Welcome to todays blog, my hope in sharing this personal blog with you today is that it supports you and ignites you onwards!
Even when times are good we need to dig deep – when times are tough we need to have the belief and respect of ourselves to discover more. Todays blog is one of personal reflection!
In 2009 I entered a whole new world. A world that changed my life for ever……….Racing Endurance Events (Ironman)
But Why?
I wanted to connect deeper with who I am and to allow myself to personally grow as a human and as a person. Ironman was never about being on the podium, (just speak to my coach about that) nor was it about being an endurance athlete, at 5ft 10 and 80kgs (74kgs for race day) this body was only ever built for long and slow…….it was all about understanding and getting to know (me). Finding out what made me tick, what worked for me and how I reacted to the hard times and good times. To ultimately challenge myself and push myself into a space never experienced.
Did it help? Hell yes. Has it shaped who I am today? Hell yes. Did I connect with myself at a deeper level………that is a positive yes…….
Racing endurance events (Ironman) has allowed me to unpack, un-peel and really look deep inside and bar none these long form events have been one of the most eye opening, refreshing times of my life (so far).
Spending 6 hours on a bike passing fields full of sheep and cows you start to get comfortable with your own company. I know I am an introverted dyslexic person and knew many things about myself before committing to these events but I never would have learnt more about myself had I not been willing to push the boundaries – to push my body and mind. You don’t need to sign up to an Ironman Event or Ultra Race to find yourself just small steps will be a great starting point.
For those of you who know me well you will appreciate I am not a great person to have around or even near technology, Ironman at the time was just evolving/technology was starting to take over your training schedules – gadgets for every single occasion – calorie counts etc but I wanted to keep it pure, listen to my body and my coach, not the spreadsheets or data that today I see so many getting lost in. When you step away from the data and listen to yourself these are the most revealing of all situations!!!
One thing I did do was spend time finding a coach. A person who I respected and a person who I trusted Barb Kramer was my lady, a wonderful human, passionate, caring and extremely focused. Note to self (surround yourself with people who have YOUR interests at heart)……..
Lesson One: ‘Surround yourself with people who have your interests at heart’ Nick Roud
For those of you not familiar with Ironman, it is simply a
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3.8k Swim,
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180k bike
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42k run (all to be completed in one day well by midnight…….
Lesson Two: ‘When you mentally commit to something it is amazing how you can get through even the darkest moments’. Nick Roud
You do not need to be a lean 6ft 5 adonis to race an event. I will trade that in every time for ensuring my mindset is right. Your mindset is the key to unlocking your potential……………be it in sport or be it in your career. Every day I get to coach and work with executives and leaders who have all the skills to be great (it can be a subtle switch in thought – that makes the most impact on them).
But why would I want to put my body and mind into this arena? Surely there are easy things to do with your days……
From an early age all I wanted to do was play rugby and when you play at a high level and things change you really do take stock……..rugby for me came to an abrupt end when in 2005 I suffered a career ending incident, snapping my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in my left knee and since 2005 I have had 6 major knee surgery to try and get it right……it is something that still to today I am in pain with. I had always played team sport and enjoyed the time on the park and off the park.
This may sound a little weird but I was always doing things for my team mates for the team (not for me) so when I was considering options it had to be all about me, those of you who may know Ironman is a very selfish sport to take on. During your heavy training loads you will be out on the road for 32+ hour a week……Lucky for me my beautiful wife Nicola was extremely support and when I shared my thoughts with her I recall her first few words past ‘that’s going to be a long day’ followed by ‘great we can know swim together’ Nicola is a wonderful swimmer and it is all her thought that I got into Ironman, she was the one who signed us both up for the King Of The Bays Swim an ocean swim from Milford on the North Shore Auckland to Takapuna. She is the most amazing swimmer and really I blame her for getting me into the sport 🙂 For anything you chose to do in life, in business in your career I feel it helps to share your thoughts with a small group of people…….
Looking back I remember my exact thoughts. Ironman – ‘this is going to be fun, now where are my running shoes’.
Over the last year I have writing my first book titled Discover Your True-Self – this is going to be released 25th Nov 2020 and as someone who has dyslexia I can say that has been an interesting journey – will share more another day. Why I share this with you? when writing my book I was re-looking over all my old journals, I write a journal ever single day and have done for the past many many many years. Normally the journal takes this shape
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Three good things that have happened today and one bad/negative thing. I review this every quarter to see where I am at and to observe my thoughts……
Lesson Three: ‘Journal, 3 great things that you did that day and one bad/negative thing for the day’, this helps build a clarity picture of yourself
So how does this relate to Executive Leadership Coaching and the work I do everyday – to many working with a coach is not for them and that is absolutely fine. My research into clients is starting to paint a very clear picture of the type of people who engage with me. Over time I will be in a better position to share more on this but for the time being many things lead back to the personal desire of discovering more!
The executives, leaders and professionals who engage with me want to discover more. Here are some thoughts,
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Executive Leadership Coaching isn’t for everyone just like Ironman isn’t for everyone.
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Executive Leadership Coaching is very personal and impactful way to develop and grow yourself, just like Ironman gets you very comfortable with being uncomfortable and who you are. You will be exposed to your most inner thoughts and you will work out how to manage these – aka self-belief
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Executive Leadership Coaching isn’t a tell you what to do and you go do it – you have to want to do it, you have to want to find the answerts, just like Ironman you cant turn up at the start line unless you have put in the hard effort, the huge hours of training, the early starts – the missed family occasions – you need to control and priorities
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Executive Leadership Coaching won’t give you all the answers, you have to find out what works best for you, just like Ironman (you can go buy all the gear, all the latest gadgets but if your mind is not clear all the latest gear, gadgets etc will not get you to cross the finish line. Only you can do that
As a Executive Leadership Coach I am a self confessed addict – an addict on how we as humans improve and continue to evolve. I look at things and think – ummmmm that’s interesting lets investigate a little more……..my clients are those who are in the minority, the ones who seek greater clarity on who they are and want to be better. It is an absolute privilege to sit alongside them every day and work with them and one thing I continue to learn is the finish line continues to move 🙂
Lesson Four. ‘To improve and grow you must look in the mirror each and every day and show up’ only you are the one holding yourself back.
Some lessons I have learnt along the way (so far) and I hope these help you if you are at a junction, a cross-roads or not to sure where to from here.
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Give yourself time
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Share the ups and down with people you trust
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Dont beat yourself up when things dont go exactly to plan
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Have a plan – but allow this to evolve – start small!
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Respect yourself and respect others
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Sometimes you will get a puncture but you can fix it and you will get back on you bike!
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Be ok saying No
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Celebrate the small things the little steps – the things that nobody sees!
As we wrap up todays blog (which is a little bit different to my normal blogs) I am keen to share my personal learnings…… It has taken me a long time to truly appreciate and respect who I am and to be comfortable with who I am. A few people have helped me and I will forever be grateful for their time, thoughts and wisdom. It is hard to make change if you are not comfortable with who you are.
We will all face obstacles/challenges/situations where we are not sure of the outcome. Every single day leaders make decisions. Some good – some not so good but how you manage yourself and treat others does matter.
How will you know when you need to dig that bit deeper? Right now we are all around the world digging that little bit deeper, so many questions have so little answers but we must each keep digging that bit deeper. Humans are amazing and are so resilient – now is the time to really dig much deeper.
So what has endurance events done to support me, well – to stop comparing, to treat all with respect and dignity no matter views or status, to be happy with life, to appreciate what I (we as a family have) not to judge others, to keep pushing the needle forwards 🙂 and above all the self belief that ‘anything is possible’………
I am so very proud of who I am today, what I am doing with family, work and life – it’s never going to be about the past or the future but about now, right now and it has been an absolute privilege to share this blog with you today. It was a proud moment to cross the line but the line is always moving
Crossing the Line.
Dig deep, hold yourself to account and take small steps. Because it is those small steps that will make all the difference.
Look after yourself and each other,
Nick
Nick Roud – Coach
‘Unleash Your Most Authentic-Self’
About Nick Roud
Nick is a Master Certified Executive Coach and is one of the Top 3 executive coaches in the world on Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching. Nick partners professionals in their leadership and careers. More information on working with Nick can be found here