It is the morning of Tuesday May 15th. It is a sunny morning and I am here sitting at the kitchen table looking out the window at our two new hens. Yes, as a wedding present we received not just the portable hen house but two hens, one of the Bluebell breed (for all you hen breed know-it-all’s) and the other a snow white hen. Both are settling in well having arrived last weekend. Hens aside I have another reason for writing this entry.

Since May of last year I have been on the Soar journey. Firstly what is Soar? Soar is a something a friend of mine Karl Swan and I founded having seen the documentary about Jim Styne’s life, learning more about his work with the Reach Foundation and agreeing that what Jim had started for young Aussie teenagers, our Irish teenagers needed now more than ever. So we got on a flight to Australia, walked in to Reach’s office in the edgy, tattoo parlour and up and coming trendy left-bank area of Collingwood in Melbourne and the rest is to use that well-worn cliché – is history. (The reality is so much happened in the following 10 months that there is a book in it and I’d bore you to sleep here writing about it)

When Karl and I met we shared a concern that the environment that most young people are growing up in in Ireland today is not one that inspires you to dream that you can do anything you want in your life, that your life can be extraordinary. I have always believed this to be true. And this has resulted in some amazing things happening in my life. Now many of my friends say things like…’jaysus you jammy bastard, you’re so lucky’ or another classic..’Why do things like that always happen to you?’. The truth is WHY NOT? Why not expect amazing things to happen to you, why not take on life as a journey where succeeding and failing don’t matter at all, that life is a playground where you must taste both success and defeat in order to grow as a person, that life is to be given a real go, regardless of the ‘what ifs’.

So it was this concern that our Ireland of today was not a place where our young people could thrive and flourish that forced us to create Soar. But What is Soar? Soar is a foundation that believes that every young person should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential and have the self-belief to discover and follow their dream. Soar is for the benefit of all young people regardless of their situation.

We create and deliver early intervention preventative programs for young people, where within a safe and supportive environment; they are given the opportunity to be themselves, to build self-confidence, self-belief and emotional awareness. What we are trying to prevent are all those nasty things teenagers can turn to, hell adults can turn to when they do not feel a sense of purpose in their lives and have not been equipped with skills such as self-confidence, resiliency, and the peer support to give life a go. Through Reach’s support we have been able to make significant progress and have been in schools for the past several months working with the key transitional ages of 6th class and Transition Year. It is our aim to bring Soar programs which are high energy workshops framed by movie clips, music videos and lyrics and questions posed of the young people not answers given out in to the community. we jus need to find a base. NAMA are you listening? The whole process is about getting young people to question themselves, their motives and for possibly the first time in their lives think about their dreams, the steps to getting there and what is stopping them starting the journey now.

So that is the ‘what is Soar?’. What I am going to do here and in subsequent posts is just give a snapshot of the journey to create some social change in our society. Perhaps no one will read this but really the catharsis venting will be enough to make it worth my while Seriously though I’d like to share what this journey is like, the real emotions and ups/downs and sideways of creating something for which no road map exists and very often the public only see the ups and never the quiet moments of frustration along the way. There will be no order or clean titles to guide you. If you enjoy them- great. If you get something from them- even better.

I just got married three weeks ago. It was a very happy day for both of us. And great fun. The September before my good friend Tomas Madigan and I decided to wind down our three year old company Sports ai. Tomas had been offered a job working on the Olympics, and for some time I had felt off-purpose. There were some things in our society I felt strongly about and I wanted my life to have more significance. Basically I wanted to make a difference. So we wound down sports ai and with no clear plan only something in my heart that I wanted to do having seen the Jim Stynes documentary off I went.

In January a great company managed by great people called Stelfox came forward and funded us for 6 months to get Soar off the ground. We sat down and worked out how we were going to create Soar as an organisation robust enough to endure and to have some of the same impact Reach had in Australia. So here we are.

Yesterday we took part in the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland awards interview process. We put in an application and got chosen as one of the 200, from there we got to the last 40, from 40 we got to yesterday which saw 18 social entrepreneurs vie to be the last 8 which comes with support in the form of both financial and expert advice. It is funny, being in the interview you have to prove yourself and your idea. Driving home I thought about the cycle a few years ago and the whole Tony Griffin Foundation experience. We raised €1.1million before FB or Twitter was popularly used. We distributed that €1.1million to cancer care facilities, research centres and hospices all over Ireland, Canada, and the US. And here I am again trying to get someone to believe in something born of good intent, clearly trying to solve a societal issue and in some ways our potential to make a difference depends on if they believe we are on track or not. It does leave you weary at times, each time having to convince others of what is in your heart so that the funds are made available to just get to work. But then these are the rules of the game. And some of the time it is worth your while following them. I love the vibe the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland give off. They are very authentic in their motives and the people working for them reflect this beautifully. And talk about a cool set of offices. They even have a ping pong table in there for the staff to use.

The reality is we will get there. Wherever ‘there’ is. And in the mean time we need to raise €125,000 by September and €3million over the next three years to roll out a national network of Soar programs both inside the school system and in the community that inspires all our young people to dream big, believe they can live their dreams and then go about doing it. To inspire all young people that life is a journey and one all the more enjoyable when you give life it a real go!

For more see www.soar.ie

ONCE IN A while a person comes along who, by the very way they live their life, inspire the rest of us that we too can reach heights of which we never dreamed.

Jim Stynes was one of these people.

It is because of ‘Big Jimmy Stynes’ that we travelled to Melbourne, Australia, inspired by a documentary aired on RTÉ television back in December 2010.

It told the story of Jim’s ongoing battle with cancer while also profiling  Jim’s life and work with his Reach Foundation. More of that later.

I was amazed that while I had heard of Jim, I really did not know much about him. How was that possible when this Irishman had become such a hero in one of the world’s fastest and most demanding sports.

How is that he was not more well known in Ireland — the place of his birth — while in Australia he was as well-known as Brian O Driscoll.  I was fascinated to know more about who this man called Jim Stynes was and what was this group he had created called Reach. Those two questions were to change my life, forever.

Read More at http://thescore.thejournal.ie/readme/jim-stynes-inspired-thousands-to-reach-for-the-sky-including-me/

As the year draws to a close many of us turn our thoughts to what has been and what is to come.

It is the what has been in 2011 that pre-occupies many people I meet from day to day. For many it has been a difficult year. Losing jobs, losing loved ones, losing direction, losing friendships, losing the head!

Remember, always remember the words of Coldplay- Just because you’ve been losing, doesn’t mean you are lost!

Whatever 2011 has held for you, it is over. A new year is dawning, and if you follow the Celtic calendar, New Year’s day was yesterday.

Regardless of your circumstances, 2012 is another year. another time. Seize it.

I always love the time between Christmas and New Year’s almost as much as I do Christmas. During this time, whether it is on a long run or watching one of those Christmas movies you’ve seen a hundred times- you know the ones, that I begin to look to the year ahead. Get excited about charting a new course. As with every year there will be challenges, there will be difficulties, but this is where we grow. I love to write down some “Love To’s” That is things I would love to do in the year ahead.

How about you do the same. What would you love to do, see, study, say, tell, ask for, shout, sing, embrace,  achieve in 2012. When you have that in mind go to the “how to” and be clear on the first three steps you need to take to bring it from a “love to” to reality.

Whatever you think you can do- do it, even if you think you can’t- do it anyways. Have fun, and remember- if in 2011 you’ve been losing, it doesn’t mean you are lost. Time to get found….

Many of us have heard of Jim Stynes, the Dubliner who went on to become one of Australia’s best ever Aussie rules football players. Jim is an incredible individual and one that we can all look to for inspiration in our own lives.

Jim went on to create the Reach Foundation- an organisation that believes every young person should have the support and self belief to fulfill their potential and dare to dream. Inspiring Reach Crew (15-25 years of age) run programs that support young people to increase their self-belief and discover who they are. Reach recognises this is necessary for young people to achieve their dreams.

These guys have done amazing work in Australia reaching over 57,000 young people every year. What effect will the Celtic Tiger crashing and burning have on our young people. How will the recession effect their confidence and ability to dream big? Pertinent questions that an organisation such as REACH are transcending to ensure that young Aussie dare to dream big.

My thoughts are with Jim and his current battle with cancer.

Footing turf builds character

For the first time in over 15 years I found myself “footing” turf in the bog yesterday. Let me explain two things for you uncultured buffoons out there.

The Bog:

The bog is a place where Irish people have toiled for generations cutting pieces out of the ground which has built up over centuries and when burned makes incredibly good fuel. It is heavy work and we would have done this during our childhood years with our father.

Footing Turf:

This is a practice whereby you take the pieces of turf and stand them upright, creating a pyramid style structure to allow the turf to dry in readiness to be brought home to be used as fuel for the winter. This can only be done by hand and means bending at the waist for many hours on end. Now if this is something you are used to then great you should experience no morning after stiffness in your lower back and the back of your legs. If, however, bending over at the waist for five hours is something you do not find yourself doing regularly then by god the following day your back and legs will know all about it.

Yesterday I was reminded of what the bog taught us as children. Lying before you is a sea of turf lying wet and sodden like a fallen army on the ground. The only method of drying the turf sufficiently for it to be fit to be brought home and burned is to bend over and “foot” like a maniac. Yes, you want to transform pieces of turf strewn on the ground like litter after a major sports event in to a field of pyramids of “footed” turf beautifully built to allow the wind to whip through them and dry the booty of future fuel.

And it is here that the bog teaches you everything you will ever need to know about life. Yesterday my nine year old nephew came with us and he like his uncle many years ago was less than impressed by the magnitude of work that lay before him. “This is too hard, I can’t foot the turf, I don’t know how, I will probably be useless, can I go and sit in the car, we are not making any progress, look how much we have left to do” This is just a sample, but undoubtedly many of the thoughts that ran through his mind, the seemingly insurmountable challenge that lay strewn across the bog wilderness ahead of us, runs through many of our minds at several points in our adult lives.

In the bog there is no where to hide. You either get the turf to a stage where it can dry enough to be useful fuel during the winter or you leave it there and it decays back in to the earth from whence it came. It is that lesson of having to fight the boredom, the feeling of an insurmountable task and the stiffening up of your back and arse that builds your character. That tells you it will all be worth it when the warmth of a December night and a large turf fire fills your home. That delayed gratification- that you must (pardon the pun), put the fuel in the fire before you can enjoy the heat is one of the most important lessons we can teach ourselves and our children.

Yesterday was one small step for my nephew, one giant step for our turf harvest. Today I might have the stiff back and behind of an older man but the thought of those little pyramids of turf drying as you read this really does “warm” the heart.

We are open and welcome to volunteers joining us for our next sojourn in the bog. Applicants must have a strong back, bring with them high quality sandwiches and have a fondness for wind, rain, insurmountable challenges and a stiff back. Please reply to footin@onelastburst.com

The piece I love in this most is changing your mind about what seems “Unrealistic” and looking at Edison and light as an example of one person who refused to accept that his vision could not become real.

Every day I meet people who find themselves low in motivation. They either do not know what they want from their lives or they do know but lack the motivation and get up and go to make it happen for themselves.

Many of these people have read Screaming at the Sky and find that in some way or other the story inspired them. So, in response to wanting to share the story of Screaming at the Sky with as many people as I can and to try to inspire and motivate anyone who is in need of inspiration or motivation to chase their dreams I have decided to give a series of talks around Ireland telling the story of Screaming at the Sky.

Each of the talks will be free of charge and with the aim that you will be inspired and motivated to go out and live to your fullest potential.

The first in the Screaming at the Sky series of free talks will take place in the Sports Surgery Clinic Dublin as part of their Run Right Night on June 13th at 7.30pm.

All welcome. Look forward to seeing you there.

This morning’s article in the Irish Times entitled “Courage and sincerity on both sides deliver rich rewards” is definitely worth a read.

Over the last few days I have followed the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland with real interest. We truly are living through a historic time, one filled by many firsts. I agree with the Queen’s visit on many levels. Primarily it is an event whose time has come and regardless of the detractions, feel it is a depply healing event which can now pave the way for a shared future of closer alliance and mutual support.

On another level it proves that courage and sincerity to not let the past scupper the opportunity of a meaningful future can lead to great rewards, that the time for strong leadership rooted in doing what is right, not what is popular is always in season.

To the Irish government and the English royal family- well done.

Just visited this really cool new bike shop in Shannon, Co Clare, called Topbike and wow what a selection of new bikes. Great new bike store that is really going to make a difference to people who love cycling or triathlon.

See www.topbike.ie

So Sports ai move in to our new offices that used to be owned by an entertainment company- and would you believe as a gift they left behind their Fuss ball machine..

Game anyone??