Dear PB Readers,

Australian Peter Robertson has become a good friend over the years. Robertson is a 29 year old Australian Triathlete who is only 5 foot 6 inches tall and grew up in a modest Australian house-hold. Heading into the Sydney Olympic Games, Peter was a relatively unknown athlete in a country of triathlon-superstars. Just to have a long shot at making the Sydney Olympic Games Team, Peter had to go to New Zealand to the Oceania Championships and "win" the important race. As tough as that lofty goal was for Robertson, Peter had a larger problem (he didn't even have the money for the airline ticket to the race). To his good fortune, a group of local friends in Sydney created and sold t-shirts and were able to fund his ticket to New Zealand.

Robo, as he is fondly known, won the race and secured entry into the 2000 World Triathlon Championships in Perth. To make the Olympic Games Team, Peter had to beat all the other Australians AND win a medal at the World Champs. Following Sri Chinmoy's quote (see below), Peter imagined the impossible and won a silver medal in Perth and secured himself a spot at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Since 2000 Robertson has made two Olympic Games Teams and added four more medals at the World Championships (3 gold, 2 silver). 2005 was not a great year for Peter and after breaking ribs and missing many weeks of training he was back in Australia working on his fitness and looking toward the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Injury stuck another of Peter's Australian Team-mates and he got a call just days before the Japan World Championships asking him if he would like a start at the big event.

I interviewed Peter days before the World Championships and he knew his fitness was at 70-75% of where he wanted it to be. He also knew that now that he had a start in the big race "ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE". "I have one hour of red-lining in me this weekend" Peter told me. Knowing he didn't have any room for mistakes, the dynamic Australian executed his race strategy to perfection. A solid swim got him close to the leaders. Group bike dynamics allowed him to get off the bike with a large group of 50 men (including the Athens and Sydney Gold medalists). Off the bike, Robertson immediately began to dig deep and moved to the lead of the 10km run phase.

Attempt after attempt by the season's best athletes were thrown at Peter over the grueling (it was 36 degrees C and over 90% humidity). With blood dripping out of his shoe from the deep blister that had opened on his foot, Australian Peter Robertson stunned all the odds-makers by winning his third World Championships since 2000 (to add to his two silver medals). Not the biggest, not the most talented, nor the most efficient, Peter Robertson has continued to how important it is to DREAM BIG and not listen to the experts.

Welcome to our new readers in our 259th consecutive weekly newsletter. I appreciate the many emails that you have sent over the past few weeks and the many contributions you continue to send in. Our newsletter is a free, weekly offering to people in 20 countries and every walk of life. You get more of what you think about, and Peter Robertson is a great example that even a man with few funds and no huge supporters can achieve greatness. Please keep your contributions coming and keep signing up your friends and co-workers. Our website is www.personalbest.ca and my email is Barrie@personalbest.ca Have a great week!

SEPT. 26th PB HIGHLIGHTS

* SRI CHINMOY QUOTE ON ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
* STEVE GOODIER ASKS YOU TO FOCUS ON THIS MAGIC MOMENT
* FRENCH PARADOX ON EATING
* BARRIE / CARON START THEIR TUE NIGHT C3 WORKOUTS TUE OCT 18TH
* BARRIE ON TSN THIS WEEK
* STILL TIME TO BE A PART OF CARON & BARRIE'S 2006 IRONMAN EXPERIENCE
* LOOKING FOR A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER FOR YOUR 2005 OR 2006 FUNCTION?

SRI CHINMOY

"I begin by Imagining the impossible and end by Accomplishing the impossible."

STEVE GOODIER ASKS YOU TO FOCUS ON THIS MAGIC MOMENT

Writer H.G. Wells once noted, "Man must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind him to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and a mystery." Do you live as if each moment is a miracle and a mystery? A golf enthusiast listed three mental techniques to improve anyone's golf game. (These techniques are not just about golf, however. They are mental attitudes that can help you live as if each moment were truly a miracle and a mystery. Here they are:

1. Resist the urge to add up your score as you go along. If you anticipate your score, you'll be distracted from the task at hand. In other words, don't let your preoccupation with whether you are succeeding or whether you are achieving your goals distract you from being aware of the present moment.

2. Focus. Concentrate on hitting great shots rather than worrying about bad ones or what others will think if you miss. Visualize the ball going to your target. This is a terrific technique for daily living. Focus. Concentrate on doing the next task well rather than worrying about past failures or about what others will think about you if you should "mess up." And get a picture in your mind's eye of the target you're trying to hit.

3. Keep your mind on the hole you're playing. Don't think about how you are going to play the 18th hole. Thinking about the present will help the future take care of itself. This moment is full of magic and wonder. Give it your full attention.

Motivational Speaker Steve Sobel says, "I have learned from speaking to many cancer survivor groups that (when you have cancer) the watch on your hand no longer says, 'Tick, tick, tick.' It now says, 'Precious, precious, precious.'" When you come to know how precious is the present moment, you'll understand the mystery we call life.

THE FRENCH PARADOX: EATIUNG FOR PLEASURE

I must confess I am one of the worst people in the world when it comes to taking a nice long leisurely meal. Far too often I am eating on the run, in the car, or while standing getting ready for a workout I am coaching. Lisa, one of our long-time PB readers from Victoria sent me the following article and it definitely resonates with me and my personal weaknesses.

The idea that the French have a near-miraculous arrangement with food seems to transfix weight-challenged Americans. Americans (and I say Canadians as well) are constantly discovering that the French tolerate nothing less than real butter and jam on their morning baguettes. They eat cheese, and expect to have chocolate. What's more, they drink wine - sometimes even at lunch. And yet, the rate of obesity in France is less than half that in the United States. Mireille Guiliano's best seller "French Women Don't Get Fat," tells the story of how the French can eat virtually anything they want and not put on excess body fat. Discipline and pleasure.

What is especially French may be hidden in the subtitle of Guiliano's book: "The Secret of Eating for Pleasure." Put simply, Guiliano and other observers of the French approach have long advocated paying more attention to the foods we eat and how we consume them. The emphasis, they argue, should be on eating a wide variety of fresh, seasonal foods that are well prepared and enjoyed in what to some Americans might seem like dismayingly moderate portions. Three-course lunches ... naturally

A recent author spent a month in Paris following the larger lunch/smaller supper strategy of the French.. "There was always bread on the table." In the mid-afternoon, she might indulge in coffee and a piece of good chocolate. Evening meals were usually something small and simple. By the time she returned home one month later she was 15 pounds lighter.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Traveling on the road this year with the International Triathlon Union I have had a chance to observe healthy strategies by some of the athletes and senior management. The top athletes in the world follow very similar strategies of eating many small meals (grazing). Rarely are any of their meals large, and they are always staying hydrated. My international president is a 75 year old who has to attend countless suppers every week while on the circuit. While some of the race organizers and sport management have gained weight over the past few years (while attending these many meetings and suppers), Les has continued to keep his body weight very consistent. On my most recent trip to Japan/China I decided to watch Les for a few days and see if I could find one or two things he does differently. Les's wife is from France and it's not too ironic that many of the strategies we have seen in this article are being implemented daily by the ITU president. Les uses every meal as an opportunity to catch up with athletes, coaches and officials. His meals are "social" not rushed and while he does graze during the meals, he never takes a large heaping plate and rarely eats everything on the plate he does take (moderate portions). An average meal lasts 30-45 minutes (not the 10 minutes I generally average). He starts the day with a consistent breakfast with carbohydrate and protein. Lastly, most days when the meetings are over, Les walks back to the hotel from the meeting location (or if the meetings are in the race hotel, he will go for a 40-60min walk each day). No weight machines, no heart-rate monitors, no pharmaceutical metabolism revving pills. Just a simple strategy of moderation, grazing and basic power-walking.

BARRIE/CARON AND C3 STARTING AT YORK UNIVERSITY TUE OCT 18TH

One of the most popular programs I have ever been involved with is my Tuesday night indoor run/walk and dryland program. The format for 2005 will be broken into two segments. Group 1 run/walk with Barrie at 5pm and core strength with Caron Shepley at 6pm. Group 2 run/walk with Barrie at 6pm and core-strength class with Caron Shepley at 7pm. Individuals can purchase a 14 week program option or pay as you go. Details in next week's newsletter.

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:

1. ITU Gamagori Elite World Championships: Wednesday, September 28th at 13hr and Thursday, September 29th at 3:30hr.
2. ITU Beijing World Cup: Tuesday, October 4th at 13:00hr and Wednesday,
October 5th at 3:30hr.

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.

LOOKING FOR A FALL /WINTER SPEAKER OR AWARDS COMMENTATOR

Each year I have a chance to do several dozen conferences, awards suppers and motivational speeches to groups. If your organization is planning a 2005-06 function and are interested in Barrie please contact him directly at barrie@personalbest.ca

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP

Not sure this counts as a birthday card and gift! None the less happy birthday to my dad on Oct 1st.

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