances, I have watched many people across the world, I've watched U2 live, Coldplay live, Foo Fighters live and if I look at U2, Coldplay and Foo Fighters, who happen to be my favorite bands, and I've watched them live and I've also watched Elton John and Mariah Carey. I've watched performances like Cats, all sorts of things. But within U2, Coldplay and Foo Fighters, the lead singers, Bono, Chris Martin and Dave Grohl, the most important part of the concert is when they get personal with the audience. When they sit on the edge of the stage with the guitar or they just sing with the audience. And that doesn't cost a lot. There's no noise, there's no extra lights. They normally black down the stage and people love that, because they're like, "Oh, they actually know their audience". And I think sometimes we need to take that sort of performance act and apply it with our audience. Be more personal, be open, but also be happy and enthusiastic. Interviewer: That's great advice. Tamara, it's been really, really good having you.  [01:01:51] Interviewee: Yes, I'm so grateful and yes, if you ever need to contact me, you know where to contact me from. And I think it would be great when I cut through next year, we need to meet up. I just want to finalize my flying dates and then I'll let you know where I'll be running around. [laughs] And we can definitely collaborate or do something. And I wish you well on your journey with podcasts. I will be listening more tentatively. I haven't had time to go through it, but that would be great. And well done for inspiring people, I think you're on a great track. I see you interviewed quite a few people so far. And I'm glad I got into the beginning phase with you, because I know Clint will be up there in the big podcast world.  Interviewer: I'll never forget. So how can people get a hold of you? What's your handle at Instagram? Interviewee: My handle on Instagram is very simple. It's @tamaranicolawentzel. That is the handle. Interviewer: I'll put it on the screen as well.  Interviewee: Thank you. It's the same for LinkedIn as well. Because I'm quite active with LinkedIn. And yeah, you can get a hold of me, you can follow me on my journeys, I always upload wherever I'm traveling to. It could be just a cup of tea with a zebra in the background. [laughs] Wherever it is, I like to make it fun and interactive.  Interviewer: Well, thanks Tamara! Interviewee: Thank you so much, Clint. Bye.  

I want to share 3 keys, plus two other tips on how you can make it possible to start to explore ways to find your passion or answer that elusive question "What am I a supposed to be doing with my life?" 1. Move more and get active, get fit, improve your thinking 2. Be still, meditate, get away from technology. Start to have focus time without any agenda 3. Expose yourself intentionally to uncomfortable situations. Like doing a presentation at work or getting into a cold shower Tip 1 - write your passions and what you really like doing or what you are interested in on paper, this will force you to really think about it Tip 2 - to make the right decision on all of your findings. Should I pursue this passion or idea? Then you will need your heart intuition. So work on creating greater coherence between your heart "brain" and the brain in your head.

James Cutting has been involved with football coaching since the age of 19. First going to the USA to coach and then working for Cambridge United for 9 years. James speaks to us about his life story and how he came to starting his own coaching business. He is now training up young kids with life skills such as discipline, good attitude and mental awareness as he does the many coaching sessions throughout the week in the East of England. In this episode we want to help you by giving you the inspiration you might need to go out and do the things that you love doing, whether that be a hobby, or a sport, or even turning your hobby or sport into a business. Whatever it is that drives you, whatever your passion and your love, don't neglect it and let it lie dormant. If you are a good artist, then draw, paint, make music, dance. But don't let that talent go to waste. Reward does come to those who take risks, the risk does not always have to be high. You should not put your families lives at risk to the point where you could become homeless, but if you have calculated it properly and you have the right plan in place and you are sure there is a market for what you want to get into then what are you waiting for? Just try as Coach James Cutting says https://www.thefootballfunfactory.co.uk   Transcription:  Introduction: Hello everyone. Welcome to LifeShot. Have you ever wanted to break out, leave the job you're doing now or perhaps try something new? Maybe it's a new hobby or something. And you feel not quite confident enough to do it. I spoke to James Cutting this week and this is his journey, he used to do football coaching for Cambridge United, which he loved. And then he moved on to a job that he didn't like as much and then decided to get back into doing what he loved. And perhaps you're in a similar situation where you might be doing a job that is okay. Maybe you used to do a job that you really loved and now you're finding out the job is not the best. How do you get the confidence within to go further to say, "All right, that's it, I'm taking the next step. I'm going to break out. I'm going to get free of these things that limit me, these fears that I seem to have put on myself. Let's get out there and try something new"? So today's about James talking to us about do what you love doing. And even if it's something on the side, like what I'm doing now, I'm doing podcasting and interviews on the side, I've got my day job. And it's just about making a difference where you can, if spreading a message is your passion like mine, do this. If helping young kids is a passion, like what James does, then do that. So it's about pushing you, challenging you guys, go and do what you love doing. Welcome to this week and I hope you enjoy James Cutting, football coach from the Football Fun Factory. Interviewer: James Cutting, welcome to the LifeShot podcast.  Interviewee: Thanks very much. Great to be here.  Interviewer: Yeah, good to have you. And for the listeners, James Cutting is a football coach here in the UK, in Cambridge. I'll let you do your own introduction actually, James, because you've got quite a history within football and coaching. Do you want to give us a background as to your time with Cambridge United? [00:03:55] Interviewee: I'll try and keep it brief. I'll try to skip further in the different stages. I started football coaching at a really young age, stopped playing football at about 16. I realized that I wasn't going to play football to the level I wanted to. I haven't got a sub story like lots of people, a bad knee, dodgy ankle, those kinds of things. Just wasn't good enough. Interviewer: Did you come to terms with that? Interviewee: Yeah, came to terms with that quite early. And then it was like "What's the next best thing you can do if you can't play?" So, coach. So I turned to coaching at 16, did some volunteer coaching, knew I wanted to be a football coach or be involved in football at some level. So then I went off to America to gain some more coaching experience. I was in Chicago, in New York, worked for a company out there that trains British coaches. Interviewer: It's quite like a coaching culture there, in America, they train a lot of coaches, don't they? [00:04:49] Interviewee: They do and they like British coaches. You're a bit of a hero if you go over there. They think we're really good for some reason. You go over there and you coach and work for a company, they send out loads of British coaches. You stay with host families and do coaching camps throughout the summer.  Interviewer: And that was in your younger years?  Interviewee: Yeah, so I was 19 and did that only for about six months. It's was a temporary position really, but gave me opportunity to coach every day. To then gain loads of experience, came back, and then began work at Cambridge United Football Club. So, I tried to force my foot in the door a little bit.  Interviewer: What, did you just knock on the door and say "Hey guys, is there a new job?" Interviewee: Well, while I was in America, I sent a few emails, contacted all the local professional clubs. I was living in Kingsland in Norfolk at the time. Contacted Cambridge, Norwich, Peterborough, I think they all got back to me actually. And had the meeting with Cambridge and then didn't go to the other meetings because I was sold on the place and the people at the time. They basically said "If you want...", so, I had no commitments. I came back, I was 19, I was living at home, no real commitments. And it was just like "Throw yourself into it". So there were some paid coaching hours. But a lot of it was just like "Go and volunteer your services, go and get involved as you can". And I was in a brilliant position to do that.  Interviewer: Were you were living with your parents at home or did you have to move away from home? [00:06:11] Interviewee: No, I was traveling from Kingsland to Cambridge every single day up and down the 810, which is the worst road in the world. Interviewer: Oh, you didn't take the train? Interviewee: No, because I needed equipment in my car and all those kinds of things. In fact, the first ever coaching session I got was in Baldock, in Hertfordshire. So it was an hour and 40 minutes from my house. I got paid about 15 quid for the hour and probably spent 40 quid to get there and back. Interviewer: The sacrifices we take, right? Interviewee: Exactly. I wasn't doing it for money, I wanted to do it for the experience and for the opportunities.  Interviewer: Not everyone's privileged enough to be able to just to do that. Because actually, today's episode, we're going to call it 'Do what you love doing'. And it's not necessarily that we want to put guilt on people to say, "Hey, why aren't you doing what you love doing as a job?" But it's doing what you love doing, even if it's not your job. You're doing something else outside of the things you love doing. Interviewee: Absolutely.  Interviewer: So even if you were working at some other normal job, you did football just because you love it. I think this is the message we want to get across today, just do what you love doing. If doing what you love doing pushes you outside of your comfort zone to try a different job, then so be it. I think you're going to give us a message today about how you did that, how you started your own business and that journey from there. Before we get onto that though, I've noticed and I've seen you coach, I don't know if you know it or not, but you've got some very good skills with young people. Interviewee: Thank you. Interviewer: And my wife's a teacher and so she can pick these things up and say "James is a really good coach and he controls the kids well". So did you learn this by osmosis, through the years or was it something that was particular in your training in there?  [00:07:55] Interviewee: Both, really. I think as a football coach, really the root to become qualified is to go on FA courses. So you do your FA level one, FA level two. I did my FA level three, which is the UEFA for B-coaching license, which basically qualifies you to coach a youth level for any club in the country basically. So at Cambridge, I had to work within the academy, but then running a number of different programs as well there. But the qualifications are great, being around other people and FA mentors and all that kind of stuff. That's all great. But actually, what really matters is on the ground experience, throwing yourself into it, watching other people, putting hours in where you go and just watch someone else coach, ask them questions, "Why did you do it like that? Why didn't you think about doing it this way?" Interviewer: Did you analyse yourself as well afterwards? [00:08:44] Interviewee: Oh, massively. Massively. And that is part of the FA qualifications as well. They say you have to assess all of your coaches and be assessed. So all of your coaching sessions and be assessed as well. But really just doing that every single day, every session that you deliver, you question everything that you do. And you just learn from success and failures. You try something and it just doesn't work and then that's your best coaching session because the next time you'll do something differently and you think, "Right, I'm not going to do that again" and you find a way to make it successful, it might be a small tweak that you make.  Interviewer: If you think about professional sports, you think about golfers, for example. The difference between them is so small, in that who's going to win the game. Because they're all professionals, they all play very well. And in coaching, I think it might be similar, what differentiates you from being one of the top coaches. Because they are teaching you all these things, right? Like how do you assess yourself and be assessed? How do you think you're going to take yourself to that next level, if you want to get there? [00:09:57] Interviewee: Yeah, it depends what the next level is. Most football coaches aspire to work in an academy, probably with a younger age group, gain the experience, then work with an older age group, maybe with a youth team, maybe work with a first team. That's never really been my aspiration. I don't particularly - sounds like a funny thing to say - I don't particularly like adult senior football. I don't particularly like the culture and environment that surrounds it. Obviously, there are some brilliant cultures, I'm sure there are some football teams that do things brilliantly well. But that's never really been my progress route. That's not really what I'm interested in. So my passion has always been around participation, enjoyment. And that leads on to obviously the organization that I've created. Interviewer: Because it's Football Fun... Interviewee: Football Fun Factory, yeah. Three F's. Football Fun Factory. So we explain that to kids who say, "Okay, what's football?" Kick a ball on the go. "What's fun?" Run around with a smile on your face. "What's a factory?" It makes things. So Football Fun Factory makes football fun. That's the idea. That's the sort of ethos of the organization.  Interviewer: Speak about your aspirations for you, particularly for Football Fun Factory.  [00:11:09] Interviewee: I'll give a brief summary of where I have got to, and then I can talk about where it's going and where it's heading now. It's a really good time to ask that question, because there are a few things bubbling away. So, where I've got to, often working full time on this for 12 months, that's it. Interviewer: Just dedicated to it, fully focused. Interviewee: Yeah. So I left the job, last June, started running my own business full time before that. I had a year, but only really six months out of the year where I have taken it seriously, building up the business, walls and employment. And in that year, what we've managed to do, is start a number of different football programs for children aged two years old, all the way through to 12 years old, boys and girls, all abilities. A number of different programs, evening coaching sessions, Saturday morning coaching sessions, school holiday courses, all of those things outside of school hours. So nothing during the day.  Interviewer: You're focused on children. [00:12:11] Interviewee: Yeah, so we can't do anything during the day unless we go into schools. And that's not an avenue we want to pursue. So, within that, it's been building up those programs. I live in Red Lodge, in Newmarket, we've got a whole host of programs that we run there. But we've also built up other communities, Football Fun Factory communities - as I like to call them - in St Ives, Cambourne, Waterbeach, all of these areas are surrounding Cambridge, basically, without being in Cambridge itself, actually. So the idea is that I run my area, my Football Fun Factory community. I've created a bit of a blueprint and business model for that. And then the idea is that we'll replicate that. So we're at the moment creating a franchise model in that we'll have other head coaches, I sort of turned myself the head coach for the Football Fun Factory community of the Suffolk area, really. And we want to create that working from Cambridgeshire outwards. So Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Essex, all of those areas. Eventually, we could have one of those in all counties of the country. So that's the aim. And the reason for that aim is simple, as I know the benefits that the programs that I deliver bring to a few hundred children. But actually, if we could do that for hundreds of thousands of children, then that's a game changer. So that's what we're looking to do.  Interviewer: What are the benefits and why?  [00:13:53] Interviewee: Football's an interesting game, because you've got football participation for children and then you've got football participation for the children's parents. [laughs] And it's a really interesting one, we could easily do a podcast on parenting and football, which would be really interesting. Less than half a percent of children that participate in football then go on to become a professional footballer. Less than half a percent.  Interviewer: Especially in this country, because it gets taken over by the other internationals. [00:14:42] Interviewee: Yeah, that's it. And there's challenges around that. And again, that's another topic of conversation. So, loads of kids have the aspiration to play football and they see their idols on TV and they watch Tottenham play or whoever, and they're inspired by that. And that's great. That's brilliant. And they aspire to become a professional footballer, perhaps. But the opportunity is actually minuscule. It's tiny. Even the most talented might not necessarily make it. So my thought is that every single one of those children can have fun. Every single one of those children can develop social skills. Every one of those children can enjoy themselves, make their parents proud, learn how to become part of a team, how to be respectful to others and to their coaches. So it's life skills. It's just through football. You could almost strip away the fact that it's football. Football is almost for us the vehicle of child development, rather than football development. And the reason it's football is because there's such a huge passion for it. So it's a combination. It's almost like child development through football and there's all of those life benefits and life skills that it brings. Interviewer: My son goes to one of your classes and I'm just thinking of an obvious development, I can see he's improving in the game itself. But I suppose it's hard to measure when they're that young. Is it more measurable as they get older? [00:16:20] Interviewee: So what's really interesting is, I've been involved in football academies in England, started in the under nine age groups. That's eight-year-old children playing football, that play for a local professional club. The worst player in the under nines team, by the time they're 18 - old enough to sign a professional contract - could be the best player. They might have had a really early growth spurt. They might hit 12 and be tall and gangling and uncoordinated, but they might end up being the best players as they grow into their body when they're 16, 18. 20 maybe, even. And there's players that released by professional clubs, dropped down the leagues, play non-league football and rise back up at 25 years old. Interviewer: There's no set way that it happens. [00:17:07] Interviewee: No, and it's so immeasurable. It's a skill to know talent levels and spot progress. I would say the best way of measuring a child's successful development within football would actually be their progress rate, rather than their level of talent. So if for example, they could hardly kick a ball six months ago, but now they've got good levels of technique, they might still be - horrible term - the worst player within the group of children. Interviewer: But still, he's or she's a lot better than what they were. Interviewee: But because of the progress right there that's going on, they might end up being the best player in 10 years' time. And that's the thing, it's such a long game. If you do want to become professional footballer, and if that's the outcome, it's a really long game. It's a long journey from six years old to 20-something years old. Interviewer: So behavioural changes, I'm sure there must be many topics and discussions about this, how it actually helps kids who might be struggling in school. Maybe they're not so good at academics, and then they find some kind of meaning or purpose in football and what it does for their person, for themselves.  [00:18:22] Interviewee: I think it's the structure that it brings. Your son comes along on a Saturday morning, and the session that he is within is three, four-year-old children. And at the start of the session, they have a free play, 10 minutes at the start, where they come in, enjoy themselves, kick a few balls around. That's to settle them into the environment. At that point you'll notice that we always bring them in and sit them down. That's not because we want to show that we are the coaches, we are in charge, we're the boss, you've got to listen to us and all that kind of thing. We do that every single week religiously, because those children then get used to structure. They get used to the fact that they have to show respect and they have to listen. And if another child is talking and answering a question, they need their eyes on that child because they might have something valuable to say. So it's those kinds of social skills, life skills that come out of it and those kinds of benefits that it brings with it. Interviewer: That's good. James, I looked at a little bit of history of your past and you worked with Cambridge United Football and you were into youth development. And from what I gather, you really enjoyed that piece. And then you've got a different job within the same company and you didn't really enjoy that, because it was taking you away from what you loved, right? Interviewee: Yeah. Interviewer: So tell us about that little journey between changing jobs and then saying, "Hey, screw this".  [00:19:43] Interviewee: Okay. So, the process for me was from the job that I loved, Cambridge United, to where I am today, literally went in probably four steps when the job that I love and got loads of passion for and get up for every day and am really motivated for, a promotion into a senior role that was glitzy, glamorous... Interviewer: And you thought it was good at the time, right? Interviewee: Yeah. And was sold to me as, "Wow. What an amazing thing to do". And it was, it was. It was a brilliant thing to do, for someone that's got a passion to then have a job in management and business and all those kinds of things. Interviewer: But that taught you something then, didn't it? Interviewee: Oh, massively, don't get me wrong. I never have any regrets in anything that I do in life, because it will have taken me on a journey that made me realize that's actually who I am and what's important to me and what my passions are. So I took that job, did that for a year and a bit and worked across business development across the whole football club, hospitality, retail, ticketing, loads of different things, loads of different sectors and markets that I have not been involved in and learned a lot of lessons along the way. Probably realized that actually I couldn't have as big an impact in those areas as I could within what I could have in my area, which is giving amazing football experiences to kids. So did that, realized that actually I probably made a career defining mistake in taking that job. Because I then realized that I had lost my passion.  Interviewer: How soon did you realize that?  [00:21:17] Interviewee: Pretty soon. And then probably spent nine months, twelve months to come to terms with it. Interviewer: Thinking "What should I do?”, struggling with yourself?  Interviewee: Yeah, a little bit. From that point then, I left. I've been there nine and a half years, so I'd literally had one organization that I've worked for, apart from six months in America. Interviewer: You were part of the furniture there, weren't you? Interviewee: Yeah, absolutely. I'd literally grown in the football club, from a non-league club to getting promoted, to play Manchester United in the FA cup, I have had quite a really good period of history for the club. When I went on a journey of growth at the same time the football club did, and that was really good for me, took a job completely outside of football. And actually, what I was seeking at that time was the next stage, which was to be somewhere different and to be around a different organization, different structure. That taught me so many things because football is incredibly fast paced, 60, 70 hours a week, it borders on ridiculous on your lifestyle. Interviewer: But in all aspects of the club, no matter which part of the club you're working for, it's pretty much. [00:22:30] Interviewee: It's nuts, I can't even begin to explain what the football industry is like. This is nuts, a professional football club. Brilliant and the best learning curve I could ever have hoped for. But that's all I knew, from age 19 to 29, that's all I knew. So to take a step outside of that, to work for an [00:22:48] organization, I actually worked for the National Trust. A charity that looks after special places across the United Kingdom protects the heritage of the country. I was a consultant for them. And the reason why, probably my CV was how I got that job, I have no idea. Interviewer: Yeah, because it's football National Trust. Interviewee: Yeah, random, seemingly random. But the reason why they gave me that job was because they could see that I have passion for a cause. So I could speak passionately about the cause that I had within football and I could transfer that across to the passion of the cause of protecting the country's heritage. So, I worked for them, was there for a year, realized that I missed football and I missed giving opportunities to kids and create a big impact. Interviewer: So you moved away almost totally from working with kids, because at National Trust, we work with families, but you're probably speaking to adults most of the time. [00:23:44] Interviewee: Yeah, absolutely. And it's an internal job. So I was only dealing with people within, I was an internal consultant. So people within the company. So I then had a couple of years at Cambridge, not coaching, another year in that job, not coaching. And then I started a one-hour coaching session on a Friday night at Red Lodge Sports Pavilion. Interviewer: Where you just thought, "I'm gonna get back into this"? Interviewee: I thought "Do you know what? I live in a village. It's got an AstroTurf. I'm a qualified football coach".  Interviewer: [laughs] What am I doing? Interviewee: "Let's put on a session". So I put on a session, and then that turned into the Football Fun Factory.  Interviewer: Oh, we've got to hear more about that. So do what you love doing. This is what we're talking about today. Let's go back to that. So you're in this job, but again, we're not telling everyone, "Listen, quit your job and do what you love doing". It's not easy, some people, they might want to go parachuting. And how you gonna make a living from that, right? Interviewee: Absolutely. You can. Interviewer: You probably could, I think people do need to try to chase. It doesn't have to happen tomorrow. It doesn't have to happen next year. For me, I've always been into media and then I stopped doing media. And now I want to get back into it. And that's why I'm doing this. And you know, I've got aspirations of where I wanted to go, but I just got to enjoy every moment, you know? Interviewee: Absolutely.  Interviewer: We're enjoying this moment right now, enjoying the moment when it goes out and just not thinking about the "Oh, when it gets there, then I want to be happy" type of thing. So for you and your coaching, how did you follow that path? I want to get into your head about the decision you made, about saying, "Hey, this is it now, I want to do the Football Fun Factory".  [00:25:32] Interviewee: Well, there's an awful lot of good fortune that sat beside that. So the journey that went up from there is start one hour coaching session, in a village with 2000 people in it. I put on the session and it was full. Interviewer: Really? Like what, 10, 15 kids? Interviewee: There were 15 kids. So one hour coaching session, it was full. It was actually a session. I just thought, "You know what, let's just open the age range five to twelve and we will foster a coaching session. We had a five-year-old girl who'd never played football before, who really struggled, to be honest. And we had a 12-year-old boy who was really talented. Somehow we made it work and obviously that's the skill of coaching then, how can you create a session where you can do something where each individual can gain something from it? So I put on that session, that worked. I'm putting another hour in place, that became full.  Interviewer: How did you market it?  [00:26:34] Interviewee: Facebook groups. Interviewer: You said "Hey, I am putting a thing on"? Interviewee: Yeah.  Interviewer: The village groups are pretty powerful, aren't they? Because people are always looking at those village groups. Interviewee: And if people see something that they're not interested in, they'll tell someone that will be interested in it and they'll tag and call people and all those kinds of things. So, I started that. We now have 150 children in Red Lodge alone that train and participate with the Football Fun Factory.  Interviewer: So that's a tenfold increase.  Interviewee: Yeah. So that's happening over the course of a year and obviously, there's a finite number of children, that's not going to keep growing. I'm not going to have a thousand, because there's not that many people. [laughs] Although that is developing, every time they build more houses, I'm like, "Yeah, great". So, that's what happened there. I was then really, really fortunate that I was in a job where I had a good relationship with my boss and good relationships with the people in the organization. Interviewer: Doing the National Trust work? [00:27:36] Interviewee: Yeah, at the National Trust. So they offered unbelievable personal development opportunities, it blew me away. There are training courses, CPD programs, all sorts of things, all the time. I was like, "Wow, I've got more training next week. Brilliant". And I've never been in that environment. I'd gone from a job where I had none of that in 10 years to that thrown at me every couple of weeks. Interviewer: So during your Cambridge United football, you had to develop yourself? Interviewee: Yeah, it was too fast paced to even stop and think about your own development, because you're thinking about the development of the company. So yeah, it was too fast paced, and to be fair, the club had been on such an upward trajectory itself that there was no time to stop and think. It was like a start-up business, which was handy.  Interviewer: I was going to ask you about that, but I suppose we've gone off topic. Interviewee: We could easily, yeah. [laughs]  Interviewer: Okay, so the National Trust gave you this personal development thing, which is awesome. And then that helps you.  [00:28:39] Interviewee: So National Trust gave me loads of opportunities to develop myself. I was also in a job where I was massively out of my comfort zone because I was in an industry and organisation that I knew nothing about. It's the most complex organization in the world, I think. It's just nuts. It was brilliant for my development. Just missed that football fix and that child development fix that I needed. I could have easily stayed there and had a 10-year career there, easily. And been very happy doing that. But the bit of good fortune I was talking about was that I had an honest and open conversation with them and they said, "Well, if that's your passion, we want to keep you here as long as we can, but we want to support you and your aspirations". So they allowed me to set some stuff up outside of my working hours. They even tailored my working hours slightly so that I could then get to the sessions on time. They allowed me to book holiday to run school holiday courses. And then it built itself up to a point where we were just keeping constant dialogue and they just said, "Okay, we want to keep you for as long as possible, would it help if you went part time?" And obviously, when you're talking about someone having a passion and then doing that for a living, the biggest jump from there to there is that I've got to pay myself. I need a salary, I have to pay my mortgage. I was in the fortunate position where I was building up a business at the same time as I then became part time in another, in my job. So basically, they helped me transition from full time employment into full time running our company.  Interviewer: So as you're saying this, I'm thinking there might be a chance for people who are listening to do something similar. Interviewee: Absolutely.  Interviewer: Because I think most of my listeners would probably either have a job or be self-employed. So yeah, that's a fortunate position that you were in and it all worked out. I'm just thinking some people could do that. If you follow your passions and even if it's just a hobby and you want to turn it into a business, then just transition slowly, you think? [00:30:46] Interviewee: I wouldn't necessarily say slowly, but certainly transition at the rate which you need to. So that could be quite a quick transition. It might take five years to do it. The biggest thing I would say is, it then comes down to hard work. Because I was doing a full-time job. Interviewer: But a sacrifice somewhere. A social sacrifice? Interviewee: Yeah, absolutely. Because I was doing my 40 hours a week, which felt like a part time job to me, having been at Cambridge for ten years. I was like, "Okay, I've got all this spare time". So in the evenings and weekends I was then setting up my sessions and running my programs and taking holiday, but then working it, running my business.  Interviewer: Were you married at this time?  Interviewee: Yeah! Interviewer: Your wife was like "When am I going to see him?" Interviewee: So, there's two big things here, right? Two things. People think, "I'd love to be able to follow my dream and just start up that business". And they think they have to jump from full time employment to running a business. And they can't make that jump because how can I make enough money to pay my mortgage next month? When I went on that journey from employed to self-employed, effectively, I did that at a time where I had not long ago bought a house for the first time, just got married and spent a lot of money for the wedding. And we were about to have a baby at the time. So we've got a six month old now. So if you can do it in those circumstances, then it's possible to do and you don't have to jump from A to B. You just have to put the graft in and you just have to work really, really hard and do things in your own time. Interviewer: People need to know that what they're going to do, they're not going to give up on. So, for example, you might have an idea to do something that you love doing, but you think, "Well, I love doing a lot of different things. Which one should I choose?" But for you, fortunately, football coaching was your thing, right? So I think people just need to assess in their minds, "What do I really love doing? What could I turn into a business?" And then just go with that. And stay dedicated to that path. Once you decided, maybe stick on that? Do you think? Because you can't just throw yourself everywhere, can you? [00:33:05] Interviewee: No, no, no. And I think I'm unfortunate that I've had one real passion. And sometimes people, they're passionate about a number of different things and think they would like to run a business in, "Oh, I could run a business in this, this and this". I'm fortunate I've had one burning passion and that's me. That's just me. That's what I wanted to do. I think that the first question you have to ask yourself is, is it a viable business? I knew that it was, because I'd pretty much already done what I do now in a job for a number of years.  Interviewer: There's definitely a market for it. There are people wanting football training. Their parents want to send their kids.  Interviewee: If you take each program, school holiday courses, to some - we don't really market it as this and we don't really want it to be this - but to some it's childcare in the school holidays. I hate to think that, but it is. Interviewer: Do you do an all-day-course? Interviewee: Yeah, 9:00 until 3:30 and it's like a school day and effectively for some working parents that makes it a bit of a God-send, it's a solution. Luckily the children come along and have a great time and they want to come back. So even better for the parents, but it's more than just a childcare service. And we don't really like to think of it as that, but to some it is. That's never going away. In fact, there's going to be more demand for that than ever before, because people are busier and busier in their lives. Football is just the national game. People love it and people have got a real passion for it. And kids love playing football. When people inquire about the [00:34:41] program that we run on the Saturday morning, the first thing they say is, "Hey, she loves kicking a ball around in the garden", therefore they want to bring them to the session, because they just find that that's their child's passion at that time. And it's up to us to then just harness that passion. So the markets that we operate in, football coaching and an aspect of childcare, are not going anywhere. There's nothing that's going to happen, there's no recession. There's no Brexit. It will be here in 50 years, 100 years, 200 years' time. And if anything, I think that every aspect of business is becoming more experienced-led, in my view. So what do people want to do for an evening out with their friends? Are they wanting to go to escape rooms, are they wanting to have an experience rather than going out for dinner? Maybe. And people are going very more towards experiences than they are just the norm. And I think that the way that we do our sessions, it leads itself more to the experience market, because it's football with a twist. It's not just a football coaching session. It's a session in an inflatable pitch with a giant football and inflatable goal and a football dartboard and all of these kinds of things that nobody else really does. And that's the USP of the organization. So all of those things are never going away. So I knew it was a viable business. So because I'd had that absolute confidence, my mind was made up that I can do this. Which is a fortunate position to be in.  Interviewer: You spoke about, this is a good time for people to take the plans, really. I don't want to go along the lines saying everyone should start their own business, but even if it's just a side business, and you're happy to do your other job, the tech that's available to us nowadays is just so good. Although it does take a bit of money to start up, because I'm building my own website now, because I've got big plans for it, it's costing a bit more money. But tell us about these little tech tips that you can give entrepreneurs starting. Because you've just started a year ago.  [00:37:07] Interviewee: The biggest thing I would say is that you can run a business from a smartphone. Depending on the business, you don't necessarily need a laptop. And that sounds like a crazy thing to say. How can you run a business without a computer? But I do a fair amount of my work on my phone. And that's the way that entrepreneur-ism is going. You can capture, edit and upload your social media content from your phone. You can answer your emails from your phone, you can use free apps, you can capture five videos throughout the day, put them into an app and it creates a video for you. We use loads and loads of free apps or we use apps that we pay 99p a month for, and they do brilliant, brilliant things. My advice would be just to do your research, download loads of apps and try them all out and see which ones work best for you. I've got a photo editing app, where we put text over photos. iPhones now capture brilliant content, in terms of the quality, photos and videos. You can have blurred backgrounds and all sorts on the new iPhone and stuff like that. There's a fantastic app, where we literally select the photos and videos from the day, when we have a school holiday course, we capture loads of content throughout the day on a phone, we put it into an app and it makes a one-minute video that looks like it's professionally made. Interviewer: There's AI, just right there, in operation.  Interviewee: Absolutely brilliant. So my advice would be, obviously I talked about I started a business at a time where there are so many reasons not to and that's the biggest thing about entrepreneurism as well, there's so many reasons we just go, "But I can't because...", and for me it was that I just got married, just bought a house, about to have a baby, I can't do it. It's crazy. What if I can't pay the mortgage next month, what am I going to do? So if someone's 19 years old, if they were me, just before I went to America, living at home and no commitments, no mortgage, the phone bill might be the only thing that you have to pay or whatever it might be. Then my advice would be just do it. Just do it. Just try.  Interviewer: I wonder if it's the confidence in being able to say, "Well, I might not be the best coach". I suppose confidence comes over time, but you may find some younger people who are more confident than others. Because for like me, if I want to become the expert in my field and I'm thinking of what field I am an expert in, you know? I know what I'm good at. I'm good at fitness, I'm good at strength training. I know a lot about nutrition and I know about meditation and all those kinds of things. I'm thinking, "Well, am I really a professional in this field?" And I suppose it's just about finding that confidence within yourself as a young person saying, "You know what, I can do this". Maybe they lack mentors, maybe they lack people like yourself, who would be able to say, "Hey, you can do this".  [00:40:29] Interviewee: And to be honest with you, that goes on at different levels. I'm someone sitting here in my first year of business. So absolutely, if there was a young aspiring entrepreneur, I could sit down with them having a chat and sort of mentor them. But also, that's something that I've identified for me that I need to find a mentor and I need to find a coach and people did develop me. I think that's something that people are opening their eyes to a lot more now. Those people are really, really valuable, because the biggest thing about doing what I do now, the most exciting thing at the moment, is that when we begin to franchise and expand across the country, I'll be doing that with a business partner. And I'm really, really looking forward to doing that because it will be the first time where I can actually collaborate with someone other than my head. [laughs]  Interviewer: Have you found someone like a venture capitalist or something?  Interviewee: Not even that. It's just someone that basically I've known really well for a while. They're going to come on board, they're going to help me run the whole thing. And they're better at some stuff that I do well than I am. And that's what it's all about, surrounding yourself with really good people. And when people talk about a coach or a mentor, it doesn't necessarily have to be someone you pay loads of money to be able to do that for you. It could just be someone that you respect or someone that your dad works with that's got experience in doing what you do or starting their own business or something like that.  Interviewer: So I think, one thing I've learned is that if you want to find a mentor, look for somebody and serve them and ask what you can do for them. So instead of, "Hey, I'm looking for a mentor, can you help me?" Let's say I'm a young 19-year-old and here's James, "James, how can I help you? Can I help you coach?" So for young people listening, or people who are looking for a coach, it's go and serve, go and help those people that you aspire to.  [00:42:31] Interviewee: Yeah. And that's all experience, isn't it? It's not me talking about when I first began at Cambridge United, a young 19-year-old coach. I went and watched as many coaching sessions as I could, because all the coaches, they were better than I was. So what I had to do was go and watch them. So on that trip to Baldock, that I was talking about, that cost me more money to do than actually earn. On the way home, I'd then take a detour and stop and watch the academy train for three hours and then get home. So my nine hours working day, it cost me money, it was actually my personal development. It was my opportunity to go and see, you wait for qualified coaches at work and that's what I needed at that time. It's a compliment if someone said to you now, "I know you've got a podcast lined up with James later on in the week, I'd love to sit in and watch it and just see how it works".  Interviewer: Yeah, that would be a compliment.  Interviewee: Yeah, it'd be a compliment to you and I'm sure you'd say to someone, "Absolutely. Why not?" Interviewer: Yeah sure, push the buttons on the camera. Interviewee: Yeah, absolutely [laughs] Interviewer: If you can help us out, that'd be great.  [00:43:40] Interviewee: So all those kinds of things. If someone is thinking about, "I'd love to run a business. I know what my passion is, that's what I want to do, but I don't think I'm ready yet and I need to get an experience". Just ask people. Ask people, because people will take it as a compliment. If someone said to me, "I'd love an hour of your time once a month to talk about what you've done in the last 12 months, because I'm just about to go on that journey myself", I'd give him an hour. Absolutely. As long as they were respectful in the way that they position that.  Interviewer: Because you want to give back, don't you? Interviewee: Exactly, yeah. Absolutely. Because I wish someone would've done that for me.  Interviewer: Yeah, exactly. That's true. Because you're like, "I'll just do it for this guy". So James, just to end off today, thanks for being with us. Before you go, I just want to know, what does your day look like? Do you have a routine in the morning that you do or maybe it's not a routine, but how do you invest in yourself personally, at this point? Besides football and business? Do you invest in yourself in other ways?  [00:44:41] Interviewee: Yeah. One of the most important things out there is get up and go to the gym. And you might say, "What's that got to do with running a business?" It gets you into a mindset, it gives you head-space. So I drive to the gym, it takes me 10 minutes to get there. I've got that time in the car. I'm in the gym for 45 minutes, an hour. It gives me time to think. And actually, it's the one place where you can get the results and rewards as an outcome of your work, guaranteed.  Interviewer: You can see the physical rewards.  Interviewee: Yeah, so you go to the gym, you work hard, you get fitter. It's a really simple process. You can't really break them at all. Now in business it's been more difficult, in that you work really hard and you might not get results. But in the gym, you can. So I find that a really good way to get into a positive mindset for the day. I don't do that every day. I wish I had time to do that every day, but at least three times a week, so I'll go and do that. I'm fortunate that I work from home. I think that's a nice environment to be in, where you feel more relaxed. It's not so formal. I don't have to get up and have to iron a shirt to put on. I can get up at 7:00 o'clock and I can be working at 7:02.  Interviewer: You don't have to drive anywhere, you just walk to the office. [00:46:06] Interviewee: Down the stairs, yeah. So investing in myself is something I probably need to do more of and you need to find time to do that. Reading books I think it's really important. Again for me, something I'd love more time to do. Interviewer: And books on different things, not just business books. Books on spirituality, whatever it is. Interviewee: Absolutely, yeah. Books about passion and what your goals might be and all those kinds of things. So I think that everything you do in life can apply to business, actually. I think it's the one thing, or spending time with your family. So I give myself a Thursday off every single week. What does that do for me? The reason why I want to be successful in business now for me, I'm at a new stage in my life, I've got a six-month-old, a wife that I married a couple of years ago. And for me, I'm doing it for them. That's my inspiration. On a Thursday we go to swimming lessons, take my daughter to swimming lessons and it just reminds me all the time, when it's getting really hard on a Wednesday night and I'm on that AstroTurf and it's freezing cold and it's raining, I know why I'm doing this. Interviewer: That's so cool and while you were saying that, I'm just thinking there's always a question why. Simon Sinek said it, "Why, why, why?" And the 'why' you've answered earlier, you said you want to help kids have fun playing football and it's for their development. And at the same time, the 'why' is also for you personally, for your family, spending more time together. So there's more than just one 'why', isn't it? [00:47:41] Interviewee: Absolutely, yeah. There's five according to Simon Sinek. Interviewer: Oh, five, is it? Interviewee: The five why's. He said five why's and he goes into all that. I think it was him, it might be someone else. But yeah, it's the why, but then also having the discipline of when it gets tough, when things don't go as well as they could. One thing you need is resilience. And I think that's so important, because when you are, paint the worst possible picture. So I'm running a football coaching business and football is my passion, but we haven't got the numbers on the courses that I needed to get to run my business effectively. I'm standing there on an AstroTurf, the kids don't want to listen tonight. They're not interested. It's freezing cold, it's raining. And at the end of the session, I've got to pack all of this stuff away by myself. Put all the goals away, get into my van and drive home. Doesn't sound as glamorous, does it? I've sat here with you for half an hour to talk about what sounds like a really glamorous, brilliant way of life. And it isn't. It will be for me, but none of that is possible without resilience and hard work.  Interviewer: You have to go through the slur sometimes.  [00:48:48] Interviewee: Yeah, absolutely. And you go through that slur literally every single day. And there are so many ways where you could go. Somebody offered me a job, "Just take that nine to five and get holidays and whatever else". But if you've got real passion for it, I think you'll stick at it. And that's the key.  Interviewer: Chris Ducker says that being an entrepreneur can be a lonely business.  Interviewee: Oh, so lonely. And as I said earlier, when I've got someone on board to come and work with me on it, I can't wait. Someone I can have a conversation with. It's very lonely, very, very lonely. And again, that takes resilience to say... Interviewer: It's not always going to be like that.  Interviewee: Yeah. You'll get there in the end.  Interviewer: Yeah. James Cutting, it's been great having you.  Interviewee: Pleasure! Interviewer: Football Fun Factory, I wish you all the best in the future. Interviewee: Thank you very much. Interviewer: Thanks for being on the show.  Interviewee: Cheers, pleasure.

Massimo is a martial arts expert who has been training in kickboxing and other disciplines since the late 1970's. He started a blog about martial arts called http://www.martialwhat.com as he is so passionate about this type of physical and mental exercise he wants the world to know about it and engage. Martial arts, in particular, is very good for the body and the mind. Your wellness is greatly increased when you engage in any martial arts discipline. In this episode, we tried to delve deep into the psychology of this type of training and what it does for the mind. Resilience is something that can help you cope in times of trouble. Whether it be resilience against an attack on your body, like a virus, a disease or a big punch to the face! And then there is emotional and mental resilience, who wouldn't want to be mentally tougher and yet at the same time more loving!? If you live in the Cambridge area then check out http://www.salus-wellness.com to find many types of healing and physio or wellness treatments with Massimo's 79 practitioners If you are a martial arts fighter or contact sports person you need great mouthguards. Invest in top quality mouth guards here This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. #transformyourself #lifeshot #resilience