A conversation with Edson Williams
‘I Am Enough. I am everything I need to succeed.’
This is the message on a circular red piece of paper stuck on my laptop. It is part of a new product called Sticky Rituals, a collection of stickers with positive affirmations designed to influence decision making, launched by Edson and his team.
Edson Williams is a life coach and boxing trainer who has worked for nearly two decades with diverse clients, ranging from entrepreneurs to corporates, aged 17 to 73.
I am Gargi Mandal, a research assistant at the Stress, Psychiatry, and Immunology lab (SPI Lab), and an editor for Inspire the Mind. My own interest in boxing, possibly instigated by the recent undisputed heavyweight championship bout, and constant quest for better self-improvement methods, led me to speak with Edson. I want to share our conversation with you.
Our conversation started by discussing the name 'Inspire the Mind' and my research in mental health.
“The way the mind works, it just baffles me. It's so complex, and yet, human desires are all the same. Everybody wants to feel good.”
This view is at the core of Edson’s approach to coaching and enables him to connect with his clients in boxing and during one-to-one coaching sessions. He believes that people are full of potential, and it is his responsibility as a life coach to help people understand what makes them feel good and tap into their true potential.
He was drawn into life coaching through his own struggles with depression and personal development journey. He found his answers in Dr Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, where the author writes about his experience in concentration camps during World War II. Edson mentioned that in the book, those who were able to better cope with the atrocities in the camp, were the people who found their purpose in something bigger than their own survival. This idea led him to think of his own purpose in life.
“My agency is to serve others, and if that philosophy spreads and if people around me also understand that that's their purpose, then this world will become a completely different place.”
One of the key initial challenges he faces with his clients is defining what happiness means for an individual, which is particularly hard in the digital age of Instagram and influencers. Edson believes that many people are programmed to think about what happiness means based on the information they consume from external sources, instead of looking inwards.
“When you are caught up in the rat race, and you are following the followers, you are constantly chasing one thing after another. People do not realise that the thing itself isn’t what makes them happy, but the fact that they made progress towards something is what truly makes them happy.”
He gave me an example of a young man he knew who sought to have a “proper” job, instead of the one he currently had and enjoyed as an assistant coach at his boxing gym. When Edson dug deeper to find the reasons behind his career choice, he opened up about his fear of being left behind — this resonated with me. Edson mentioned that instead of setting arbitrary means of happiness in this situation, it would be helpful for people to find their purpose through gratitude.
“I work on reversing this thing, so then you wake up in the morning, and you just look and think, 'Wow, I can move all of these fingers, I live on a planet where there's life all around me, I can drop a few seeds in soil and something will grow out of it'. So, sink into gratitude, and ask yourself: what makes me happy? What am I here for?”
Edson uses similar techniques when coaching people at his boxing gym. Progress is the key philosophy in his gym, and the only goal is to be better this week than the last one. Additionally, one of the founding principles is to focus on creating an environment with mutual respect. When he notices kids in his classes misbehaving, he doesn’t tell them off. Instead, he asks students to respect themselves and encourages meaningful use of the time that they have dedicated to themselves.
Edson stumbled upon boxing through a friend who was going to a gym and was dropping Edson at a nearby location. They had passed numerous gyms, and Edson was intrigued by why his friend had chosen one so far away. He decided to go inside and see what was special about this particular one, which was placed below the railway arches in Lambeth North. As soon as he entered Fitzroy Lodge, a boxing club established in 1908, Edson was struck by the tenacity of people, and he has kept going back ever since.
Edson’s unique approach involves coaching through boxing, which can be extremely effective. He believes that boxing can be an intervention for many people, helping people redirect their lives. Boxing is one of the most physically excruciating sports and people demand more from themselves. There is an internal dialogue in boxing, and when this internal discussion is no longer available, Edson and similar coaches step in to guide people.
“There is something about Boxing — this should be the title of a movie. They call boxing, the loneliest sport because it’s you against you. You're in a constant internal conversation. You're tired, your muscles are aching, you want to quit, but you can't stop. Because the consequences of quitting in boxing is an even bigger pain or to get punched in the face or the body.”
Additionally, boxing can be a great platform for expressing oneself and releasing tension and feelings of anger that one may have to repress. Since it is a sport that puts you through your paces, it compels you to be fully present and focus on the situation at hand without external distractions.
“It is like controlling a dragon. You need great control in boxing. You need to stay composed no matter what the situation, whether you are under pressure or if you are victorious.”
When asked what keeps him motivated in his line of work, Edson mentioned that seeing people grow and be true to themselves is extremely fulfilling. Through boxing and coaching, he has been able to see physical and mental transformations that help people in many aspects of their lives. He wants to develop more tools (such as Sticky Rituals) to help people take control of their own minds.
In my case, the small red circular sticky note on my laptop has been a constant source of encouragement during important interviews, assessments, and meetings. It has served as a gentle reminder to be kinder to myself and reinforced my self-belief, motivating me as I navigate new territories.
