Your opinion matters less than the story...

 Today I was running. 

It is Sunday, my long run. 

The run that builds endurance. 

It builds stamina and everything I need to complete my marathon. 

I am not a fan of these runs, they are never less than an hour and a half at this stage, and any demons you have to wrestle show up right on time for a chat. 


This week while hitting that hour mark, I thought back to the book I wrote when I was 24 and became extremely disheartened. It covered my first-ever adventures across South Africa on my bicycle. 

My stories from the first trip were heavy, riddled with opinions, telling the reader what I was thinking and almost attempting to influence them how to think about me and my adventure. 

I cringe reading a lot of it. 

My second trip is funny, it is light, but streaks of depth and sadness sprinkle the pages occasionally. It was written more as a blog and thrown together. 

I like it more. 

 The second trip was with a friend. We rode for ten days and shared the best memories. I wonder how it could read so differently. 

It dawned on me this morning. 

I tried to tell the reader what happened daily instead of telling them what I was thinking. 

I was having so much fun, I didn't have time to over ponder everything.

Instead of lessons, I gave them events. 

Instead of an insight into my mind, I allowed them to draw their own conclusions. 

I gave the reader enough to imagine, they were on the bicycle with us. 

The reader could imagine, create and think whatever they wanted to. 

The best lessons are the "ah ha" moments we realise for ourselves, not the commandments of what life is and should be. 

Create it for yourself. 

You first Ironman? Why you should consider these 5 things.

 The sun hasn't risen yet. It's dark, looking down, there is a sea of bare feet. Some bounce up and down, some wiggle their toes and others are still. Everything seems like it is in slow motion when your senses are hightened.I look up as we shuffle towards the red banner overhead. To my right arms swing on the choppy ocean as they disappear into the darkness. We turn the corner and face the ocean, the barrier is now above me "Ironman Cork.' A Marshall holds his arms in front of me like a gate holding back a row of racehorses. "I must hold back, keep it slow.." I tell myself. 3...2...1...
I sprint towards the ocean, the sun is now creeping over the horizon, it's both the cold water and the beauty of what's in front of me that takes my breath away. 

29 Mins out of the swim

Mentally and physically It hadn't been a great year for me so far. As a personal trainer actively in the fitness industry I was preaching one thing, but doing the complete opposite. My health had deteriorated, I wasn't sleeping and I hardly had any time with my wife. I was burning the candle at both ends. My voice was lost, I felt I was losing everything that made me unique. 

Changing jobs was like a breath of fresh air, but not at first. It was scary taking the leap, people will always make you second guess your decisions but luckily I had supportive people around me, always encouraging me, reminding me of what was important. Having more time to train again, I needed to calibrate the compass, set a goal, and do something for myself. Ironman 70.3 naturally appeared in my social media feed. 

I had wanted to do it for years. I had friends who had done as many as 5 and had even coached many of my clients to successfully complete their own bucket list race. I signed up, paid and committed to the Youghal Ironman 70.3 Ireland 2022.

The training plan, to construct was simple, I had drawn up so many, it was a matter of adjusting my pacing strategies and copying it to my training calendar. Executing on the other hand, I quickly discovered was near impossible to stick to. This stressed me out to no end. As a perfectionist in my training, I soon had to let go and was only getting down to around 75% of my total plan. After an amazing family holiday and a not-so-amazing covid experience, that dropped down to 55 - 60%. My goal of a sub 6 hour seemed to be slipping out the window. 

So you planning on doing your first Half Ironman, here are some tips I would give you

Tip 1: Plan for disruption in your training plan. 

Work in the hours when you can, and be smart. There are 3 disciplines. You should know which is your weakest. If it is the bike, make sure you don't miss to many biking sessions, if it is the run, don't miss your runs. This gives you the flexibility to do the minimum work required to set you up for success. 

90km bike: 3 hours 

Tip 2: Running is the highest impact discipline...manage your volume. (If you dont know what that means, get a coach!)

Its easy to panic! "I have nnt done enough running, I need to increase my runs!" The total amount of work done in a week when it comes to running cannot be sighnificantly increased the next week without some risks. This is why making sure you have a coach to manage your loads and to adjust your training is key. I have seen so many atheltes injure themself in the followin way: hitting 2/3 runs in a week, saying to themselves next week they need to hit 3/3 and not realising that a 10km increase could be to much for the body to handle. Knees, ankles, tendons, ligaments and muscles take time to adjust to work loads. If you are a heavier athlete you increase this risk significantly more, dont be silly with your running load. 

Tip 3: If you can't swim, add a year to your plan. 

Swimming takes alot of time to learn before you can even consider getting fit! If you are planning an Ironman, add 365 days onto your plan to give yourself time to master the swim! Set a goal of doing small open water swim events that are supported by your local club. Confidence in the open water is different to being able to complete the distance in the pool. 

Tip 4: Your wetsuit is your secret weapon and the salt water is your best friend. 

Train as much as you can in the pool without training aids. If you have the confidence in the open water, trust yourself. Train as little as you can in the wetsuit and the ocean and I promise you, you will be pleasantly suprised how easy the swim will be. Having said that, you must be comfortable in choppy conditions to harness this effect fully. 

Tip 5: Under no circumstance neglect the brick run after your bike training. 

How do I know this? Well because I did the exact opposite. I did no brick sessions as I simply didnt have the time and the run absolutely destroyed me. The 21km run was my slowest half marathon by over 20 mins! Even if it is a 2km run after yoir bike sessions, 8 weeks out, try do this atleast once a week! 

The event is special. It is a day that thousands of reasons stremline into 1 goal for so many people. For somebody it is for a sick relative, for another a charity close to their heart and for another its something to prove to themselves. Standing at the start line you are bound to the course, it is a great feeling. 

Enjoy the ocean because when it's hot you are going to do anything to be bakc in the water. Enjoy the bike because on the run you would do anything to free wheel down a hill and rst your tired legs. Enjoy the run because in a months time you would do anything to have that feeling in your legs again. The opportunity to feel what you are going through on race day is a damn priveledge that the majority of the population will never feel, enjoy it!

Is Ironman worth it?

Can you imagine crossing that line? I think becoming an Ironman is an incredible feeling! Im hoping, or toiling with the idea to give it a go some day. 31 Years old now, Time isn't slowing down, it may be time to start putting a plan in place. 

Since moving to Ireland for my wife and I, it has been go, go, go from May 2021. The biggest challenges where sorting out the things we hadn't really thought about. Electricity bills, car insurance, road tax the list goes now. Having figured those things out and getting a general feeling of what salaries need to be made to keep food in the belly, we now feel as if the dust has settled. 

I quit my job in April 2022 to search for something new within SaaS, if you have no idea what that is, dont worry that was me 6 months ago. All the software you use to make life easier, better, more productive or just more fun has a team behind it. From Sales, to customer success and designing, these companies do some incredible things. 

After reaching out to some friends in this industry I decided to brush up on my CV and start applying. A 9 - 5 as opposed to a 6 - 10am and then 16:30 - 20:30 and sometimes 21:00 started to appeal a little bit more for the sake of many things. Besides not seeing your wife besides one day on Sunday is surely not how a life is meant to be lived. He work hours are 8:30 - 17:30 so it just made sense to be off at the same time. 

So that 9 -5 life starts on Monday with a really cool company! i won't say to much and will update you guys as it goes. Lets just say I'm looking forward to it. 

How is this all relevant. Well now, its time to look into some events. 70.3 Seems like the natural first step. 1/9km swim, 90km bike and a 21km run. I have done all of these in isolation. The goal would now be to throw them all together in a single event. 

So perhaps I should start getting my butt in gear and get this show on the road. Perhaps Ironman 70.3 will be a great goal!

Book Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

 Life is going to leave us behind if we keep thinking the way we do, acting the way we have and living like we did even a decade ago... 

Don't like it? Well neither did I until I started reading: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. At 30 Years old, and as Yuval explains, we start to become more stuck in our ways. We begin to form permanent ways of thinking and ideas about the world. I have always said, as I get older, its seems more difficult to grasp some of the adventures I tackled in the past. I can feel that happening in my life. 

If this is in anyway you, give this a read, we need to start exploring how to live as the future presents itself at our front door. 

An incredible book by Yuval Noah Harari, best book I have read in a about two years. 

Click HERE to see what other books I have read this hear. 

Yuval presents some of the oldest arguments to humankind. What will ware be about and how can be position ourselves to see objectively. Terrorism may take the form of technology in a way we have never seen! How do we recognize fake news? 

We have the opportunity to slow down and think about what the future holds. The jobs that existed 10 years ago do not exist today and the jobs that are going to exist in 10 years time haven't even been thought of. This book presents some crucial strategies to thinking about how we can position ourselves to succeed when these daunting challenges come. 

Instead of being frozen by fear, stuck in thinking and acting the ways we always have, we can take steps to recognize how we need to adapt. 

"You think you already know who you are. But once you realize "Hi, these thoughts aren't me. They are just some biochemical vibrations! Then you realize you have no idea - who - or - what - you are. This can be the start of the most exciting journey of discovery any human can undertake." Yuval Noah Harari 

Give this book a read! check this video if you are not convinced: "Why Data is so important" 

Why you will probably fail this year, again...

Theres 100 smarties in a jar, 92 will kill you, 8 won't, would you take one? If you dont any your chances in this scenario, why would you, when it comes to New Years Resolutions. 

8% of all New Years Resolutions come through, succeed and are seen to the end. What makes you feel yours will succeed? The chances are they wont, again, and let me tell you why. 

Your habits have been created over years if not decades. The things we do are so ingrained in who we are and by focusing on more than one thing to change at a time, its extremely difficult to get it right. Not because of your weak will power but because you still need to look after the kids, cook food, go to work, deal with all sorts of other issues and on top of that, you want to change your life. New you. In stressful environments we revert back to what we know. 

So, what do we do: 

1) Set 1 goal for this year: Set a goal that will change a habit forever, rather than setting extrinsic goals that often are left out of your control at a certain stage. For example, I want to loose 5kgs this year, rather say. "Instead of eating until I am full, I want to eat until I am 80% full for the entire year." What I like about this is that it is easy to see when you have failed at this, and getting back on track the next meal is easy. But the game of 5kgs is so up and down every single minute of every day. More so it can lead to completely disordered eating habits. 

2) Change the environment: If you are going to try drink coffees in a bar, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you are going to "not drink" with a fridge full of beers for guests, you are setting yourself up for failure. Triggered moments lead to a habitual way of reacting to things. for example, I get stressed out, I walk to the fridge, I grab a cupcake, I eat it, before I know what I have really done its to late. Whats the problem? The freaking cupcake in the fridge, if there was none there and you need to drive to the shop, its an opportunity to think about the decision. Set your environment up for failure. 

3) Get support around you: Your partner needs to know where you stand. Peer pressure is the major killer of resolutions, nobody wants to go down alone. If you can successfully overeat on foods that are making you feel terrible and leading to weight gain, along on the coach every night while your partner is eating an apple looking great with full energy each day, chances are you may change some habits. The problem comes in, when a partner can seemingly eat whatever they want and not gain weight. The other partner then also justifies why they can eat whatever they want to. In the end we need to take responsibility for our actions and sharing wit our partner what our "habit" changes are for the year. They are more than welcome to indulge in what they want, its their journey, but to "offer you" to join them is not okay, they need to know they are disrespecting you. Would a wife offer her alcoholic husband a beer after 3 years of not drinking? We should see everything like this. " The more support you have around you, the easier it will be. 

Good luck, write down 1 goal that is a non negotiable for this year! And stick to that. Because 92% of your resolutions will fail! You are not immune to statistics that have been looked at for years, so be clever about your planning! 

Raise others up

Reached out to somebody the other day when it came to training to offer some assistance. They are a pretty good athlete and a leader in the fitness industry. I admit, the assistance wasn't asked for at all, was really just putting in some input. The person was so incredibly rude justifying how great and how right they were when it came to their training.

Sat there and was quite upset at first because why intention was to help, then realized:

1) I was wrong for trying to help, it wasn't asked for. Not everybody wants input sometimes people just need their ego stroked

2) Not everyone has a teachable attitude when it comes to things and when we reach out to help we should be aware of that

3) Those that dont want help, usually dont help and assist those around them either, that I found to be very sad

If you are a leader when it comes to anything, business, training, life anything, you are being looked at from people hungry to "be like you" instead of seeing that as an attack on your ego, realize that them getting better, is not taking away from the many things you have in your life. Nobody cares about your spiritual hash tags and holy you are, they care for your ability to "be" something you say you are, not "pretend to be" something you say you are.

The Power of Enduring in our lives: Sabie Bicycle Experience

 In a culture set up for for rewarding results over effort, lets be the people to make the change. 

A quick example. A student studies 4 months, day and night for his matric final maths exam, he takes extra lessons, misses some parties and just digs into the work. He has struggled the whole of high school, scraping through with 45 - 50%. Student B is coasting through the work, usually a straight A 90% student. 

Exam day comes and goes, both wait anxiously for the results. Student A lands a 58% passes and is able to now attend a course he wanted to take after school. Student B 83%, passed with flying colors, A! 7 Percent left than he usually gets, with little to no effort. At prize giving, student B stands on the stage, student A gets nothing, is never rewarded for his effort. We can debate for ages on who actually wins in 10 years time, but that is not the point. 

This weekend I attended a 3 day bicycle race through the toughest routes South Africa has to offer. The town of Sabie, in Mpumalanga South Africa.  360km on tar, over passes with over 7000m of climbing. I was out of my depth! Seeing cyclists rock up on the start line with their skin tight clothing and hundreds of thousands rands worth of bike, you could see these ladies and gents had invested a lot of time and effort into this sport. I was about to be destroyed. 

I had entered this to test myself again to practice my patience, endurance, my efforts in the physical and mental side of sport yes, but also life. I was so nervous. I hadn't done a bicycle multi day event in years and the training build up had not been ideal. 

"This is a Tour, not a race." that was the motto of this event. Comforting but still scary. 

Me and my bike, best friends...sometimes.

I coach many clients whose goals vary from looking good to completing Ironman. Some have 50 years of exercise left in them some 20. Some young, some old. Some perform at a high level and some simply want to be healthy and prosper, but a common theme for all of them is consistency and endurance. When results are extrinsic (getting 80% and being called on stage, seeing a 6 pack in the mirror, or your friends noticing your weight loss) many fall off the bus, become unmotivated, even become despondent with training. But for those who grasp the result and make it intrinsic (how you feel about yourself, being able to do something you couldn't before, comparing yourself to yourself) these clients have no end! They go on consistently for years, chipping away at the "Tour". Its not a race, its a tour people. 

A tour of your life, to forge the best human being possible, in mind, in body and spirit. How do you want your life to look, what do you see yourself doing? Its important to ask those questions because the road to ill health and diseases is paved with no intentions. Its important to be intentional about our exercise and eating because it is the fuel that will lead us to live these large lives where we are able to function with full energy at a high level in what ever we chose. 

You results of your previous years of exercise count for nothing if you are going to ride on the back of your results. Yesterday doesn't count. Today does. If we can start rewarding effort and intention over results perhaps we will be less judgmental on ourselves over our results and more consistent in our efforts. 

Day 1 was the pits. I finished my 105km day with cramps, pain and suffering. I was straight to the physio for a rub down and into a cold pool wondering if I had bitten of to much. I had spent the day trying to keep up with people, pushing up the hills until eventually I cracked and was extremely spent by the end. During race briefing for the next day I remember thinking, "If tomorrow is 150km, Im not going to finish," and thats not really what I came to do. I had to stop racing. 

Day 2 begun and my goal was to go slow, be persistent and finish the day. Everybody left me behind, I was by far the slowest. In the heat, I dragged myself over 2000km at 90km and was about to begin the final climb, the mammoth Long Tom pass. I cannot explain how slowly I went, pacing myself slowly but surely getting to the top. When the top came I was ecstatic, I had done what I had come to do. I rolled into the finish after a long descent, hours after everybody had eaten their lunches and had their naps. It was 4pm about, only the race organizer waiting for me, possibly worried one rider hadn't come back. The joy in me was one that I had everyday while cycling across Africa, moment I had long forgotten. I had these feelings flooding back to me, relishing in the hard moments and knowing that on the other side it always built a little bit of self belief. 

Day two: 3000m of climbing and a tough day out, 38 Degrees. 

Day 3. Rain. Mist. Cold. Scary downhills and shivering bodies. A whole new challenge had arrived. The cold. Get in a car, get comfy, crank up the heat and coast to the end. Along with that option comes no reward in my mind. I was freezing, my hands cramped up on the brakes down every turn trying to hand onto the handle bars while also trying to avoid skidding round the slippery corners. Was it worth it? In my mind of course it was. To feel the cold is to feel alive, to realize how fragile we are but also to discover how resilient we are. The more we seek out discomfort the more we are able to adapt to difficult situations. 

After all the time on the bike. I eventually crossed the line with some friends I had made on the trip. A great feeling, conquering what you had set out to do. I came home last again, slowest but extremely happy that I had learnt a lot more about myself. 

For those looking for things to be easy I encourage you to seek out discomforts and put yourself in situations that are hard. To slowly turn up the difficulty to teach yourself to be more resilient. Walk 5kms, the next month do 10, build it up but try always to challenge yourself. If we can do this in the physical it will teach us to do this in the mental and emotional. The challenges we face in our daily lives are perhaps and extension of this. 

Get out there. Challenge yourself. Endure! 

"Through endurance we conquer." Ernst Shakelton

We can't Jelous our way to success

We can't "Jealous" our way to success or "Jealous" somebody out of theirs.

Insecurities in our lives happen for various reasons. Our pasts have more influence on us than we know. Im going to speak about some natural things that maybe happen when other people start gaining success.

Lets say somebody has come into some money, a better job, a sporting success, anything, you name it, the thing you really want that badly. We want it to right? So we immediately think of thats unfair, I wanted that. I think its a natural survival of the fittest deep wired caveman brain thing. That guy hunted and got a deer to eat, I want that deer by any means.

We are not Cavemen anymore and sometimes we need to realize the way we evolved and moved forward was our ability to reason, to share, to adapt and to create new ways of doing things. (Although amidst Corono and how it started we would think that we have gone so far backwards and maybe we have)

But anyway, back to it. Our first reactions can be

- undermining someones success: ah well they had a rich family and his dad owns the company. He was lucky to get an education. He just got lucky.

Somebodies "luck" or what they have achieved doesn't take away from your life, do you know that? Who the fuck cares what luck they have come across by you voicing it and trying to undermine them has it made that situation become yours? Well Bob you are right, he had a great education and got lucky, maybe we should give you the job, thanks for telling us.? Hell No. Its not the way it works.

What affirmations are you looking for in your life that you are looking for so hard that the very thing that was robbed of your life, you are robbing from someone else?

Perhaps nobody told you, you were good enough, now you continue to break people down.

By giving people, what you didn't get (not physical things or money etc) support, you can come across a great realization. That you can be your biggest fan. You can be your own encourager. You can believe in yourself.

Try it! Try and give to people what you never got, especially those looking up to you, see how the world changes. Will you gain success from it, maybe, maybe not, but sometimes gaining confidence, peace, courage are greater than gifts of many other things!

Try to give a little today. Be truly happy for one another success. We are, because others are, if the tribe is strong everyone is strong. Encourage and have somebodies back today rather than letting Jealousy creep in and steal your happiness.

COVID/CORONA and rising from the ash

Harry Potter...anybody else read them? Some of you are saying "Hell Yeah" Im sure, some of you have just thought about not reading further. Well just hang on and Hear me out.  Im reading The Chamber of Secrets now and Harry is sitting in Dumbledore's office and see's the Phoenix, which is mythical bird, turn into flames, die and fall into a heap of ashes. Are we there yet? In some countries I feel so.

The Covid Virus or more commonly the Corona Virus is sweeping the world by storm. Everyday we are hearing thousands of cases being reported and the death toll rising tremendously. We are in uncharted territories where shops and public areas are being shutdown and many are struggling for basic supplies. The world Market is falling into a depressive state and people are losing their jobs. Closed, banned, prohibited, social distancing are all terms that are becoming common lingo for us earthlings. The bird has been burnt, its in flames, we are falling into that pile of ash.

I own a gym, yesterday we decided to spring clean and disinfect our whole gym. This left us an opportunity to exercise outside on the fields we have available. We don't do this very often, and the members love it. We trudged some kettlebells and dumbbells outside and hit a 38min workout in the great outdoors.
While Im watching people to make sure they are doing the movements right, I look around...
People have stayed after class and are chatting. Families are playing with their children. Some people are kicking a ball around. My friend Steve (yes that is his real name, I know most people make up names to hide identities haha) has pulled his car round to the field and is playing some music in the background.
And all the while the most picture perfect painting is being put together all around us. The most amazing g reds and yellow beam through the dark blue sky. Theres parts of the clouds that are dark and the light is becoming golden. Every colour is on its best, the reds are darker, the blues are deeper and the darks are highlighting everything.
This is what its all about, people, the people around us making life better in everything. I believe people can be the greatest problem but they can also be the greatest solution. Here we are, I close my eyes and take a mental screenshot of whats transpiring around me. It inspires me.

Suddenly everything that was worrying me fades away, the stresses and uncertainties fade away. I feel a whisper into the deepest darkest chambers of my entire been "Its gonna be okay."
I fight it, how can it be okay, what is okay, the virus, people dying, the economy collapsing. How is this okay.
I realize, the comforts we have know to love and live by are only okay because they are usual. The unusual scares the shit out of me! But it is okay.

Its okay to be burnt, fall into a heap of ashes...to have everything fall apart! Because its out of those ashes that we are cleansed. That we start to discover what is the most important things in our lives. People, family, friends, relationships. Community, love, kindness, solving a problem together. Being a support...having support. Seeing the sun, smelling the grass, hearing nature. We are in a strange time.
We need to embrace the fall with an attitude of arising! Through the ash comes a new creature. A new opportunity a new chance to change the way we can live. In these times we need to show empathy, put our hands up and support each other. May pride in this time be washed away, may no color or race or income group be superior, because quite frankly, the virus is leveling us.
By leveling us, many have realized that their identity lies in things that can fall away instantly, even a job is not your identity.

Your morals and who you are will be tested in these times. Time to discover what humanity really is.

Stay safe out there everyone
Peace
Kunjani

Holy Hell on Netflix: What to learn from Narcissistic Sociopaths

Cults, ever been in one? I hope not, that level of manipulation is crazy but, hear me out, I think this documentary can shed light on many different types of personalities. The Manipulator or the dependent person.

Holy Hell is a documentary that follows a Cult Leader who manipulated his followers and even led men into willing sexual assault, Im not going to spoil it for you, go check it out here if you would like to see it: Holy Hell

This documentary blew my mind, shit shakes, people can be crazy.

Be warned though, this shit is pretty disturbing.

So I was shocked after watching this and then realized, shit, I know people with these personalities, and you might to! Those people that make you feel so good about yourself, that feed your ego, that give you advise, that you feel bad about not consulting when making a big decision. That kind of make you feel connected to them on this string. Hmmm, now I got you thinking didn't I? 

Another good book to read if you feel you are bien manipulated by powerful people in your life is Snakes in Suites. A fantastic read that should illuminate to you, that you cannot beat people at this game, you will lose!

This is an excellent read 

If you are dependent on people for your self esteem you are in grave danger. 

I have watched a couple of these documentaries on this and have compiled a bit of a watch out list for you to determine if the thing you are in is bad: 

1) They Isolate you: 

They turn you against family and other fiends with their extreme advise, that seems to make so much sense to you. They like to isolate you from their other close friends and could even bad mouth people to get you to not like the people around you, besides they are the only ones you can trust. Be careful because they are doing this behind your back as well 

2) They Always have something to gain: 

From something like money, to something as simple as your influence or time. These people are benefiting a lot from having you around. You may need to pay them a fee that they have made up as a non existent membership contract. (Explore the idea of this, it can take many forms) 

3) They make you dependent: 

You cannot make decisions without them. They have information kept away from you to make decisions about all sorts of things. They could even be paying you a salary or hold a secret over you to make you not able to leave

4) They have your secret: 

You have told them something, this something may not even be true, but they have twisted you to a point that you have divulged to much information, if you turn on them, they could destroy you 

5) They decide if you should feel good or bad: 

They feed your esteem and control you. They want you to be good, do well, survive, but they don't want you to thrive fully, they want to hold the chains and keep you back 

So you may not be in a cult but you may be in a relationship like this and it may be effecting your life more than you know. If your religion has isolated you, perhaps your religion is a source of this manipulation. You couldn't possibly leave or walk away because then surely you want have access to the salvation they promise you, you will surely not be protected? You will surely die...This sounds absolutely absurd...in hind sight perhaps yes. But do you really know what you are doing. 

To the people who are these people. Shame on you, although that falls on absolute deaf ears, because these people have no conscious what so ever. 

The Balancing Act Called Life

To make some sort of life in this world all of us need to specialize in something. It used to be a University Degree, but now it can take the form of a Trade or specialized skill to become a professional in your field. Doing this can set you up in life.

However, we can be sucked into this and loose so many aspects of life. Recently I have been so caught up in running my gym, sorting out budgets, finances and Planning for the future. I have also been training really hard and making sure my rest and recover is on point. I would love to visit international Sanctioned CrossFit events and chasing something like that takes a lot of time. Yesterday though I got pretty shaken up.

I send my sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the family of the man who was shot and killed yesterday in Witbank. I didn't know any of you and don't pretend to, but just know that your story has shocked our town.

In order to save time, when I dropped my girlfriend off at work yesterday, I decided to take my running shoes with and go for a run when I got there. I had running intervals on the menu and it took me about an hour and 15 minutes to complete. Unbeknown to me. A block from where I was running a man was she and killed in his own house at 8:30 or there about in the morning.

I didn't know until later that day when everybody at the gym was telling me. It shocked me.

I started to think about the man, his family, his life his goals, and of that I know very little so the only logical similarities I could draw was with my own life.

Would I be content to walk out of this world now?

I must have stopped typing for at least 10 minutes thinking about that question and still I try to convince myself yes, but deep in my heart I still say, No.

The stress of your field of profession could have pulled you in so far that you have forgotten about the small things around you. The things that used to give you a sense of adventure and joy. I can feel it. And let me tell you, I am living my dream, I am in a job I am completely passionate about!

So how does this happen? if you figure it out, please tell me. But, I think, it starts in the future...the worry of it leads us so far into things we have control over. Much of our life is hard work yes, and it pays off, but much of it is half chance. Losing a contract, stock market crashes, government instability, death, so much can change over night, so much that can leave us at the will of outside circumstances. So we take out insurances and policies to hedge against it, spending money and energy on the unforeseen future. If you know me, you know I stress about the future, i am the first to try save and plan and as I get older i do it more.

But what if, we could take the foot off the gas once in a while. Take a weekend away. Plan a trip, do something you love, do something special with somebody you love? Will that destroy your whole world? On the contrary I think it may recover a sense of ourselves that we haven't seen in ages.

Today Im not giving you advise...I am rather giving myself advise, and if you would like to write some advise to your older self that you will be thankful for, well do that!
But here goes: To Myself:

Never forget that life can change instantly whether you think you are in control or not. Don't forget to use the 24 hours in your day to smile. Don't forget to look inside yourself for guidance, you know yourself the best, stop caring to much about other opinions of how you should run your life. Love yourself, look after yourself and then trust that the guidance you set yourself will lead to a thing of beauty! Take time out to review where you are going and if you are on the path you want to be. Find something in life you love and enjoy and never forget it, you owe yourself small pleasures because in these pleasure you can serve the world in your job even better than you already are, because you will be happier, you will know more and you will understand more.

I f you had x (years, days, months) to live, what would you change now...it may not even be an external change, it may be a way of thinking.

Peace.

7 days in Swaziland with R70

Two years back, I set out on a mission with a friend to try and explore as much of Swaziland as possible in 7 days with only R70, or R10 a day which is less than one US Dollar per day. WTF were we thinking?

Just take a look at the map so you can follow the journey with me as I write it:

It started on a Monday morning while everyone was rushing off to work, myself and Zakkie Odendaal were catching a lift to the Border Gate closest to Mbabane. We had one night planed out which was the first night. We would be staying at Legends Backpackers, kindly organized by our good friend and owner of Swazi Adventures. 

Although our means of transport worked out pretty well, we had by no means organized it. Besides our lack of form, holding our thumb to the sky directing the gestures at pretty much any vehicle we could find, the friendly drivers of Swaziland seemed more than willing to pick us up. The first time you catch a lift hitch hiking your short life flashes through your mind. Will my mom miss me, will my family find my body and have I lived a good life? The second time you are a little more comfortable and by the tenth or eleventh time the driver is probably a bit more nervous about picking you up than you are to be picked up. From all the places we had travelled we could have probably spoken a hole in most drivers ears by then. 

But lets rewind. We got to the border and hitched our first ride into the capital. From the lifts we caught on the first day to the back packers, I was most impressed with the young Swazi's  men ambition to make money, do business and change the world. Quite embarrassing actually as I was now for a week, choosing to go into poverty to see life from a different perspective. It was very difficult for them to understand how I would choose something like this. 

We stayed one night in Mbabane and then hitched a ride South through Manzini and then towards Big  Bend where we found a friend of a friend (thats how it goes when you are meeting so many people catching lifts) who offered us a place to stay with him and his wife. They stayed next to a game reserve where Tal (the husband) was a manager on a private reserve. It was a lovely little place, peaceful and full of hospitality. We even got to experience a Sugar Cane Fire Harvest, this was spectacular. Watching the fire lit from all sides of the field and then seeing the flames roar into action creating a thermal spiral sucking air into its core and feeding the beast was simply breathtaking. 

The next day we were in search of a road North to where we heard about a place where we could sit on top of a mountain and have our one foot in Swaziland, or other leg in Mozambique and our back in South Africa. Everywhere we looked online couldn't tell us if this place existed, even locals thought we were crazy and had never heard of it. So we went in search of it ourselves, which is something we hardly do anymore in this online internet driven world. We hitched possibly 4 rides before eventually heading off the main road, tracking our gps up the closest mountain we could see that hinted at these border points. We climbed and carved new tracks up the rocky hills and tall grass until we eventually got to the top...and there it was. We were now looking into all three of these countries. Something I will never forget. 

Back home at Tal's place we sat around a fire having dinner while sharing stories of a truly amazing day. Then, we were off the next day in search of the Northern farm lands, waterfalls and luxury resorts. Of course we couldn't really visit any of these with our R10 a day. Budget check so far, we had spent hardly anything over the first three days and had R60 still left, the help and support of strangers was seeing us through 

On My Bicycle: Cairo to Cape Town in a Podcast

I cannot believe how freaking long it has taken to get all this posted but finally the full audio series/podcast is out on sound cloud and iTunes.

So why has it taken so long? Well that could take a book in itself to explain. I think after cycling the 10 526kms across Africa I was on this high. I was going from radio interview to radio interview, speaking engagement to the next and being the scenes my life was kind of falling apart. Everything around me was changing. When the dust finally settled I felt so unsure of myself, so beat down by life that I felt like complete shit. I suddenly wasn't proud of anything in my life.

Find your way again, it will be the greatest thing you ever decide

And then you grow up. Time does that and Im grateful that I had it, many peoples lives end long before they find any clarity or meaning. I was fortunate enough to have that time to wrestle with ideas I had harbored for way to long.

Some Advise: If this is you, if you are in the biggest hole you of your life perhaps try some of the following

1) Cut off the dead branches: 
Don't get me wrong, you are not cutting people out of your life because you think you are better than them or because you don't need them. You are doing it for other reason. You need to hear your own voice again. Dive deep into your thoughts, your passions and who you are. So slowly withdraw from the people you need to

2) Find Help: 
Do not find a spiritual leader for help when you need help with psychological things, it will only confuse you more. Go to a professional who can guide you in the right direction.

3) Time: 
Don't make to many decisions all at once. Take your time, grow in stature in your new role in life. Learn to trust the person you are becoming, I understand that is hard, but if you have taken a step back and decided to start making conscious decision to improve life and the things around you then its time to trust the new you.

Just some tips and thoughts on that, theres many different ways to skin a cat, perhaps find something that helps for you.

So here it is, the podcast finally! Go enjoy it and let me know what you think. If you want any questions answered email them to me, will be happy to address them in the next podcast keeganlongueira@yahoo.com

Listen to the Podcast here: Cairo to Cape Town  (sound cloud) or follow the "Podcast Link" on apple

This is what the podcast will look like on Sound cloud

What I learnt from my year of business: 5 lessons

Millions in the bank? Nope. Plenty of failures? Absolutely. Worth it? Of course. I never dreamed I would have my own business, I have always been the joint owner of ventures. Last year I stepped out on my own and I have learnt some huge lessons. 

This is what the gym looked at before I ever opened up. There was tons of equipment to move and a lot of cleaning to be done. I thought I would never be ready in time. 

On 1 Septemeber 2017 I opened the doors of my new gym in Witbank South Africa. I was tucked into a large workshop building a local school had no need for. The floor, a rugged, wrecked paint job on a concrete floor. The roof, a flaking damp polystyrene covering. The windows were cracked and broken. I had some close friends help me drill a pull up rig into the wall as well as put up my barbell rack. Besides that I had very little besides the dust on the floor and a big open space. I was terrified. On the Friday I opened I had three member start training with me not many had backed me in succeeding in the venture. Something in my heart was sure, I loved this, it was my passion to give to people this gift I had discovered while training at my old CrossFit Gym. 

I got some equipment and with the help of some amazing people who believed in me, I started putting everything in place. You can even see the floor not painted. I wish you could see the dust. 

1) Trust Yourself: 

If you have done your research, put down the original investment. It is time to trust in your own abilities and walk forth in the dream for yourself. Others may doubt you and even slander your attempts but trusting yourself is key. There is nothing like standing crouched down in an attempt to lift a heavy weight above overhead in a technical weightlifting movement and a couch shouts out "Trust yourself" its the same here. The results and small things will fall into place. 

I started coaching some youngsters from the school in preparation for their rugby season. I coached so many school kids and classes I just had about 5 outside members in my first 3 or so months. 

2) Start with what you have: 

Being over exposed financially is very draining. You do not need millions of rands worth of equipment to start coaching and helping people. A space and an opportunity is all you need to help someone shed 10 kilograms, get fit and change their lifestyle into one of health. Start small and start simple. 

3) Always put back into the business: 

Each month I make it a goal to add something extra to the gym. A dumbbell or two, some painting, some renovations. The members see this and appreciate you investing in the place they train. People start offering help and advice to make the place they train look good. People look after their equipment. 

Over the course of the year I slowly started adding equipment.

4) Look back once in a while:

To see how far you have come is probably the most rewarding thing ever! Take that time to celebrate the small successes. While aiming for the stars, don't forget to see how far you have travelled from earth. 

5) Be thankful and humble: 

Everything is given by grace and can collapse overnight. The economy could collapse, an earthquake could destroy a building. Always switch of your light of your business when you leave and be thankful for every thing you have. You have not conquered anything, it has only been entrusted to you for a brief time. 

Some of the members training

I have a member who through hard work and diet has lost over 45 kilograms. This week he lost another 5% body fat in one month and is making huge strides towards changing his life. The moments looking into his eyes and seeing him able to reclaim activities in his life, those are the moments you are so grateful to be part of the fitness industry.

Getting to help people get fit and in shape is one of the greatest joys I have. 

You are what you are thinking

We all have 7 days in the week. 7 days to balance, love, life, work and surviving emotionally on this planet. Sometimes things get tough, yesterday was one of those days that I just needed to step outside of myself to connect with people and listen to stories of peoples lives. Do we really care whats happening in peoples lives? I promise you, that if you would take an interest in somebody else's story, you will be blown away by their inspirational stories. 

If you want to be listened to, listen genuinely to others. 

As a fitness coach I have many people walking through my gym door on a daily basis, as somebody who likes to train and stay fit as well, giving so much of oneself can become quite tiring especially if you lose perspective of what you are trying to do. For example, there are so many books out there to show you how to get rich, by building relationships, connecting with people and more. Steps to gain success by manipulating the world to how you want it to be. 

I believe these things will lead you to a certain level of success until the universe and everything in it calls your bluff and motives and quickly many things come falling down around you. I can't remember the last time somebody took an interest in my training, asking me how things were going for me and what sort of projects I was getting into and perhaps that started to bother me a little. Victims mentality started creeping in. Me, me, me, I, I, I...not on an extreme level but I so badly just craved a bit of affirmation and encouragement I gave my athletes on a daily basis. 

Last night during one of the classes, on the way to take a break during a class, I got a glimpse of the most spectacular sunset through the dark clouds. The sun lit every air particle around me, painted it a shining red and yellow as if somebody in the heavens was directing a torch light over our town. As it got darker, the darkness slowly gobbled up the colors until specs of autumn red and orange sporadically dashed across the horizon. " A purpose" thats all that I was thinking. In the midst of all my thoughts I realized that the scientific methods and biological make up of every leaf, tree, spec of dust all engineered this planet to sustain life. And me? I was on it. We are on it, we get to be here, a fleeting moment in time. How much of that time are we spending thinking badly, feeling sorry for ourselves or being negative. 

Just one sunset can make all the difference

Now trust me, I haven't conquered these ways yet, not even nearly, but I am striving to everyday become a better version of myself. Its the journey, and the admitting of "not quite being there" that leads us on the path of growth. It isn't criticism of others or ones own circumstances that leads you forward but rather a positive change in ones mind that can hep you appreciate every minute in the day we are gifted with. 

I started reading this book "As a man thinketh" recently by James Allen. The book got me thinking about what happens in my brain everyday. We cannot be granted the things we hope for, wish for or pray for if everything else in our mind opposes it. Fear's kill out progress quite literally. Doubts end our hopes in their tracks. Hate, criticism, selfishness all lead us to a path we would rather not be on. 

I encourage all of you to give the book a read. Its only 44 pages and has the ability to change the way you think about a lot of things. 

After the sunset, I started to listen to stories about the New Life Children's Home for Foster children in my town, about some of my members daily challenges at work and in life and all of a sudden felt incredibly emotional so much so that I needed to step away. We all have purpose and there is something that all of us are made to do to help on this earth. The size of that task, in comparison to what we think is a noble calling must drastically change if we want to be effective. Simply starting where we are, not blaming circumstances for our misfortunes, doing what we can do with what we have will start to make the biggest differences in many peoples lives. 

If you think negative and feel you are sabotaging your own success I suggest the following: 

1) Pick up a helpful book to read and commit to your journey to better thinking 

2) Challenge yourself on your way to work to chose 10 things you are thankful for 

3) Listen to somebody, be there as a friend not to offer advise or to reply but simply to listen

4) When you have a bad thought, try spin it on its head and think positively 

5) On your way home from work think of 5 things that were positive in your day

6) Start looking for what is good rather than the bad and everyday your life will slowly change

7) Take time out to watch an inspiring movie or documentary that will encourage you to be more thankful, here is one that I am watching at the moment: Fish People 

An incredibly inspiring documentary to watch on Netflix

Helping the Gorillas in Congo: What you can do

Chance? Iv'e never understood exactly what it meant, perhaps because Im not entirely convinced thats how things go. If we agree it exists, then it was by "chance" that this weekend I stumbled upon an incredible documentary on Netflix called Virunga.  Watch the trailer here

This movie had a huge impact on me

For months I have passed by this title not really sure what I was missing out on. Virunga is a National Park, the oldest in Africa at that, in the Congo. Having myself, travelled to Congo for a medical mission with Operation Smile, the first 5 minutes hooked me immediately.

I could relate with the countries hardships, the m23 Rebels, the exploitation by foreign companies, because I had in fact heard these stories told in person many times. If you haven't watched the movie, I suggest you go check it out, because I don't want to give to much away.

Many Rangers have died trying to protect the Mountain Gorillas

However, its Monday today, and as I sit here sipping on some freshly brewed coffee, the idea of many of our animals on this earth disappearing starts to haunt my thoughts. There must be something we can do? And there is...

I haven't really got involved with animal causes before because I always thought there are professionals who have dedicated their lives to helping specific species, I mean how could I assist them. Only now I have realized I can help by doing what I can in my home town to spread the word.

I am now a father... on Friday I became the proud father of the Mountain Gorilla, Kundurwanda who is now 5 years old. Yes I adopted the little guy! Okay fine, it is only a symbolic adoption, and perhaps I won't spend many years with the Gorilla and share personal memories but to me the idea of directly helping a disappearing species on earth made me so happy, and we all can do it. Here is how:

I am not the proud symbolic father of this little guy

Help save an Endangered Species:

1) Choose a species: you love that is on the endangered species list in the world

2) Commit to contributing financially to these animal annually or bi annually. (This an be a small donation) a thousand small donations makes a huge difference.

3) Think about adoption: You can symbolically adopt an animal. You can then print the certificate and put it up at your office I am sure it all trigger many conversations. Use the picture as a reminder of your small commitment to helping the wild life on this earth.

4) Spread the word: email and share the news and ask your friends and family to make symbolic adoptions. I challenged my girlfriend to adopt and endangered species and she has chosen a beautiful "Sloth" to commit to contributing towards.

The Three Toes Sloth is critically endangered, imagine the world without this beautiful creature

We have the power and influence to do small things to help this earth. The damage we done may be irreversible but the thought of having our kids grow up not knowing what a Gorilla, whale or Rhino is, breaks my heart. On top of that, the coral reefs disappearing is spelling disaster for the whole earth.

We can so easily get pulled into a world where we are so focussed on ourselves and our goals that we forget that there are animals that could use our help. I am one of them. Running a business, training and social life can often draw you into your own selfish little world. Remember, people have people to help each other, and circumstantially depending, themselves. Animals only have us, they cannot defend their territories alone.

Plastic bags: Solving a problem

We have invented, crafted, engineered, for our connivence must I say, something that will last longer than even coal, a commodity once thought to be a renewable resource.

A couple of years ago I visited Madagascar, a beautiful country off the East Coast of South Africa. I was volunteering for humanitarian work with the Mercy Ships Organization, literally a floating village and hospital traveling all around Africa helping the sick and those without access to good medical care. A day before I left myself and the headmaster of the school on the ship headed out onto the ocean on Stand Up paddles. It was a beautiful day, we rode the ocean and eventually wandered into some lagoons in land. The filth from litter, the smell and the plastic bags floating on the water not only saddened me but shocked me, I had never experienced this up close. A fantastic coastline loosing its ocean life through this.

A picture from Indonesia, not very different from what I saw in Madagascar

A plastic bag takes 1000 years to decompose. I don't know how many people you know who have just turned 1000 but the statistic should scare you if you have any consideration for the generation growing up.

I don't think our parents gave a shit about our earth, and I don't think our generation is doing enough either to see the reversal of the damage we have done. Each generation, caring only for themselves, has possibly sent a future generation into the most miserable and testing times any human has ever seen.

Some of the items which pollute our oceans the most

Let me just start by saying I am a Hypocrite! I have used plastic bags, I have left taps running, left light on in houses, driven petrol cars, smoked, you name it. I am by no means the greatest ambassador for making these small changes. Should that stop me from trying to make small changes? Should that cripple me from making any beneficial change for a generation to come? I think not. Every small difference I believe can make changes.

Money, consumerism and the market on a whole has created a need for plastic bags and everything really that does damage to the environment. Its a two way street, customers are willing to use/buy which means shops and sellers are willing to order which makes producers willing to continue the cycle. I suppose I don't blame them, I mean if that was your source of income you would need to think hard about leaving the industry. I don't think it started here though.

I believe if we put pressure on stores, they will have to listen

In the world everything is developed from an idea. A consumer has difficulty carrying their groceries, the store that offers a more convent way to transport groceries to the car and back to the house becomes the market leader. Perhaps you have to pay for a box or a crate, the store that creates the cheapest and most convenient way to carry your goods naturally becomes a first choice. To give it cheaply you need to make it cheaply regardless of the effects on our planet. So what do we do?

I have absolutely no idea, but I'm sure somebody on this planet may have a solution. Here is some basic information about the situation on plastic bags all over the world. Click Here
And here is a list of countries that have already banned plastic bags. 

Countries that have banned or partially introduces tax on plastic bags, tax is not enough. 

Recently on 5fm, presenters shared information on Woolworths possibly being the first store to ban plastic bans completely and phase them out. This news excited me, only to visit the store a week later and discover plastic bags still in full circulation. I think every customer can put pressure on stores to make this decision. What my girlfriend and I have started doing, where possible (as I say I am a hypocrite) is the following:

1) Refuse plastic bags at stores (even if the cashier has packed it in a bag, ask them to unpack it)
2) Take recyclable plastic bags when shopping
3) Look for "greener" companies to but goods from, online or in stores, stores that have box packaging instead of plastic.
4) Ask: "When are you getting rid of plastic bags?" If every customer says it every day, management will sit up and take notice.
5) Refuse straws at restaurants or shops: These are one of the biggest pollutants of our oceans

Whales dead from eating plastic

SIGN THE PETITION: Help the NZ government get rid of single use plastics, Click here: Sign

Its sad, not much can be done, but seeing whales die on beaches from plastic inhalation, is some of the saddest images I have seen. There is hundreds of images around the world of plastic pollution on beaches destroying out ecosystems if we can only be aware of it, perhaps we can make small changes and influence others to do the same.

Some ways and strategies to keep our oceans clean.