Nine Life-Changing Lessons from The Ultimate Coaches Camp

There was a point in time we all believed we could change the world, but ultimately this zest for success fizzled away with societal pressures and underachiever cultural paradigms. A small minority of people have managed to keep that zest.

Last week I spent four days living, breathing, eating, training and exploring with nine other coaches from around Australia at the RealMovementProject Intensive Camp.

The founder and facilitator of the four day event was Keegan Smith, an ex-NRL strength & conditioning coach, who left a decorated career coaching professional athletes to do something closer to his heart and more aligned with his Bliss, as Joseph Campbell would put it.

Keegan & 5ew share a similar ethos: To influence as many lives as possible through a greater understanding & application of health, happiness and physical performance.

Over the four days there were a tonne of big wins, and from the combination of inspiring conversations and physical challenges, I’ve distilled nine things that really resonated with me.

1. Find a large enough problem and dedicate your life to solving it. This message is far from a realisation for the many people working jobs they don’t find fulfilling. It’s a hard question to face: is there something more meaningful for me, more influential?

Few people have solved great problems by just stumbling across them. The dedicated and passionate few aligned with their higher selves stand out by setting aside time to work on these problems until they find a solution.

Some of you may be working in your dream job or be well on your chosen path, but there’s always a call to action for you who aren’t living up to your full capacity, those of you hiding your shining light.

2. You are your only limiting factor. The first exercise we did was to write down all the things we’d want to achieve, do or be if we were enough. If we were smart enough, strong enough, wealthy enough. If we were taller, shorter, thinner, more flexible – whatever your desired characteristic, fill in the blank.

Then we wrote down all the reasons why we can’t achieve, do or be these things. With the right mindset, these all seemed like a bit of an excuse, so we tore up the paper and threw it out.

I quickly realised my only limiting factor in doing what I want in my life is myself. It’s my self-belief that holds me back, not my current life circumstance. Certain influential people, remembered long after they’re gone, have overcome great adversities in their life. They all felt fear and inadequacies but managed to silence them for a moment and dedicate their lives to something greater.

What’s your excuse for not connecting your dreams to reality?

3. Experiencing new skills is better than watching experts. Keegan asked the group, “What did you enjoy more: nailing your first handstand or watching a Cirque du Soleil performance?” Unanimously we voted on nailing our first handstand!

Our culture loves to passively watch the top performers in their field. Instead of putting in a little sweat equity to achieve a desired body or physical skill, people prefer to watch others do the work.

Yes, it’s pretty magical watching LeBron James soar through the air and slam a ball into a metal ring, but I assure you it’s more magical to feel your own brain working hard to get that first ten seconds juggling three balls.

4. You can do anything if you put the work in. The difference between you and Tiger Woods isn’t genetic potential (while it may be in the case of LeBron James). It’s simply that by the time Woods was two-years-old and hitting the ball on national television he’d already logged thousands of hours of practice into his movement diary.

We often assign the words Prodigy, Gifted and Genius to these individuals. I view that as an insult as it undercuts the tens of thousands of hours these people have put in to master their craft.

To do something great, you must decide to do so and then back it up with focused practice.

I’ve decided I’m going to do a one-arm handstand by the end of the year. Now I just need to put in the work and it’ll happen.

5. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and who are better than you. One of my biggest wins at the camp was doing a standing backsault. Prior to this, I had zero flipping experience and was soon hurling myself through the air with only ninety minutes of practice.

There are two reasons I had the courage to make the attempt. The first was that I’d seen Keegan do it in the flesh a few minutes prior. Once you see someone else do something, it becomes a whole lot more possible for you to achieve the same thing. This breaks the mystical spell of any daunting challenge. The second was that Keegan and the rest of the coaches believed I could. This uplifting energy was palpable during the whole four day camp. We all wanted to see each other succeed, and that inevitably forced us to do so.

There’s an old adage, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”

Who you surround yourself with has a massive impact on your belief systems. These belief systems affect how long you’ll live, in what state of health, and what you’ll accomplish in that lifetime. This is one of the reasons I love working at 5EW, the team is a family and we all want each other to be the best versions of ourselves.

6. Embrace Stress. While at the camp we practiced a powerful breathing technique popularised by a Deutsch man named Wim Hoff. This breathing technique isn’t something you’d find in a soothing yin yoga class. It’s very stimulating and very intense!

Mr Hoff’s philosophy of our modern stress is compelling. He believes that because we no longer run from predators, need to chase down prey or endure unfavourable weather conditions to survive, we’re perpetually stressed by non-life threatening situations.

If I put a gun to your head, all your BS for the day immediately disappears.

So in an effort to reduce the daily stress in our lives, we actually need to embrace more physiological stress. Things like cold showers, hot saunas, intense exercise, breathing techniques and playing sports can all be effective at ridding you of your woes. If you’re looking for a supplement for stress and anti-inflammatory, check out quercetin australia.

7. The goal in life is to be a happier, healthier and better person. This one is obvious but mostly overlooked. If your actions aren’t in alignment with improving at least two of these three characteristics, then I believe some questions need to be asked.

At the age of twenty-one, I stopped drinking alcohol. While I didn’t consciously recognise it, the reason was that drinking alcohol wasn’t fulfilling any of these requirements.

We need to constantly assess whether our actions are bringing us closer to or further away from our goals.

8. Ask yourself the hard questions. The quality of your life is dependent upon the quality of questions you ask yourself. If you’re not inspired about your life, it may be because you’re not asking yourself inspiring enough questions.

When asked if we should be barefoot or wear shoes while learning hacky-sack, Keegan bluntly replied, “If the question you ask won’t directly improve the quality of your life, don’t ask it”.

After the camp I spent a few hours asking myself some confronting questions. This created space for me to return home inspired and ready to take action toward embracing life fully. Here are a few difficult questions that may help you make positive changes or feel more enlivened on your current path:

• What problem am I trying to solve?
• Why am I here?
• What makes me happy?
• What am I grateful for?
• How did this experience – positive or negative – serve me?

9. You can create any life you desire. It was evident that all the coaches at the camp were inspired by Keegan’s lifestyle. Tucked away in the hinterlands of Byron Bay, he eats amazing food, learns exciting new skills, reads empowering books, builds an impressive body, and then travels the globe teaching passionate people how to be better at what they do.

The point is that he created this life for himself. He made a decision and went to work creating it.

We can have this for ourselves, but once again, self-belief is our only limiting factor. I want you to leave this article with one key action step. Whether that be implementing a daily cold shower, asking yourself some hard questions or redesigning your social life.

My hope is you make one positive change in your life, and that this has a ripple effect for the people around you. Dream big, work hard and live passionately.