Get On the Good Foot – Life Coaching for Everyone

BY TED RINGER
303-440-0490
Pacoaching.com

I am a trained and certified Life Coach. Coaching is often misunderstood and can appear mysterious. It involves action and change. A coach listens, brainstorms, and advises, and provides confidentiality, encouragement, and accountability.

To become a coach, I trained in groups and individually, learning about people in personal and corporate contexts. It was a lot of work and considerable expense. I could have avoided all that, because, for years (though I didn’t know it) I had been studying at the feet of the master. The ultimate coaching machine. The hardest working man in interpersonal relations. The Godfather of Soul and Transformation – Mr. James Brown!

Though, sadly, he is gone, he left behind records of his sessions. In these, his worldly experience and his wise, not to mention funky, understanding of human behavior, is there to help us negotiate the rapids of relationships and the intricacies of individual human development.

Many of his teachings have taken their righteous place in the collective unconscious. Get Up Offa That Thing, Dance and You’ll Feel Better, is an essential exhortation from which everyone can benefit.

The legacy he left us is virtually inexhaustible. It will always be relevant and immediate. Put on I Got The Feeling and turn up the volume. It is not just an intellectual exercise; it’s a somatic one. Just try sitting still, clutching the beliefs and self-concepts that no longer match the person you are today. Say the words, I Feel Good. Affirmation is not just some woo woo idea; it’s a cathartic explosion. A reprogramming of your internal computer.

Mr. James Brown didn’t discover this in a book. He found it on the road, in small towns and smoky dives, and incorporated the lessons learned there. Eventually, he would consult with auditoriums full of people, who had sought out this sage from Augusta, GA.

James Brown championed and challenged the souls of people who were discouraged, confused, who suffered from low self-esteem, and who were at a point in their lives where they were ready for change. He supplied words that echoed their deepest feelings. His own journey was one of constant questioning and a determination to move forward.

He shared his struggle in such great songs as: I’ll Go Crazy, Think, Get It Together, and Talking Loud and Saying Nothing. His moments of desperation came through in: Please, Please, Please, Bewildered, I Can’t Stand Myself, and I’ve Got Ants In My Pants.

He revealed his inner dialogue of affirmation and encouragement: Pump Up The Volume, Don’t Be A Dropout, You’ve Got To Change Your Mind, and Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved. He celebrated personal triumph and expressed real joy, when he sang: You’ve Got The Power, Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag, It’s a New Day, so Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn, and Say It Loud, I’m ____ (you fill in the blank) and I’m Proud.

In his way, he coached a nation at a critical point in its struggle for equality. He stated the keys for self-development. He challenged us to get up offa our things and get it together. As a coach, he provided inspiration and an energy that may never be equaled.

I am indebted to him for his wise counsel and encouragement. I am forever grateful for his example and his determination to never give up or settle for anything less than the best.

Thank you, Mr. Dynamite.

As the master coach, himself, so often said, Get On Up And Get On The Good Foot.

Ted Ringer 303-440-0490 Pacoaching.com