Author: Martin Rooney

Whether you are a trainer, therapist, teacher, parent, athlete, co-worker or boss, you are also a COACH.

I believe everyone is a Coach.  Whether you are a parent teaching your child to ride a bike or swing a bat or giving a co-worker confidence before a big presentation, we are all coaches for someone.  To be a great coach is not just about the X’s and O’s of a sport, it is also about the ability to bring more out of a person than they thought they were capable. A coach is there to inspire and instill confidence in his or her players in order to do his or her most important job: to believe in these players when they don’t even believe in themselves.

While you can agree many athletes are born with physical attributes that can lead them to greatness, a great coach requires much more than natural skill and talent. You may understand training, rehab, nutrition, and how to run a practice, but there are some other skills and mindsets about coaching you need to learn that you may have left unexplored.

If you can agree coaching is one of the most important jobs in the world, why is so little time is spent on educating people about the skills and mindsets necessary to improve as a coach? Although you probably meant well when you became a coach, this does not mean you have been armed with the appropriate information to guide you to high-level coaching.

Coaching is a skill and the world needs better coaches.

Unfortunately, what I found is there is not a lot of education out there about being a great coach. Exactly why I have dedicated over two decades of my life to coaching and the reason behind why I created the Coaching Greatness programs, because the world needs more great coaches and it is my purpose in life and mission to do my part to help produce them.

With two different courses composed of over 100 videos totalling 25 hours of content, you will see Coaching Greatness is unlike any other online program. Because Coaching Greatness examines the less explored, yet necessary strategies needed to become a more effective coach, you will gain an advantage over those that lack this information.

During Coaching Greatness, you will gain the inspiration to stop waiting and become that coach and for the next few days, until 9am on Friday 12th, you can register for both Coaching Greatness Courses at over 50% discount. Click below for your discount and to learn more.

(full details, click > here)

The best coaches in the world aren’t just the ones being paid millions at top professional and college teams.  They can also be helping a kid you will never hear of through a tough time or saying the right thing at the right time to a friend that needed to hear it.

Coaches are in the trenches everywhere and regardless of their Win/Loss record, they are in a position to make a difference. Check out the Coaching Greatness courses and I promise you will not only have a greater appreciation of what it means to be a coach, but also a roadmap of things you need to do to make an even more positive impact.

Yours in Strength,

Coach Rooney.
Full details of the Coaching Greatness programs can be found here:
www.coachinggreatness.com/home/

Over the last 20 years, I have delivered hundreds of speeches in over 30 countries around the world. I have had the opportunity to talk to groups of people as small as two and as big as five-thousand. I don’t write that to impress you, but to impress upon you whether it was a Fortune 500 company, professional sport team or sales meeting with a couple, I always treated each presentation as equally important. As a result of that consistent desire to succeed and improve as a presenter, at every one of the talks I always learned something new.

This very week, two years ago, I decided to share all the lessons I have learned about public speaking, and the process I use to deliver “standing-ovation-worthy” presentations.

After painstakingly compiling the information, a number of months to eventually shoot the information on video and build the step-by-step manual, Presenting Greatness was born.

I now know this project is one of the most important I have ever undertaken. This project is so important because not only will anyone who uses Presenting Greatness be a better speaker, but the results of the messages they are now better able to deliver can positively improve the world.

I couldn’t be more proud of the result of all the hard work. At over 60 videos, Presenting Greatness is a library of everything you need to know from planning to performing at your next event.

I created Presenting Greatness to teach you the “secrets” I have learned while sharing the stage with top presenters over the last two decades. What I didn’t expect during the process was that I would discover even more of these secrets. I go into much greater detail on the course, but here are some simple, yet provocative and profound “secrets” I have learned about presenting that can help you:

10 Presenting “Secrets” You Need To Know

1. Your audience will not remember much of what you said. But they will remember how you got them to feel. Learn to make them feel great.
2. Your presentation is not really about you. You need to remember it is all about your audience. Give them things that make them better and you will succeed.
3. Share with the audience what you want them to do, not just what you know. Your speech will be more successful if you are more concerned with provoking change than just being entertaining.
4. Although powerpoint is helpful, you are the most important visual aid. Make sure you work on your attire, posture, and presentation skills.
5. Practice may not make perfect, but it will get you more applause at the end of your talk. Find the practice methods that work for you, develop your routine and stick to it.
6. It’s normal to be nervous before a presentation. A little adrenalin is a good thing. It shows you care and will make sure you put in the work. If you are too nervous, see #5 above.
7. You might not be as funny as you think. Make sure you really know your audience and your material before you try to add jokes and humor.
8. You may have heard “it’s not what you say, it is how you say it.” Don’t believe it. Successful presenting is what you say AND how you say it. Learn both.
9. You may not like to hear it, but every presentation is a sale. You are either selling them or they are selling you. Working on your sales skills is a must.
10. The most important and most difficult presentations to sit through will be your own. Video and feedback from others will be painful at first, but necessary to improve over time.

Speaking is a skill. Once you understand things about presenting like the points above, then you have to actually put them to use. In Presenting Greatness, I take you step-by-step through my process to make sure you take action.

If you always wanted to be a better speaker, this is your chance to take advantage of the TFW Summer Sale to get a huge discount on Lifetime Access to the entire course and learn how to present with greatness!

Until the sale ends you can get the full Presenting Greatness course at a $600 discount when you sign up here: www.presentinggreatness.com/join/

Would becoming a better presenter help to enhance your career?

Could you benefit from a proven step-by-step process to inspire any audience?

I have discovered becoming a better presenter can help you:

• Make more money.
• Increase your confidence.
• Enhance your credibility.
• Spread your ideas.
• Create more sales.
• Inspire more people.

After helping hundreds of people to improve their speaking skills, I guarantee once you access Presenting Greatness and follow my step-by-step blueprint, you will become the confident and powerful speaker of whom you have dreamed. Whether it is a five-minute speech at work, selling an idea or product or at work, or standing up in front of 1000 people, Presenting Greatness will have you prepared to shine.

I look forward to sharing my speaking secrets to help you help more people.

Speak Inspired,

Martin Rooney

Register here: www.presentinggreatness.com/join/

Sorry I have been away for a couple weeks.  I have been walking the same strange path as you have and through that storm, I have a great gift to share with you that can help.

As you might imagine, I have been busy spending a lot of my time supporting my network and family.  Between zooms, podcasts, private calls and spending time with my family, however, I have also been spending time trying to figure out the best answers how to weather this storm.

Like you, I have been looking for clarity and craving a way to regain control.  I have longed to “return to normal” and examined dozens of scenarios hoping to precisely predict what is going to happen in the future.  If you have been doing this like me, you have discovered there are no “sure bets” and every scenario in this current battle between the economy and humanity poses new challenges.  But by looking too far forward or backward I only caused myself more confusion, anxiety and pain.

When I started to return my focus to the present, I was reminded of my greatest power.  And when I regained this power, there is one thing that has started to come more clearly into view.

I have seen something hazy up in the distance.

At first I thought it was a mirage.

I wasn’t sure what to believe.

But now I know it to be true.

The OASIS is coming.

And today I am going to share the gift that this OASIS has taught me.  You will learn how an OASIS can provide the three things we need most right now to weather this storm:  Patience, Faith and Hope.

And where did I learn about the power of the OASIS?

On a trip to the desert of course!

A few months before being locked down by the COVID-19 virus, I took a trip to Kuwait. When I travel, not only do I want to teach my courses and meet new people, but I also want to try the unique foods and experiences that a culture has to offer.

So, in addition to sampling the food, trying on the customary clothes and attempting to learn words of the Arabic language, I also wanted to venture outside the modern cities and see the desert.

On the drive out to the desert, I was given the mask I am wearing in the photo above. I now wear it when I venture out of my house at this time as my reminder not just to prevent the spread of a virus, but also to promote the spread of something else. Even though the mask wasn’t created for the COVID-19 virus, it was created for a storm.

A sandstorm to be exact.
Although I had only heard about them from books, I thought sandstorms were the things of legends.  But unlike flying carpets in the desert, a sandstorm is real.  Sandstorms can be incredibly blinding and choking.  They create a confusing environment and you don’t know which way to go.  And coupled with the searing heat and the unknown of how long the storm will last, a sandstorm can steal your hope while filling you with anxiety and fear.

But in the desert, there is another thing that I have heard of that can defeat the powerfully negative effects of a sandstorm.

That is the OASIS.

Even though a sandstorm or the debilitating heat of the desert can leave you depressed, confused or giving up hope, just a glimpse of the OASIS in the distance can change everything.

Just seeing or reminding yourself the OASIS is there can immediately change that fear and sadness into happiness and optimism.  And making that internal change can also deliver the strength and energy needed to carry on further until the OASIS is finally reached.  Almost like magic, an OASIS can provide a reservoir of positive energy you didn’t know existed.

And the most important part about this transformation of mind and body that I want to share?

You are still in the storm when you make it!

Here is the gift I have for you today:  The power to change how you think and feel is always inside of you!
Even in the toughest challenges you can have the faith, hope and patience necessary to seek out the OASIS.

Right now, many countries and U.S. States are already starting to see the OASIS more clearly.  Places are starting to lift some of the restrictions.  As faith and hope are increasing, I just wanted to write this to make sure as you get back to your life, you don’t miss the important lesson from this experience.  This is not your first storm and it won’t be your last.  But armed with the ability to control your thoughts, you will be more prepared the next time you go into the storm.
If you are unhappy now, it is not due to the COVID situation outside, but because your own thoughts inside.  So, your freedom isn’t found inside or outside of your home, it is first found in your head.
And what is the best way to give yourself some of that freedom and faith right now?  By performing what I call a little “Thought Surgery” on yourself!  Just like a surgeon removing some unhealthy tissues from the body, you have to act like a surgeon and delicately remove the negative thoughts that are having cancerous effects on your mind.

Instead of a scalpel, I suggest you use questions to cut out of the negatively and expose the positives that exist in your life right now.  By continuing to ask the following questions each day until the OASIS is reached, you will be better armed to battle against what the storm with throw at you.  Just like no one becomes a surgeon overnight, you will have to practice these questions over and over until they become automatic.  These 5 questions will force you to find the good in the moment and provide the energy you need to keep fighting the good fight.

5 Ways To Be A Positive “Thought Surgeon”

1.  What is something to celebrate today?

2.  What or who am I grateful for today?

3.  What is something great that can happen today?

4.  How can I be of positive service to someone else today?

5.   Who do I want to be when I emerge from the storm?

How did I discover the freedom on the inside?  By traveling through a number of storms over the years on the outside.

You don’t have to get “back to normal” in order for you to experience peace of mind.

The OASIS is your reminder that peace of mind, energy and hope are always available.  You just have to believe.

You just have to see it.

Can you see it?

Because believe me, it is there.  You will get through this storm.  It is my hope you are able to use the questions above to help you at this tough time to emerge from this storm as a person you can be proud of.

Stay strong and stay safe,

Martin

P.S. Another great way to fill your mind with positive messages and thoughts is to pick the right books to read.  Thousands of people have been inspired by Coach to Coach at this time and the world needs you to be a better coach to others more than ever.

I know my new book can help you.  And I promise the easy-to-read format will pull you in and give you a great sense of completion when you finish.  Let it help you battle the storm.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY OF COACH TO COACH

I know you may be experiencing fear right now. I wrote this for you to help.

Because today’s theme has to do with change, I wanted to begin with something different. The following poem began as my usual 1000 word piece and then I challenged myself to reduce to its pure essence.

I had fun “pruning” this 110 word gift for you. The change was difficult at first by actually became enjoyable with practice.  I cut until I could cut no more yet still leaving the truth to remain.

This act of change not only forced me to discard what to leave out, but also to better understand and value what was left in.

WINDS OF CHANGE 

You’re out of control.

Your direction is unsure.

Your future is unknown.

You feel alone.

Welcome to change.

Change is hard.

Change creates fear.

Change is the inevitable constant.

Wishing life could stay the same?

That’s not how it works.

You can’t go back and can’t stay here.

Not now.  Not ever.

You can’t run.

Anger and blame don’t help.

Face fear and it shrinks.

Stand tall and hope grows.

The pathfinder’s strategy?

Change with change.

Adopt fresh action.

Do something new to be someone more.

Release the past; embrace the new.

Change is a strange paradox.

You have to LET GO.

Only then to HANG ON.

CHANGE ALL YOUR CHOICE

If there one overarching lessons the last few weeks have taught, it is surely when you get knocked down, you have two choices: STAY DOWN or PUSH YOURSELF BACK UP.

At first, staying down may seem safer and easier. Yes, resisting change requires less energy, but it also means you have given up hope for using the experience to come back stronger.

The more time you have after a knock down, the longer you have to assess the situation.  When you make your assessment, you have two choices again: you can either look for OBSTACLES or OPPORTUNITIES.

At first, the obstacles may be easier to imagine. Yes, obstacles can be seen as something to stop you from changing, but they also are put there to see how bad you really want to overcome them. Obstacles can force new strength to emerge if you choose to view them instead as an opportunity to change.

When you start to look for opportunities after a knock down, you will become empowered.  When your desire to rise from the ashes grows, so will your ability to make the correct change all great people have made throughout history:

In order to get back up, the greatest people of the world have chosen to:
Make their greatest WEAKNESS into their greatest STRENGTH.

Make their greatest PROBLEM into their greatest POSSIBILITY.

Make their greatest BREAKDOWN into their greatest BREAKTHROUGH.

Make their greatest SETBACK into their greatest COMEBACK.

But none of this will happen for you until you choose it to be so.  Changing your attitude and your response right now is your greatest super power.

Will you stay knocked down or are you going to get back up?

Time to make your choice and remember there are consequences to both.  And which choice you make right now will ultimately determine the “role model” you become.

YOU ARE ROLE MODEL

Right now, even though you are not on the sports field or at the workplace, you have probably found yourself coaching more than ever.  And as I have talked about for years, you have learned a big challenge for a coach is to take someone from KNOWING TO DOING!

A Coach isn’t there just to get people to know what to do. The job of a coach is often just to get them to do what they know.And the best form of teaching for a coach is BY EXAMPLE.

Over the last 4 weeks, I haven’t just written about how to set and stick to a schedule, make some of your weaknesses your strengths and to LEAN IN to the current challenge, I have lived it. In fact, as you may have heard from other people lately, I am more disciplined and working harder than ever. Why? Because a coach is a ROLE MODEL. And right now the people you need to inspire most are with you 24/7.

Here are 5 suggestions to be a better Role Model right now:

Be BETTER instead of BITTER.

Be WORKING instead of WISHING.

Be TEACHING instead of TELLING.

Be INSTRUCTING instead of DESTRUCTING.

Be a VICTOR instead of a VICTIM.

Your victory over this challenge will be internal as much as it is external. That victory will not be a result of hope or luck. It will only happen after you put in the hard work a role model must endure: hard work on YOURSELF.

1.  Before you get someone to BELIEVE in you, you must first BELIEVE in yourself.

2.  Before you get someone to WORK for you, you must first WORK for yourself.

3.  Before you get someone to be ACCOUNTABLE, you must first be ACCOUNTABLE to yourself.

4.  Before you get someone to CARE, you must first CARE for yourself.

5.  Before you get someone EXCITED, you must first be EXCITED yourself.

Another week is about to end. Are you excited about the next one? What are you going to do with it? How or where are you going to improve? Will it be your diet, training, work skills or relationships? Will you improve in your fitness, family, or faith?

I challenge you to get your plan for change together for this weekend.

In the time it has taken you to read this you have changed.

Although change is often difficult at first, I promise if you do the work, you will be happy with who it forces you to become.

Yours in Strength,

Martin

P.S.  Maybe one helpful thing to change is your reading habits.  Have you read a book in a while?  Are you intimidated by reading? Well over the last few weeks I have had dozens of people tell me Coach to Coach was the first book they have read in a long time…and loved it!

Coach to Coach is an easy read with powerful messages you need right now.

GET YOUR COPY OF COACH TO COACH HERE

For years I have said, “Everyone is a coach and a coach has the most important job in the world.” It’s unfortunate it took our current circumstances to validate this idea.

But the person you need to coach right not might not be who you think.

When I started my book Coach to Coach with, “The world needs better coaches,” even I couldn’t predict how badly great coaches would be needed at this challenging time in the home. I could also not imagine how having been a great coach to either your family, athletes, business members or employees could be such an asset right now. Although you are learning that being known to your people as “their coach” (in addition to “mom,” “dad,” “boss,” or “friend”) is impactful, there is an even more important person who you need to coach right now if you are going to win the war.

War?

Yes, you are in a war right now and this war requires you to fight a daily battle. Win enough of these battles until this current challenge is over, and you can emerge a winner. The battlefield is no longer at work or the sports field and your fight is no longer with someone else. Since you have been quarantined, your battlefield is within your home and your biggest opponent is yourself.

The sole objective of the daily battle?  To coach yourself up to defeat the person you were yesterday.

When I got involved in the martial arts, I thought the purpose of my training was to beat up someone else. Instead I eventually learned the true purpose of my training was to defeat myself.

In order to coach myself to beat back my fears and insecurities, I needed to develop courage and discipline. This ability to smash my self-doubt and negativity did not come easy; it resulted from hard training and consistently being consistent because of passing a simple, daily test.

The Rooney Mirror Test

If you are an apprehensive test taker, the good news is this test only takes a minute, doesn’t have a risk of physical pain and can be taken anywhere. The bad news is that there are no “make-ups” and cheating is not allowed.

How to take the test:

At the end of the day, while looking yourself in the eye in a mirror, ask yourself the following 5 questions:

1.  Did I exercise and develop my body today?

2.  Did I eat well today?

3.  Did I learn something new today?

4.  Did I make someone feel better today?

5.  Did I take a positive step toward a major goal today?

The scoring is simple. If you answer “yes” to all 5 questions, you pass. If you answer “no” to any of the questions, you fail. Although my grading may seem harsh, by missing answers, you will be forced to work at what you missed the next day. I guarantee if you add up a few weeks of passing days in a row, you will be a better version of yourself. I also guarantee, however, if you consistently have failing days, you will not look like a winner when this war is over.

This test requires 5 characteristics you must develop during quarantine:  Discipline, Consistency, Honesty, Responsibility and Accountability. For the test to help you improve, you must be disciplined enough to make it part of your routine and consistent in its daily application.  By looking yourself in the eye, you must also be honest with your scoring and know that if you didn’t do your best with the day your were given, you must hold yourself responsible. Finally, by stating what you will accomplish on the following day, you get the opportunity to hold yourself accountable.  By taking this test and examining your current weaknesses you will be given the keys to unlock your future strengths.

Will it be easy? No. Under our current circumstances, each day is going to attack you with new challenges. There will be new doubts. New fears. New obstacles trying to trip you up from passing the test. Your choice while coaching yourself will be to either use these obstacles to beat you back or push you forward.

As people are asked to “do the right things” to beat this virus, another thing I has become more apparent: The success or failure of the world will ultimately depend on individuals. And right now, every individual is being asked to be better than yesterday. Yes, world and community leaders need to step up, but in your role as a coach for both yourself and others, I am daring you to step up too.

Each day is a new battle that ends with a test.  Use the mirror test not only to see where you are, but also to see what you can become.  You must fight hard today to achieve a passing grade.

The reason I wrote Coach to Coach was to show there is more than the technical side of coaching.  Now you will learn more than ever that coaching is not just about “brains.”  Yes, when you are coaching up yourself, think with your head;  but when you are coaching up someone else, love with your heart.

A great coach is rare.

That is why people rarely forget the ones they had.

Be THAT great coach for yourself today.

Then go be THAT coach for someone else.
Yours in Strength,

Martin

P.S. Whether you like to read or listen, Coach to Coach is now on audio too!  This is a perfect time to grow from the stories and messages in the book.  Like thousands of others reading it right now, I promise you will love it!

GET YOUR COPY HERE TODAY

This week, I learned two powerful lessons about how to better approach our current challenge from my 7-year-old daughter. The first started when I was going through the daily ritual of washing my hands with her and she said something that affected me.

After washing her hands with our new and longer process, she touched a chair and said, “Watch out for the CORONA dad!”

What affected me wasn’t the fear there was some virus on my furniture.  I was intrigued how her interpretation of the word CORONA was so different than mine.  And I wondered what future generations will associate with the word moving forward.

I was always taught that you should really understand what a word means to you before you use it.  To be clear, when I think about CORONA, beer is not the first thing that comes to mind; instead I imagine UNSTOPPABLE POTENTIAL.

When I was my daughter’s age, the CORONA didn’t have to do with a universal event we all hid from; it had to do with a universal event we all wanted to see.

Back then, I was taught a CORONA happened when there was a total solar eclipse. Like most young kids, I was very interested and intrigued by such a celestial event.

Ironically, when there was a CORONA during one of those events, my classmates and I were also given instructions about safety and special things to wear on our heads.  But instead of our lungs, we were reminded to “do the right thing” in order to protect our eyes, knowing how important they would be for the future.

Those eyes I protected from damage back then have allowed me to see many things over the last few weeks.  Not only have they opened up windows to how low someone can sink during times of panic, but also how high people can elevate during times of great challenge.

Yes, during our current universal event, things have been blocked.  But just like when the moon completely blocks the sun, it’s great power is still visible through the CORONA.  The CORONA is a reminder that the sun has not gone away; it continues to burn as bright and will return soon.  The CORONA is the sun’s reminder to appreciate all of its benefits and beauty when they are gone if only for a short period of time.

Speaking of time, this type of event, like our current situation, is something rare and temporary.  But in both cases, how we choose to endure them will be according to what we do and don’t appreciate during that time it is there.

Know this first CORONA lesson: it is a law of nature that there will be an inevitable glow caused by high potential and powerful energy of the thing being blocked.  And even when something big is blocking your path, potential and energy will always find ways to get around it.

Right now, you may be blocked from going to work, dining out, seeing your friends, enjoying some hobbies and getting to the gym or your favorite places of worship.

But even when you are blocked, your energy can still visible.  Right now is the time to be the best version of yourself for your family and community. Your positive energy, good attitude and continued development can create different type of CORONA to make contagious for others.

Like the light and heat from the sun, your energy is powerful and necessary too. Now is your chance to make sure that your  goodness shines through.

And one way we are all being asked to shine is through a new concept of SOCIAL DISTANCING.  My second lesson is even if you have been staying at home, you may still be practicing “social distancing” the wrong way.

With your current “new normal” in place, there are things from your life you have been missing. This is to remind you not to unnecessarily add even more of things to that list.

Where did I discover people have a “SOCIAL DISTANCING” problem? I was out teaching my same 7-year-old daughter to ride her bike.

As I was walking alongside her on the sidewalk, another person was walking in the opposite direction.  We both correctly practiced our “social distance” by maintaining a wide berth, but when I gave the person a smile, I noticed they looked the other way and missed it.

He totally and voluntarily took away the simple and social benefit of a smile.  

Right now we may have to be practicing SOCIAL DISTANCING, but that doesn’t mean you have to practice SOCIAL DISREGARD.  Although you are being asked to distance yourself from other people, you should not be distancing yourself from certain social things that you shouldn’t.

Because social distancing is unnatural for people, I wanted to share some ideas to make sure you minimize the bad consequences while doing a good thing.

The problem people may have with understanding the difference between social distancing and social disregard is because of the word “SOCIAL.”  I don’t think leaders should have called the process “social distancing.”  Instead I think it should have been called “PHYSICAL DISTANCING” because that is what we have to do.

Unfortunately, some people are removing the “social” aspects of their lives along with the “physical,” and that is not only unnecessary, but also potentially detrimental.

In fact, we all need to be more “social” than ever.

When I think of the word “social” I think of seeking or enjoying companionship.  And as I have experienced with all my good friends from around the world, companionship and a feeling of connection can happen outside of 6 feet.  As you are currently experiencing, connection and liking people can happen on a Zoom, FaceTime or from a call, message, or text too.

SOCIAL DISTANCING should be interpreted as staying apart with our bodies, but there are still ways to connect and bring us all closer with our minds. The current term of SOCIAL DISTANCING represents staying home and away from others to keep everyone safe and well, but you can also keep everyone safe and well by closing the distance in other ways.

Now is the time to reach out to people you haven’t heard from.

Now is the time to thank people for ways they have helped you.

Now is the time to ask an opinion and just sit back and listen.

Practice these and you will learn a great listener or grateful person can still exist over 6 feet away.

Human beings are a social species.  In fact, it is our working together and staying connected that allowed us to take over this rock called Earth.  And sticking to our social nature now will allow us to continue that rule regardless of the challenge we face.

Connectedness doesn’t just happen by standing within too close of a physical radius.  Here are 5 ways you can still use the human anatomy and social skills you have at your disposal to make that connection:

You can still look people in the eyes.

You can still open your ears and listen what someone has to say.

You can still use your facial muscles to smile.

You can still use your neck muscles to nod in agreement.

You can still wave your hand to let someone know they are acknowledged and important.

And even after using those 5 classics, you can try a new “corona-inspired” method we have been using in our house: you can open your arms from a distance and throw an “air hug.”

Speaking of in the home, if you are missing the physical distance with others right now, I have an even greater challenge you may be forgetting.  I challenge you to take advantage of the time and space you have with your immediate family.

Now is your chance to close the distance and dish out more high fives, hugs and pats on the back.  Those forms of contact according to our “new quarantine rules” are not only still allowed, but encouraged.

Finally, in addition to listening more to others as a way to be “social,” now is also an important time to listen more deeply to yourself.

If there is sadness or pain of withdrawal right now, you are telling you something. You just need to listen and find the message.

Maybe the lesson is about your food, your effort or your attitude. Maybe your feelings are due to things you took for granted or things you over-indulged. Whatever the answer, it is time to appreciate what your body and mind are saying and take action.

Yes, you must distance yourself further from others right now, but:

Don’t distance yourself further from your immediate family.

Don’t distance yourself further from good exercise, sleep and diet.

Don’t distance yourself further from self development and growth.

I hope this has helped you in some way.  It should be your reminder that yes, the physical distance from others may have increased, but the connected range from your loved ones and your own mind should be closer than ever.  The 6-inch distance between your ears is the most important one you must to properly control and still inhabit.  Make sure that is a distance you never disregard.
I don’t know what the words CORONA and SOCIAL DISTANCING will mean to you someday.  I think it will be impossible not to associate them with our current time of challenge and struggle.

CORONA and SOCIAL DISTANCING have removed things from your life.  I am sure you are experiencing the old adage, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”

It was my hope with this writing that you might someday relate the words to a temporary situation that helped you to appreciate once what was most important.  Just like an eclipse reminds us of the importance of light or being blocked from some people in your life reminds us of the power of connection, now you should be more appreciative than ever for the things that the current darkness has blocked or distanced from your life.

One way to become “GREAT” right now is to become “GRATEFUL.”

That is a final lesson we all need to teach.

Yours in Strength,

Martin

P.S.  A great way to continue to develop yourself is through reading.  Now that you have been appointed the Head Coach and Leader of your home, it is a great time to read.  My new book Coach to Coach is currently helping thousands around the world to take on this challenge.  I hope you enjoy growing from this easy-to-read, yet powerful story.

I promise the messages are what you need to hear right now.

GET YOUR COPY OF COACH TO COACH HERE!

In a few  months, we have all learned we are all united.

The world got smaller and our families got closer.

The “little things” got a little more important and we all have a big job ahead of us.

I know you are constantly reminded of the challenge ahead and cannot forget the reason why we must all play our part.  I just wanted to give you some positive motivation and remind you while you are playing your part, remember that gratitude, compassion and love are incredibly contagious too.

Right now, amid a time when you have had many “luxuries” removed from your life, you have gained the most important luxury: you have probably had more time for yourself.

More time to think.

More time to connect.

More time for discovery.

Right now, you are not powerless; your most powerful tools, your time and your thoughts, are what you control. But how you will use both moving forward will determine the butterfly you will become when you emerge from this temporary cocoon. And be confident; you control whether you will emerge better or worse. There will be no neutral here.

Right now, you may be looking for “motivation.” I want to remind you that the greatest motivation in good times and in bad has always been a person’s sense of Meaning; a crystal-clear Purpose.
Right now, amid the constant news feed and settling into new routines, of course I ask you to be sure to take on some healthy habits of good sleep, nutrition and exercise. But in addition to those, more importantly you should also take advantage of your luxury of time to discover your Meaning. The reason you were put on this earth. The reason others will remember your name.

Do this now and you will emerge with more power and direction. You will have no choice but for the greatness that has been hidden dormant inside waiting to shine through.

I know there has been a spark here and there throughout your life shining toward what you were meant to do. Now is the time to fan those flames until the fire of your purpose can no longer be ignored.

And the greatest meanings in history have been the ones that have served a purpose greater than oneself; the ones that have made positive impact for the greater good. Don’t think money, think meaning. Think of how you can devote your great gifts to others.

This quote from Viktor Frankl, the author of the mandatory book, Man’s Search for Meaning, says it all:

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by a lack of meaning and purpose.”

When you look at a caterpillar, nothing inside or out of it says it can become a butterfly. Only by going through it’s own struggle of transformation alone does it emerge something beautifully different.

Right now, your situation is temporary. Someday in the future I promise you will want to know your work mattered. You will want a legacy; a sense that something you did will live on…immortal.

The best way to do that now? Don’t “pass” or “spend” the time you have been gifted. Invest it in you.

Time to do the deep work.

Why you might ask?

Because it is your choice who you will become!

Even amid the current challenge and constant “noise” filled with some resentment and fear, I am also seeing positive messages about the greatness of people like caring, compassion, gratitude and growth.

When you emerge from this, like any struggle, you can choose to use the time to become more or less. There is no middle here.

As you settle into your new routine, choose one that makes you more valuable.

Who have you been complaining you never had a chance to become?

Now can be the time to improve your diet. 

There is some extra time to learn that language or instrument.

You now have the hours a week to get into the routine of daily exercise.

Make those improvements to your business you’ve thought about.

Read that book that’s been on the nightstand forever. 

Write what you are grateful for in the journal you wanted to fill. 

Spend time talking with you family who is finally accessible and listening.

Never before have you had such an obstacle. Never again may you have such an opportunity.

It is all about how you use it.

To do this, instead on focusing on what you have LOST, it is time to focus on what you have LEFT!

Right now, due to the seclusion required to “do the right thing” for the world, you may feel there have been things that have been “taken away” from you.

In addition to your daily coffee run, interactions with your friends, or ability to generate money with your coworkers, you may feel that your Happiness, Security and Freedom have been stripped from you by someone or something out of your control.

This feeling, however, is not true.

As you settle into the current circumstance, I hope you will discover what the greatest people in history have found during the greatest of challenges: Happiness, Security and Freedom are not controlled by what you are without, they are governed by what you are within.

The battleground for this war is not at the cafe, work, school or political arena. This turf is the 6-inch strip between your ears. Your battle is and has always been waged in your mind.

Your ultimate weapon to restore your happiness and security right now are your thoughts. And as you will hopefully also be enlightened, your thoughts are the only thing truly under your control.

Don’t believe it? Well, as you have now seen and learned, everything can be stripped from you at some point for some reason over which you have little influence. Everything that is, except what you choose to think.

I can tell you to think about something all I want. I can spend my life telling you something or threaten you with the worst horrors to think about the color “red,” but you can be happy knowing you always have the security, freedom and control over your thoughts to think about the color “green” instead.

I challenge you to spend a part of today thinking about your thinking.

You may just find through all of this that control over your thoughts could be the greatest gift or strength from this entire experience.

Control, freedom and happiness are what you may seek right now, but they are illusions. Instead of letting someone or the lack of something on the outside control your feelings, be the warrior who controls them on the inside instead.

Peace can be found during the most turbulent times.

You just have to look for it not on the battlefield waging outside, but in the storm raging within. Right now isn’t the time to think about what you have lost; it’s time to calm that storm by thinking about what you have left and use those things to become the best version of yourself right now!

Stay safe and well.

Martin

P.S. If you are looking for more motivation and lessons to help you improve, you must read Coach to Coach. I have been hearing from so many people how the stories inside the easy-to-read book are helping them.  I would not share it if I didn’t believe in it so much.

Now you have time to read and grow.  This is one place I recommend you start:

GET YOUR COPY HERE

I hope this finds you and your family safe and well.  I know this is an incredibly challenging time. I also know the information contained in my past emails to you has hopefully prepared you with a little extra of the mental fortitude you will need right now.

I also apologize for not blogging for the last few weeks. With all the “noise” that was surely flooding both your digital screens and mind, I didn’t want to add to the overload.

Now that you and I are all temporarily settling into our “new normal,” I have had many requests for some “new motivation.”  I hope you find some quiet time to sit back, internalize the words and bounce back stronger.

You Are A Super Hero
Right now, you are being externally bombarded with more information than ever.

Right now, you will be internally challenged more than you have before.

Although you have probably read to “control what you can” or it is “time to be positive,” I know that it is easy to understand, but also difficult to do.I also know the current circumstances aren’t fair. But this isn’t about fair or tough, it is about doing what’s right for a short period of time.

Right now, it is the time to be the HERO you have read about in books and watched on film. And those people were only recognized as a HERO because of the valiant thoughts they had and valuable actions they took.

These people were also often called HERO because of the lives they saved or positively impacted in times of greatest need. Dreaming and imagining yourself as that hero has prepared you for this battle.

Dress rehearsal is over. Now it is your turn to save lives.

Right now the world needs you to play your part and although being a HERO in our current challenge requires less physically than it did from the heroes of our past, it still requires the same mental fortitude and focus.

Instead of thinking, “What’s the worst that can happen,” it is time to ask yourself, “What’s the BEST that can happen,” and make that idea contagious with others.

Right now, it is time to flatten the curve. But that does not require you to flatten your creativity or compassion. In fact, you will need more of that than ever.

Right now, you can be the best version of yourself.
Right now, you can make some of your weaknesses your best strengths.
Making the best of a tough situation, after all, what every HERO does.
And what is the best way a HERO can make the best of a tough situation?

LEAN IN
Right now, a new race for us has begun.

The starter’s gun has sounded and it is time to move.

This is a race where we must play our part in society and defend the people close to us while also doing everything in our power to sustain the lifestyle we have created.

In the races I have watched over my career, the lead and ultimately the victory goes to the person who has the courage to LEAN IN.

At the start of a race, when you LEAN IN the most, you are the most off balance. You feel the most out of control until, through constant practice, the feeling to LEAN IN becomes the new comfortable.  But those people with the proper LEAN IN eventually learn you cover more ground faster and more efficiently. And the proper LEAN IN puts you into the lead of the other people who avoid risk the initial off-balancing due simply to fear or laziness.

You have heard me say that your life will not be determined by the number of days you “take off,” but by the number of days you “take on.”   Well it is not just time to like it warrior, it is time to live it too.

Right now, this is not a forced vacation. This is not the time to feel powerless or lost.  It is also not a time to point fingers or say what isn’t fair.  More than ever, this is not the time to take your foot off the gas or imagine what is not possible.  This is not the time to sit back.  It is your time to LEAN IN.

I’ve often heard things like “Crisis or challenges don’t develop character, they reveal it.”

Well, that’s true for other things in your life too.

Crisis doesn’t create your discipline, it reveals it.

Crisis doesn’t create your work ethic, it reveals it.

Crisis doesn’t create your family culture, it reveals it.

And whatever you reveal during this time, it is your choice. You have the power to better yourself, your family and habits. This is your opportunity to LEAN INand the world is watching more than ever.

Be clear, because clarity is power. Take this one day at a time.  But always keep in mind each day is a day closer to this being over. And it will be over. Where you finish and who you will emerge when we break the finish line together will have a lot to do with how you LEAN IN right now.

Now that we have started this race, you have to LEAN IN.

LEAN IN to your family. Give them support and lead with strength and love.

LEAN IN to your habits. Show discipline and create healthy routines around diet, sleep and exercise.

LEAN IN to your self-development. Take time to strengthen your current weaknesses.

By taking daily actions, each day we are going to get closer to the finish. How much will you LEAN IN for the tape?

Sometimes the race is won simply by who leans the most at the finish.  Over all my years of coaching, I have seen many people who start things, but stop just a yard short.  They forgot to LEAN IN when it counted the most.

And those meters and moments that they “took off” add up to a lifetime or mediocrity or failure.

My job is to make sure you don’t take a meter or moment off during this race.

Your job is to do the same for your community, family and for you.

Warriors get more excited as things get more difficult.

Warriors get tougher as things get tougher.

Warriors know how to LEAN IN.

Yours in Strength,

Martin