Dear PB Readers,

Several falls ago, a burned out, ex-swimmer showed up at one of my workouts. Having been over-trained and under-valued in her swimming career, her self confidence was at an all time low. Add in some serious challenges in her home-life (with no place to live) and you have the beginnings of some major problems. With an extended period of time away from the swimming pool her overall fitness was much lower then most of my athletes. None the less I saw something promising in the young woman and encouraged her to start coming out with my training group. In her last year of high-school I was seriously concerned how the young lady was going to balance working nearly full time to make enough money to pay for her small boarding room and still get the marks she needed for college. Through the kindness of many of you, we collectively raised enough money to help this young lady get organized and she successfully got through her final year of high school while living on her own. Sport has many roles and I realized that sport for this young woman was both a stress reducer as well as an opportunity to rebuild her former strong body.

Living on her own through her final year of High School, our training group became her extended family in many ways. I was proud to be one of the first people she called after she received her successful college acceptance. This summer when she returned back from College she showed up on my door with a small check to register for the club programs. With a great summer job, she wanted to pay for her summer club membership (something that the club donated to her during her tough financial / growing times). Seeing this young woman continue to grow and mature with the help of the extended community has been rewarding.

This past week I received further correspondence as our previous receiver of the "the world's kindness" had just spent 9 days helping build a house for a needy family. Her note to me said, "Barrie we got to meet the family on the
last day of the build and watched the kids get to pick their new rooms. It was awesome. I am now back at university and working on opening a Chapter of Habitat for Humanity at Bishops University." I fully believe in the circle of energy. A circle where my sister/father and family in southern Ontario (whom I don't get to see as often as I would like living 3hrs away) benefit from the energy/kindness and generosity of the larger global community where they live. While relative strangers, teachers and coaches benefit my family's lives, three hours away my wife and I give our energy to a new group of relative strangers. By giving our energy and care to a young confused teenager several summers ago, we now see that a needy family have a Habitant for Humanity Home due in part to her energy and volunteerism. Canada and North America lead the world in volunteerism. Having traveled around the world in the past decade I have been very surprised to learn that all countries do not have the same passion for giving as Canada does.

The experience of going through my mother's cancer several years ago taught me how many complete strangers donate countless hundreds of hours a year to driving patients to the hospital, running family compassion groups and finding ways to improve the fabric of our society. I am confident that my young college athlete will become a long-term contributor to Canada's millions of volunteers who make an important difference in the lives of our community.

Welcome to the new readers for our 261st consecutive weekly newsletter. Our goal each week is to be an equal opportunity provider of positive news. We all get bombarded with the many negative images and stories that the media
bring. Our goal is to be a positive source so that each of us are challenged to be better contributors to the quality of those who live around us. 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 10th PB HIGHLIGHTS

* OG MANDION QUOTE ON GIVING TO OTHERS
* BEING DEAF HAS IT'S BENEFITS
* PB EMAIL OF THE WEEK
* COACH BILL SWEETENHAMS'S 7 ATTRIBUTES OF A GREAT COACH
* BARRIE & CARON STARTING AT YORK UNIVERSITY TUE OCT 18TH
* JOIN C3 COACHES AND CARON SHEPLEY AT A 2006 IRONMAN RACE
* BARRIE IN HAWAII

OG MANDION QUOTE ON GIVING TO OTHERS

"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself."

BEING DEAF HAS IT'S BENEFITS

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of Toronto's CN Tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. No one in the crowd really believed that any of the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

Statements such as: 'Oh, WAY too difficult !!! They will NEVER make it to the top!!!' or: 'Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!!!'

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher...The crowd continued to yell, 'It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!!!' The tiny frogs got tired and gave up...But ONE continued higher and higher. This one wouldn't give up!!! Against all odds the small green frog finally hit the top of Toronto's greatest tourist attraction. Later at the post-event celebration the many frogs who had failed to get to the top of the tower wanted to know the frog's secret. Was it his specialized training program with Personal Best? Was it his new Gatorade sports drink? Was the frog's success do to his new Timex Heart Rate monitor? How had our little frog attained something that everyone else believed was impossible? The answer it turns out, he was DEAF!

Three years ago a charismatic young athlete showed up at my March Break Triathlon Training Camp. The young high school student had just started to swim and didn't have a bicycle. A talented high school runner he would not have been most people's first choice to become a world class triathlete. Like our little frog, he didn't let the fact that he had no bike or swimming skills deter him. Some in the triathlon community laughed at the thought of my young athlete becoming one of the best in the country and ultimately the world. Against all odds, last year the 20 year-old finished second at Canada's National Pro Championship. I continue to be inspired by the number of unique young athletes who refuse to listen to "the experts" and play DEAF! Coaches, parents and senior managers need to remember the power of their words!

PB EMAIL OF THE WEEK

Barrie, Thanks for the mention in last week's newsletter. That cliff that I fell over gets taller and steeper each time I ear you tell the story. Two of the tricks I personally used as an athlete and continue to use in my life today, are the use of two sayings: "Smile" and "be happy". They didn't necessarily always make me race faster but they virtually always lifted my energy up a notch or two. It also helps others as well (when they see a smiling face beaming at them it makes them feel better). Thanks again for including me in your newsletter.

Paul White
(former National Team Champion for Canada).

EDITOR'S NOTE: My wife always says I don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Paul has promised to send me a copy of a great picture that was taken of him on the run during his victory in New Zealand back in 1994. The picture of his blood covered body and the focus on his face show his true heart and determination. It was interesting reading Paul's simple but effective strategy for improving his positive attitude. I remember at one of the National Championships in Wassaga Beach several years ago where my entire junior team marked smiley faces on the tops of their hands (so they could see the smiley face throughout the entire bike ride and remind them how lucky they were). After the race, they told me several times during their bike ride they looked down at their hands, smiled and found another gear to push just a little harder.

COACH BILL SWEETENHAMS'S 7 ATTRIBUTES OF A GREAT COACH

Coaching is convincing the willing and unwilling to give totally, and to be enthusiastic about doing what they might like or dislike at any given point in time in any given conditions, to achieve what they previously considered desirable but impossible. Great coaches possess the following:

1. An unconditional passion for the sport
2. An unchallenged love of working with others where anything and everything is possible
3. A desperate obsession for success
4. An open mind
5. A quest for knowledge and personal development
6. The ability to get the job done no matter the obstacles
7. The ability to sell ice to Eskimos and motivate dogs not to eat bones

ONLY 1 WEEK 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 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.

HAWAII HOSTS THE WORLD'S BEST

I have spent much of the past week in Hawaii announcing at the World Age Group Triathlon Championships. Nearly 3000 men and women from 70 countries were at the international event. Canada's team of nearly 300 athletes ranged from 20-75 years of age. From 35 year old mothers who balanced jobs, families and training, to 75 year olds who had to balance arthritis in their hands and heir grandchildren on their aged knees. Results and stories can be found at www.triathlon.org.

Next year's World Championships are in Switzerland Sept 1st. Perhaps you should become a Deaf Frog and think about making the 30,40,50, 60 or 70+ year old age category for Canada in 2006!

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