Dear PB Readers,

Kyle Maynard is the kind of guy you don't want to run into when you are feeling sorry for yourself. The early 20 year old college student was born missing both his hands and feet. It would have been easy for his parents to treat him differently or pick him up every time he fell down or failed. Wisely, Kyle's parents decided to treat him like any other normal child and allowed him to fall, get bruised, try new things and learn both how to fail and to succeed. When Kyle wanted to play youth football his parents didn't say "but you have no lower legs or hands - how do you ever expect to play football"? Instead they registered Kyle for football and his coaches realized that his closer to the ground body was perfect to grab the opposition around their knees for important tackles. When Kyle's teammates became too large to continue competing against, instead of complaining he sought out the new sport of wrestling to focus his energy. For 35 straight wrestling matches Kyle was on the wrong side of victory. As hard as Kyle tried, his opposition took advantage of his lack of skills and continued to defeat him.

Kyle Maynard lives by a philosophy of NO EXCUSES. Even after 35 straight loses Kyle would not use his lack of hands and feet as the reason he had not yet won a match. Through weight training, better coaching and a positive attitude Kyle figured out a strategy how to use his unique body to its fullest. Currently in college, Kyle has now won his share of Collegiate wrestling matches and can still proudly claim that he has never been pinned in his entire career. When Kyle got to college he was the last of the boys to check into his dormitory residence. In the real world, the last guy to check in would normally get the smallest room in the least desired location. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Kyle Maynard has never complained about being in the smallest room on the third floor of residence without an elevator. Kyle's motto doesn't say "you will never be disappointed or faced with failure" but rather he will never allow excuses to stand in his way of giving his all and attempting to maximize his life.

Oakville paddler Adam Van Koeverden didn't use the excuse that Canada has ice (not paddling water) for nearly 40% of his training year. Instead Adam added yoga, cross country skiing, running and weight training to his winter regime and went out and won a Gold medal for Canada in Athens. It would have been easy to cut wrestler Daniel Igali some slack. After hiding in a Victoria, BC basement for nearly a week, the Nigerian wrestler decided he wanted to stay in Canada and become a Canadian citizen. Never having seen snow, new to the language and culture, Igali had no money, family or even a coach. Six years after watching his Nigerian team-mates head back to his home country, the newly minted Canadian Daniel Igali won Canada's first ever gold medal in wrestling (minus any excuses).

Excuses are a slippery slope. Each time we use an excuse it makes it easier the next time a problem exists. No Excuses means doing the most with what you have. No excuses means not complaining that another country has better sport funding, less snow or easier standards to make national teams. As a high performance coach, I won't accept excuses from myself or my athletes. If another country has better funding, we have to find ways to do more with less. If the rules for selection are changed part-way through the season, I have to commit to adjusting sooner and faster than my competition. Successful people don't have room for excuses in their lives only finding creative ways to deal with problems. While few of us can be as committed to the NO EXCUSE PHILOSOPY that Kyle Maynard lives, I do believe we can all benefit from moving closer to his way of living.

Welcome to the new readers for our 260th consecutive weekly newsletter. Over five years ago, when I started the first Personal Best Newsletter I could have never imagined tens of thousands of readers sending in such a consistent supply of positive ideas. My daily mantra is you get more of what you think about and I believe far too few of us fill our minds and hearts with enough positive energy. I welcome your weekly email contributions and I encourage you to add your family and friends to our free weekly offering. Check out our PB website at www.personalbest.ca and send your contributions to barrie@personalbest.ca. Have a great week.

OCT 3rd PB HIGHLIGHTS

* MICHELANGELO'S QUOTE ON GOALS
* NO EXCUSES
* DON'T MISS CUBA GOODING JR IN RADIO
* DO YOU HAVE A TREE?
* PAUL WHITE A CANADIAN HERO
* BARRIE ON TSN THIS WEEK
* 79 YEAR OLD JIMMIE GEORGAS WITH HIS 10TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
* BARRIE & CARON STARTING AT YORK UNIVERSITY TUE OCT 18TH
* JOIN C3 COACHES AND CARON SHEPLEY AT A 2006 IRONMAN RACE

MICHELANGELO'S QUOTE ON GOALS

"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

NO EXCUSES

Roman general Julius Caesar was about to send his reluctant soldiers into a battle against men who outnumbered his own. He knew that in order to ensure the success of his army he had to develop within his men an overwhelming desire to win. He loaded his soldiers into boats and sailed to the enemy's land. After his troops disembarked on the enemy's shore with their equipment and artillery, he then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. There on the hostile shore the soldiers watched as the fire consumed every ship in which they had crossed. Turning to his men the general said, "You see our ships going up in smoke. With the last means of retreating burned, there is but one thing left for us to do. We have no room for excuses; we must now turn and use our skills to the maximum.

That's exactly what they did. By seeing the burning flames from their ship, knowing there was no means for retreat, the general's men developed a burning desire within themselves that enabled them to advance and to conquer. Take stock in your abilities. Believe that whatever you want to do, you can do if you want to do it strongly enough. Begin today transforming your desires into accomplishments.

A MUST SEE DVD

I love true stories where good prevails over evil. This past week I had the chance to re-watch Cuba Gooding Junior and Ed Harris in a true story called RADIO. The 2003 movie captures the life of a young mentally challenged man from an inner-city single parent family who is befriended by the coach of a local High School Football Team. The coach sees a perfect learning opportunity for his team and tries to educate the school and the community attributes that Cuba Gooding possesses. Through Harris' compassion and patience he helps Gooding graduate from high school and become the key motivational spirit for the Hanna Football and Basketball Teams. Twenty-eight years later, Radio is still working with the local Hanna High School teams and the investment that the coach and community made nearly three decades ago continues to pay dividends today. You get more of what you think about and RADIO is a movie that is sure to inspire your entire family.

DO YOU HAVE A TREE?

I love the story of the owner who hired a plumber to help restore his old farmhouse. Part-way through the first morning of work on the house the plumbers drill broke and the old iron pipes were so rusted he couldn't budge them. With six o'clock approaching, the plumber prepared to finally go home after the long frustrating day. As bad luck would have it, his old truck wouldn't start. The home-owner seeing the plumber's frustration offered to give him a ride home. On arriving at the plumber's house, the home-owner was invited into meet his family. As they walked toward the plumber's front door, the home-owner noticed the frustrated man pause briefly by a tree and touch the small branches and leaves. The plumber then opened the door and consciously altered his attitude as he walked into the house. His face was wreathed in smiles as he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward the plumber walked his friend back to his car "What's with the tree" the plumber was asked?

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children... So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home, then in the morning I pick them up again." "Funny thing is," he smiled," when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before." I challenge you to pick a tree in, front door or hall closet to leave your work-coaching hassles so your time with your family can be more focused and productive.

CANADIAN HERO

Thunder Bay's Paul White was recently inducted into his city's Hall of Fame. The 45 year old father and lawyer represented Canada with distinction during the late 80's and early 90's. One of my fondest memories of Paul was at the 1994 New Zealand World Triathlon Championships.

Just two weeks before the Worlds in Wellington, New Zealand, Paul and our national team were racing in a final preparation triathlon on the south Island. Going down a steep hill on his bicycle Paul hit some loose gravel and crashed falling 15m down the side of a cliff and ended up in a very thick rose bush. A blood covered Paul White dragged himself back up the cliff, with a broken wrist. Not one to make excuses, Paul got back on his bike and eventually won the overall race. After the race we went to the hospital to have the arm x-rayed and a cast put on his wrist. "NO WAY is your arm going to be ready for the World Championships in two weeks" the doctor told Paul. The average person takes 5-7 weeks to recovery from a broken bone. Instead of making excuses the first thing Paul did after we left the hospital was stop and gets 2 litres of milk for the ride home. For the next two weeks Paul did everything one could ask of an athlete in final preparation for a major world champs. The day before the World Champs, Paul and I went to the hospital for an x-rays to see if by some miracle the wrist had been healed. To the amazement of the doctors (but not Paul) his wrist had healed enough to cut off the cast and allowed him to race the next morning at the World Champs. Paul White's NO EXCUSE philosophy was significant in why he was inducted into the Thunder Bay Hall of Fame. Paul now resides in New Brunswick where he is a father, husband, lawyer and a man who continues to inspire others.

BARRIE ON TSN

Most weeks TSN shows one or two of the ITU World Cup Shows that I help produce and do the commentating for. Upcoming shows include: ITU Beijing World Cup: Tuesday, October 4th at 13:00hr and Wednesday, October 5th at 3:30hr. The HSBC Caledon Triathlon will be Saturday Oct 8th at 11am.

79 YEAR OLD WINS GOLD

Jimmie Georgas is a 79 year old phenom. This past week Jimmie won his tenth (yes 10th) World Duathlon Championships. The World Duathlon Championships consisted of a 10km run - 40km bike and finished off with a 5km run. Collingwood's Jimmie Georgas is not the kind of man who makes excuses. Several years ago he crashed, broke bones and still went onto win the World Champs. This past week, Georgas won the men's 75-79 category by over twenty-five minutes over his nearest American competitor. Just weeks before the World Duathlon Championships in Australia, Georgas won gold at the Edmonton World Masters Games. You need to appreciate superstars when they are in your midst and Jimmie Georgas is as good at cycling and duathlon as Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan were at their sports.

ONLY 2 WEEKS UNTIL YORK UNIVERSITY STARTS

Put Tuesday Oct 18th on your calendar if you are a GTA runner or triathlete. My wife Caron Shepley (power-yoga and core strength) and I, run two run indoor run workouts at York University every week. New this year will be a 5pm and a 6pm starting time. Early Workout will be a 5pm run with 6pm dryland/yoga and Late Workout will be a 6pm run with a 7pm dryland/yoga. More details within a week.

JOIN C3 COACHES AND CARON SHEPLEY AT A 2006 IRONMAN RACE

We have secured spots for the June 25th 2006 Ironman Nice and July 23rd 2006 Ironman Germany Races. Packages were emailed last week and if you did not get one (and are interested) please email Barrie directly at Barrie@personalbest.ca for more details.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON!