Andy Coolman: Starting From The Beginning
To many people who see Andy sitting on the bench, generally reading, he is a conundrum. I was drawn to him immediately when I moved to the area several years ago. What I learned is that, as most people, he is like an iceberg - with the vast majority of his persona hidden to society - and not openly shared with passersby.
Andy's two great loves are music and sports.
He was a passionate hockey player and decathlete in his youth. He wanted to be a pro athlete. Then he saw that musicians got all the girls and this completely changed his worldview! He asked his father if he would teach him guitar, which his Dad complied. The rest is history!
Andy is an accomplished musician - a virtuoso to many people's thinking. He is classically trained in several forms of guitar, including Classical, Jazz, Blues and Rock. While he loves all music genres, his favourite is Heavy Metal. By far his favourite musician is Ozzy Osbourne. For many years he practiced guitar 16 hours/day. This skill and proficiency is evident in his playing!
His dream is to start a band - The Andy Coolman Heaven on Earth Band - and to have Ozzy as his lead vocalist. There is much to see about him on his website: AndyCoolman.com. On these pages are plans for the band and some original songs they will perform.
Many years ago I created a one page document called I Will Be Great. In this document, I noted: 'I will live to demonstrate that if you do what you love - you follow it unfailingly - with your complete being - and you never give up - then your life is a success - you are rich beyond your means and you are truly great.' To me, this is the essence of success. Doing what we love - in every moment. It fills our lives with such joy and happiness that even this crazy world cannot bring us down. It is contagious!
This is what Andy has. His life is replete with love. Love for his music. Love for sports. And love for people. If you have never had the pleasure of meeting him, I urge you to come by the Metro Store and spend some time with him. One of my favourite passages from a book called My Utmost for His Highest is the September 6th entry. Please read it. Your time spent with Andy will change you. Through Andy, God will pour rivers of living water into you. He will assist you in your journey to becoming love in every moment - perhaps even unknowingly!
Wishing you peace, love and joy always...
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