Sunday, November 17, 2013

Be a True Fan


Why do sports fans go so crazy for their teams? Football stadiums can be unbelievably loud with fans supporting the home team. Fans come to the stadium with a passion that they cannot replicate in other areas of their life. Even non-football fans can get caught in the environment of the crowd and start clapping and cheering as loud as they can. Have you ever been in that type of environment? Where everyone around you is screaming at the top of their lungs in support of a sports team? It’s contagious.


Let me tell you a little bit about true fans. Everyone loves to win. Winning feeds the excitement inside you. The more your team wins, the more that excitement stirs and grows into a passion. True fans feel that passion pull them towards watching their team, cheering for them, arguing with friends in defense of their team, and in general support of their team. Some fans can get a little carried away. They can wear the same shirt that hasn’t been washed in weeks or even start fights with fans of other teams. It can be a sickness, but it is a passion nevertheless.


Unfortunately for some, a passion for their sports teams is the only passion they have. So how can there be so much passion for something so unpersonal to people? Sports teams don’t recognize regular fans for their support. Athletes don’t call a fan out by name. True fans don’t care, in fact general acknowledgment of “the fans” from an athlete only fuels their passion further. It’s so simple, yet so mind boggling how there isn’t more passion in other areas of life. Why? How can we replicate our passion for sports teams into passion for what we do everyday? That kind of passion you see in the stadiums where the entire bleachers are shaking, where the sound can be deafening, where strangers embrace in celebration?


Well, in order to find the answer, you need to ask the right question. That is why life coaching has become so successful. Coaches are trained to ask questions. They are also trained to listen, really listen. Good coaches not only listen very well to what is being said, they also listen to what is not being said. Through a series of listening and questioning, they find the right questions to ask. Questions that are often overlooked by the ones searching for those right answers.


A few questions you may ask yourself in your search for passion:
Who are you? How can you live your life in a way that keeps you true to who you really are? What would happen if you lived each day with passion?


Ask better questions. Find something you can be passionate about on a regular basis. Be true to yourself; be a true fan of yourself.


Enjoy Life.


Coach Randal Suozzo, CPC, ELI-MP


Sunday, November 10, 2013

A Remembered Friend

Today I was thinking of a very old friend of mine. We are no longer friends, but I will always remember that friendship.



I was in the fourth grade when I met someone that would dramatically shape who I was. Stephen and Anthony were my best friends in fourth and fifth grade. My family had recently moved for the second time in two years. First we moved from where I grew up in New Hampshire to a town in Massachusetts for a short year, and then again to a town in Connecticut. I was a quiet kid and did not look forward to making new friends. I had to do it twice in two years. Stephen and Anthony became my friends when I moved to Connecticut. And for the next two years, we were side by side every day. Well, almost.

Stephen could be difficult. If Anthony or I didn’t do things the “right” way, Stephen would be all over us. We got in many fights over the slightest of things. I knew the anger and stubbornness in Stephen so I wouldn’t take his side when he decided to get angry with Anthony. Anthony on the other hand, always sided with Stephen. It didn’t bother me much though. Stephen taught me to stick up for myself and what I believed in, no matter the cost. He would say that a person is nobody if he didn’t stand by what he believed in. Unfortunately, we didn’t always believe in the same things and would end up in week long fights. He also always taught me to not allow anyone to make fun of my friends or my family. I remember one particular day when he called me Suozzo Salami. It didn’t bother me, but I thought to myself, “this could be considered a shot at my family name”, so I asked him very nicely not to call me that. He refused, so another week long fight ensued. We sure did fight over silly stuff, but at least we had principles!

We always made it through those fights and became friends again. Until two years later when I moved away again, back to New Hampshire. We tried to stay in touch, but it’s hard when you’re 10 or 11 years old and two states away. We had one final fight where we never made amends. It’s was over a hat that I bought for his birthday. Actually, I didn’t buy it and that was problem. Stephen was offended that I had my mother buy him the Miami Dolphins hat he wanted. I felt badly and told him so. However, Stephen was not one to forgive with a simple sorry. It had to be more than that.

I talked to Stephen several weeks after that when he told me that his family was moving to the Massachusetts-Vermont border. It was the last conversation we ever had. It’s funny how well we remember certain things. I remember a lot from my best friend at the time. Even with all of our fights, I am thankful we became friends. We learned a lot from each other.

We all grow and change through the years. I have been married now for almost ten years and I am not the same person I was when I got married. Neither is my wife. The good news is that we have grown together. Stephen and I grew apart, but he will always be a part of who I am. “All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” (Helen Keller)

Thanks Stephen.

Enjoy Life.

Coach Randal Suozzo, CPC, ELI-MP