Dear PB Readers,

Finally, now after the commercial aspects of Christmas have occurred, most people truly start to relax and enjoy the holidays. If you are like me, you likely put more kilometers on your car over the 23-26th of December than is optimally desired. None-the-less, with the holiday week ahead, this is the time many of us catch-up with old friends and family that we might only see once per year. My goal in this week's Personal Best Weekly Newsletter is to reflect back on the ten people who inspired and motivated me the most over the year. Enjoy the holiday week and take a few minutes to visualize your own personal goal(s) for 2006. Please keep signing up your friends for our free weekly newsletter. Check out our website for on-going stories at www.personalbest.ca and send your ideas/stories to barrie@personalbest.ca.

DEC 26th PB HIGHLIGHTS

* QUOTE OF THE WEEK
* BARRIE'S TOP 10 MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE OF 2005
* 2006 HEALTHY PROJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty, well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a Ride!"

EDITORS NOTE: Pick something in 2006 that will make you say "WOW what a ride!" I have picked 10 people who personally inspired me in 2005 and provided a small bit of their "wow-factor." I hope you enjoy remembering them as much as I did.

BARRIE'S TOP 10 MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE OF 2005

10. Steve Nash. The Victoria based NBA basketball player became the first Canadian to ever be named MVP in the NBA. Nash led his NBA team to the finals and along the way inspired short guys around the world. Nash proved that anything is possible, as the kid from Victoria, BC he had only one university scholarship when he graduated high school, but used his determination and hard work to show that anything is possible. I got to know Nash in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games where he quietly paid for the tickets of many of his teammate's parents came to Sydney to watch their sons and daughters play at the Olympic tournament. A humble man who speaks with his actions, Nash is a true Canadian hero who continues to do charity work around the country on a monthly basis.

9. Vicki Keith spoke at my year end awards banquet and told her amazing story. Her first dance teacher told her she danced like a horse and should never come back. Several years later, she hit the swimming pool and over the next 3 decades of her life would achieve some long-distance (20km, 50km, 100km) marathon swim records in the toughest bodies of water in the world. Keith has become renowned for her fund-raising swims for Variety Village and currently is raising funds for a swimming pool for physically and mentally challenged kids in the Kingston area. The Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Award Winner has dedicated more of her life to helping others than one can ever imagine. This past summer Vicki set a world record going over 80km of non-stop butterfly swimming in Lake Ontario (60+ hours) to raise funds for her new swimming pool.

8. Geoff Sullivan. Four years ago, the Orangeville man was living on the streets of Toronto very close to death. The loving father of two had been overcome by drugs and alcohol and was living in one of the worst drug-infested parts of Toronto. Few would have given Geoff a chance to turn his life around. Over the next few years Geoff and I would get to know each other and the man whose life was negatively impacted by drugs would use his wife and kids as a motivation to overcome his horrible addictions. Since cleaning himself up, Geoff has turned to exercise and volunteering to help others. In 2004 Geoff did the World Long Course Triathlon Championships with me in Sweden (4km swim - 120km bike - 30km run). He has become a major director on my non-profit club where he has taken over managing the website (www.c3online.ca). Today, Geoff's kids are actively involved in sport, he is back fully employed and he is making a healthy difference in the lives of hundreds. Overcoming adversity is never easy, but Geoff Sullivan is the poster-boy who deserves to be appreciated for his change in lifestyle.

7. Barb Karasiuk. Canada is the world's leader in volunteerism, and Barb Karasiuk would be at the top of the class in Canada. The sixty-year old works harder now in her retirement then she ever did as a full time Real Estate Agent. Three years ago when Barbs sister was diagnosed with cancer she was looking for a way to share her grief. The CIBC's Two Day Cancer Walk was a perfect way to make a contribution. Each year since then, Barb and two dozen women participate in the two day 60km walk. Barb's team has raised over $250 000.00 for Cancer and this fall Barb and eleven other women of her age and motivation, posed nearly nude for their fund-raising Cancer Walk Calendar. In addition to her Cancer volunteerism, Barb has been a major sponsor recruiter for my two International (Kids and Adult) Triathlons besides a myriad of other one day programs she continually gets recruited in to help. Canada is a better place because of volunteers who coach, work at hospitals and fund-raise. Heroes like Barb Karasiuk are rarely recognized for the great efforts they make to our communities.

6. Wayne Gretzky. How many multi-millionaires give back with more than just money? Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky could have easily rode off into the warm southern US sunset with his millions and forgot about Canada. Instead Gretzky has continued to make major contributions to the Canadian landscape. The man who led Canada to our first gold medal in 50 years in men's Olympic hockey continues to give back to his native country. With teenage children, a wife and multiple companies that require his attention, it would be easy for Wayne to say that he was to busy to help give back to Canadian projects and charities. This past week Wayne wisely put his coaching duties aside with the Phoenix Coyotes, which he co-owns, and returned to Brantford, Ontario to be at his mother's bedside. Mrs. Gretzky passed away of Cancer at 64 and the man who many Canadians look to motivation was back with his father and family. Gretzky would have to be placed into the same small league with boxer Muhammad Ali and soccer star Pele when one evaluates sporting stars that have used their sporting success to change the world.

5. Lisa Bentley and Dave Cracknell. This motivating person is actually a team. Dave Cracknell is the president of ORCA Canada, a swimsuit and clothing company based in New Zealand. A former school teacher, Dave has dedicated his life to coaching kids and making a difference in the lives of many. Three years ago when Ironman Champion Lisa Bentley was going through a marriage separation, her long-time friend Dave Cracknell was there to keep her spirits up and her training on track. Over the last three years the two have fallen in love and were married in Hawaii four days after this year's October Ironman race was over. On the surface their relationship is one of two great people finding each other. Their stories are much deeper. Lisa Bentley was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, a lung impairing disease that allows few people to see their thirtieth birthday. Lisa has to pay special attention to colds and flu as any set-back can put her into a hospital for days. Regardless, Bentley has won 9 Ironman races (2.4 mile swim - 112 mile bike - 26.2 mile run) around the world and is a spokesperson for the Cystic Fibrosis Society. Initially Dave and Lisa were scheduled to be married a few days after this year's Hawaii Ironman. In the days leading up to the Hawaii race Lisa wasn't feeling well and the doctors struggled to properly diagnose her illness. Because of her strong mental capacity, Lisa was able to override her pain and started the 2005 Hawaii Ironman less then healthy. She finished the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and was 10 miles into the marathon run when Dave finally pulled her off the course. Doctors would soon learn that Lisa's pain was from a ruptured appendix and had to do emergency surgery the next day. Still in pain and in the hospital on her wedding day, Lisa got out of bed and walked down the Isle before the many international guests, who came to Hawaii, left to travel home. Dave and Lisa returned back to Canada only to have his mother's two year battle with liver cancer end. Mrs. Cracknell died earlier this past month after going well beyond the few months the doctors had predicted. Together Dave and Lisa make up one of Canada's most dynamic teams and their collective love for each other and for volunteering make them a truly unique pair.

4. Catriona Le May Doan: My wife and I were at an awards supper not long after the Saskatchewan born speed-skater retired. In a strapless low-cut back dress, she was like a Greek sculpture and no one in the room could look away when she walked by. Winning one Olympic gold medal is incredible, repeating four years later put her into rarified category of only a handful of athletes in the world. I had a chance to work with the newly inducted Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Athlete during the Athens Olympic Games and couldn't have been more impressed with her small-town-girl-positive attitude. It's easy to think because she was so tough on the skating oval, she wouldn't be so sweet in person. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Doan was the first person to stay late or help another journalist during the Games. Today Doan continues to give back to the Canadian Sport system through clinics, sitting on boards and coaching.

3. Ken Carter. One of 2005's best movies was called COACH CARTER. Samuel L. Jackson played the real-life coach Carter in a basketball movie about ethics. Ken Carter grew up in the tough northern California town of Richmond. With poverty and drugs a normal way of life in Richmond California, Ken Carter found basketball as a way of staying clear of trouble. A former star player for the local Oilers High School the movie opens with Ken being recruited to come back to his old high school to take over the coaching reigns. Coach Carter ensured his boys had more then basketball skills and at one point he shut down the school gymnasium in the middle of a great season because his players were violating their promise to stay focused in school. Too many movies glorify inappropriate lifestyles and this true life movie should not be missed. Pick it up in DVD rental over the holidays.

2. Caron Shepley. You might recognize the last name. Caron is my incredible wife who quietly gets the job done for so many people. The 8x Ironman athlete took things up another notch in 2005. Caron finished two amazing DVDs, Power-Yoga for Endurance Athletes AND Hard Core Conditioning Volume 1 (See www.bluedogyoga.com). Caron personally helped develop the programs of a dozen of our athletes who got to the finish of their first Ironman races this year. Caron has been the glue to motivate our employees at Personal Best (www.personalbest.ca) as well as hundreds of people in her weekly Yoga Programs around the GTA. Though her plate is always busy, she still found time to bake cookies for our neighbours, ensure a local family whose mother has passed away, is not forgotten on birthdays and Christmas and additionally made sure my airline tickets and VISA's were up to date for my many trips this past year. For big things to happen, some people have to do small boring things and my lovely wife is one of those special people. Take time to thank the "Caron" in your life for all they do for your company, family or team!

1. GORDON SCOTT. I simply cannot get this guy out of my mind. Gordon nearly had his legs blown off in the first days of the Second World War. While bleeding and wondering if he would live, Scott eventually was sent home early because of his injuries. Following the war Gordon Scott immediately gravitated to the War Amps. Over the years, the organization that supplies limbs to children and ex-war veterans has started to lose some of its visibility in the Canadian Community. This past summer 85 year old Gordon Scott decided to do something about that. In the hottest summer in Ontario's history, Gordon Scott pulled a 200+ pound, twelve foot long cart across Ontario to raise awareness for the War Amps. His motto was simple. GRAMPS TRAMPS FOR WAR AMPS! Gordon pulled his cart over 1500km across some of the hilliest roads in Ontario. Without any police escort or support vehicle he simply slept in his tent at night (unless a kind local family invited him in). My C3 club had the chance to properly recognize Gordon at our year end banquet last month and he was the hit of the night. Some people think about ways of helping others. Fewer people start to put their thoughts into action and even less are successful. The great organization of the War Amps needed an 85 year old ex-War-hero to regain some of the visibility they greatly need and deserve. Well done Gordon and our other 9 inspiring heroes of 2005!

2006 PROJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION

1. BARRIE AND CARON'S JAN 1ST KICK OFF RUN, HIKE OR SPIN:

Every Jan 1st wherever we are at, Caron and I host a fun active kick off Jan 1st morning for all of our friends. Join us on Sunday Jan 1st at 10am at the Riverdale Fitness Mill in Inglewood. Walk, hike (outside) or spin inside at 10am. Light refreshments to follow. If you are interested in this free, fun, kick off morning RSVP to info@c3online.ca more directions at www.c3online.ca

2. JAN 7TH C3 KICK OFF SKILLS AND LECTURE DAY:

Knowledge is power and C3, along with Barrie and Caron, are providing a full day of wellness knowledge. You pick your personal 90 minute choice in each of four sessions throughout the day. Courses include Nutrition for Sport Performance and Nutrition for Weight Loss. Sports Injury Exercises for Rehab. Swim (novice skills to advance swim). Bike (novice bike set up to advance bike workout). Run (novice learn to run skills to a hard training session). Sports Psychology. Training Questions and Answers with Olympic Coach Barrie Shepley. Sign up for half a day or the full day program based in Orangeville, Ontario. No where will you have more skilled instructors then this one day clinic. Perfect for all ages and abilities. If you would like to get back active in 2006, or improve your running, triathlon, mountain bike skills don't miss this clinic. Details and registrations at www.c3online.ca

3. LAST WEEK TO GUARANTEE A SPOT IN BARRIE AND CARON'S' 2006 IRONMAN EXPERIENCE:

Every year Caron and I work with individuals who have considered (been intrigued) about doing an Ironman Triathlon but just could never imagine how to get started. Each year we have taken absolute raw novices and helped them get successfully to the finishing line. One year 58 year old Larry Karasiuk had never swam a meter before we started the training regime in January. Each person's training is unique and individualized for them. In 2006 we are taking athletes to Ironman Nice (mid-June) and Ironman Germany (mid-July). I have to finalize my 2006 race entries before Jan 1st. If you are interested in our program, please contact me this week. Regardless of your age or current fitness level, I am confident we can get you to the finish line. Contact barrie@personalbest.ca

4. BARRIE'S MARCH BREAK AND APRIL WARM WEATHER TRAINING CAMP: Imagine one full week of warm-weather coaching and instruction in Clermont Florida. PB coaches run daily organized swim-bike-run-yoga classes for people of all levels. Each day you choose how much training (and how much laying by the pool) you want to do. Then the PB coaches develop a day of training or relaxing that meets your needs. With a heated outdoor 50m pool, a 400m track, a 50 000 square foot fitness and yoga centre, and endless miles to run/bike Clermont (think 30 minutes north of Orlando) is the perfect warm weather location. Why not consider purchasing a gift certificate for a week at our 2006 Warm-Weather camp for the active person in your life? This camp is perfect for first timer and teenagers. For more information contact Barrie@personalbest.ca.

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