Dear PB Readers,

With the rare exception of our fixation on hockey, average Canadians don’t generally tend to show their passions very publicly. Saturday night I was a guest of my brother-in-law at the Canadian Staff Military College Graduation. My brother in law has been in the military for over two decades, and has been on many missions representing Canada, proudly wearing the Maple Leaf as if he were at the Olympics. While winning medals in sport is nice, the work that Tim Bishop has done in saving the lives of starving people around the world is much more important. The Canadian Military is very much like our Nation. Some of the most qualified people doing some of the most important work, but doing so in anonymity. The 100 plus graduates from the one year specialist program are some of the brightest minds and most ethical people I have ever met. They have accepted a life of constantly being moved around the country and the world, to make the planet a safer place for all of us. Saturday evening’s celebration was a unique opportunity to peer into the world of some of our nation’s true heroes. Their salaries are modest, and the resources they have to do their jobs are thin at best. My brother in-law has parachuted over 170 times in his life in preparation for helping a child, family or town that might need his specialty training. He has slept in the equivalent of a rail-car-box for nearly a year while helping sweep a war-torn region of land-minds. Over the evening I had a chance to speak to a dozen of his graduating class and was amazed at their humble and respectful demeanor. Without exception the 100+ graduates saw themselves as Canadian Ambassadors to help the world be a better place. With our non- "Ra! Ra!" Canadian culture, it is unlikely that you will ever get to know the names of any of the bright Canadian Ambassadors I met Saturday evening, but be rest assured as the graduating class of 2005 go out around the world with the Maple Leaf on their shoulders you can be as proud of them as you are of NBA Basketball Star Steve Nash or Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler Daniel Igali.

Welcome to our new and old readers to our 246th consecutive week of our Personal Best Newsletter. My personal mantra is "you get more of what you think about". That is both a positive and a negative. If you think about how amazing the world is, you will wake up each day wanting to contribute to its magnificence. If you think about how short our time is on this earth, you will want to do something positive with your 24 hours today. If you spend your time thinking about how unfair the world is, the chances are you will see its ugly warts and totally miss the beauty that is just inches away. My goal each week is to help provide a medium that focuses on the positive aspects of the word we live in. I am not naïve, believing that there is no pain or destruction or sadness (there is). But I do believe the mind is like a TV SET and if we don’t program the positive things, we will be default be filled with the negative. I challenge you to sign up a few of your friends for our always free, always positive weekly newsletter. You can do so be emailing me directly at barrie@personalbest.ca or going to our website at www.personalbest.ca

JUNE 27th PB HIGHLIGHTS

* DR. JILL AMMON-WEXLER’S QUOTE ON PASSION
* A PICTURE AND FOLLOW-UP ON 84.5 YEAR OLD GORDON SCOTT
* THE POWER OF THE MIND? AN IMPORTANT STORY ON FOLLOWING YOUR HEART
* READING CAN BE DANGEROUS
* BARRIE’S LIFE CHANGING CHALLENGE TO 25 OF YOU FOR 2006 IRONMAN NICE
* TRI-COOL CALEDON JULY 30TH (WE NEED VOLUNTEERS, PARTICIPANTS & SPECTATORS)
* GEORGE DICKSON TALKS ABOUT THE EMERGING WELLDERLY MARKET

DR. JILL AMMON-WEXLER’S QUOTE ON PASSION

"People with believable and achievable goals built around their true passions succeed because they know where they are going today. It's as simple as that."

FOLLOWING GORDON SCOTT

Each week I will continue with a mini-update my personal hero this summer. Gordon Scott is 84.5 years old (yes likely older then most of your grandparents). He is walking 1500km across Ontario (in the hottest summer in decades) pulling a 150 pound two wheeled trailer (with his tent, food and life-belongings). A former World War Two Veteran, he nearly lost his legs in the second World War and is raising awareness for the War Amps and the great work that they do. Gordon is past Guelph and is moving toward Waterloo, pulling his cart and sleeping outside in his little tent (when locals don’t welcome him into their home for a bed and a good meal). Imagine you walking 1500km at the age of 84.5 (with no road side assistance, trailing van or outside help). Then imagine pulling a 150 pound trailer in the 32-40c degree heat. People didn’t really figure Terry Fox out until the end of his journey and Rick Hansen didn’t get a lot of publicity at the beginning either. Check out my website at www.personalbest.ca for a great picture of this little, 84 year old man and the incredible large, heavy trailer he is pulling across the province. If you see him on his journeys, stop your car and shake his hand. He loves to meet people!

THE POWER OF THE MIND

A few times a year I ask my friends and athletes the following question, "If you were diagnosed today with a disease that gave you only a year to live, what would you do"? Who would you call, or go visit, or make time to see? And, why aren’t you doing that now. In one of country and western’s only songs I like, there is a phrase "LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING". I can remember with incredible vividness, two springs ago when I would walk with my mother during her last weeks of a two year battle of cancer. Across the road from her apartment building was a beautiful grave-yard with huge trees and lush grass. My mom and I would take her dog across the street and had some of the most incredible long talks. With over twenty-five chemotherapy sessions under her belt, doctors couldn’t figure out how she kept going on. Most people would simply lie in bed waiting for death - angry at the world. I gave my mom one of my stop watches and allowed her to feel sorry for herself for up to twenty-minutes a day. Most days she didn’t even use up half of allotted "feel sorry for me time" on her watch.

Instead of spending her last days angry at the world, my mom spent time writing letters to her friends and family so that we would have a keepsake when she was gone. There were many lessons my mother taught me during her battle with cancer, but one of the greatest was "WHY WAIT". Why not do what you want to do now, instead of waiting five years, ten years or until you retire. There is no question that there are some economic realities and time constraint issues that we all deal with. But I also know that smart people don’t wait endlessly to do what is important to them. The last thing my mother did for me was purchase a hot tub for my house. Knowing my wife and I couldn’t afford one (but wanted one) her final wish was that everytime I hear the bubbles, I know she would be thinking of my wife and I (and I do). June 30th will be the second year anniversary of my mom’s passing. Her passing was an important opportunity to test my personal mantra of "you get more of what you think about". Would I focus on the negative (her death) or the positive (her life)?

I could either appreciate the incredible years we had together, the passion she instilled in me to "live life to the fullest" or I could focus on the very challenging obstacles that cancer created for her! One of my fondest memories will remain an evening in early May 2003, when I drove my mom to a local Casino in Hamilton where two dozen of her friends from McMaster University were secretly waiting for her. Less then a month before she died, she was in a wheel chair with oxygen attached to her, and pulling the arm on the slot machine with the vigor of a twenty-year old. On the way home from the Casino, my mom knew that she would likely never see any of her friends again. "Don’t wait your entire life to do what makes you happy" reflected my mother. "WHY WAIT" Life is short and your time to do what pleases you is short as well.

People always ask me why I am so passionate and optimistic and energetic. A 58 year old woman in a wheel chair, attached to an oxygen tank that hadn’t been able to eat for nearly six weeks is a big reason why! June 30th will always remain as an important day for me to reflect on how lucky I was to have Patricia Laura Shepley in my life. So I ask each of you. "WHY WAIT". What is it that you want to do? Should and could do, if you just got off your butt and did some planning? Time is ticking for all of us. The challenge has been laid!

DID YOU KNOW THAT READING CAN BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH?

Fifteen days ago, I read that smoking can kill you; The next day I stopped smoking. Twelve days ago, I read that too much red meat can kill you; The next day I stopped eating red meat.. Eight days ago, I read that drinking can kill you; The next day I stopped drinking. Yesterday, I read that having sex can kill you; This morning I stopped reading.

INCREDIBLE INITIAL INTEREST TO IRONMAN NICE, FRANCE

We are less then two weeks away from my 2005 crop of Ironman Competitors. Each year I take 25-30 people to do an Ironman some place in the world. Generally half of them have not ever done a triathlon in their lives before the big day. July 10th I will be in Frankfurt Germany with two dozen Canadians doing the 2.4 mile swim - 112 mile bike - 26.2 mile run at Ironman Germany. Half of the group are raw novices. It's going to be exciting. Last year they took up the challenge and this past weekend we had our last hard workout before we get to Germany.

Last week I put out the challenge for 2006. Ironman Nice France June 16th, 2006. Sixteen people already inquired (most have never done an Ironman). My promise is simple. I create an individual process to get you from where-ever you are currently at, to the finishing line of Ironman Nice France. Where-ever you are starting at, we will get you there in less then a year. If you are interested, we still have spots available. For those who contacted me last week, I will be sending out a package by July 1st. I only have one question for you. "WHY WAIT"? If you have ever been interested, why not make 2006 the year! Email barrie@personalbest.ca if you are interested.

TRI-COOL CALEDON JULY 30TH

I love my town and I am proud that it was selected as Ontario’s Greenest community. We can swim in the local lakes and quarries, run through the many hundreds of kilometers of trails and bike along the greatest roads in the GTA. To celebrate our town’s passion for the outdoors, a great friend has created a relay triathlon for July 30th. It's called TRI-COOL CALEDON. The format is simple. Get two friends (for some of us that is difficult). One friend swims, one friend bikes (any kind of bike will do) and one friend runs. The three person relay team does the TRI-COOL CALEDON Race. You have two options (mini distance or Olympic Distance). During the day the best elite’s in the country will be racing on national television (including Canada’s Olympians Brent McMahon and Samantha McGlone). The race will host the National Junior Championships and the World Age Group Qualifiers. With live bands, a sit down awesome post-race supper, draw prizes and the chance to see the world’s best endurance athletes there is something for everyone July 30th. The entire event takes place just 30 minutes north of Toronto in beautiful Caledon. If you are totally non-athletic, we are in need of volunteers and spectators for the day. Please check out our website at www.c3online.ca

PS: If you were an ex-national Triathlon Canada age group, junior or elite, find out more about Martin Rydlo and Stefan Timm’s OLD SCHOOL Race Category. A great reunion of ex-Trican athletes July 30th, 2005.

THE EMERGING WELLDERLY MARKET

At Personal Best we serve many populations, but one of the biggest trends we’ve seen is products and services that enrich people’s lives. The "Wellderly" as I like to call them, are health conscious, active, aging baby boomers who have more time to fill along with the necessary disposable income and seem to share many similar traits. You may find yourself in this group and you are not alone in your quest for a different life than many of our mothers and fathers had as they approached retirement dealing with chronic conditions.

A positive, optimistic view of aging -with a strong desire for meaning, purpose, freedom, self-satisfaction, and physical/mental/spiritual enhancement -can be translated into marketing opportunities. Real estate developers, for example, focus not only on a place to live in retirement but a lifestyle vision where buyers can remain healthy and involved in their communities.

Here are some of the things that we have found important at Personal Best in creating many of our programs for you our clients based on these trends. Research has shown us that in order to appeal to this segment we need to consider fears, barriers, and motivators. We must ensure our image is in sync…being role models. Many of our staff are more mature themselves and we understand and empathize with participant capabilities.

We know that creating excitement in sharing the adventure on the road to ongoing health and making them (or you for many of our clients) feel comfortable about learning a new skill, while cultivating social interactions is critical to your success. Our training groups that have headed to Austria, Sweden (and Germany this summer) are examples of how we have helped people tackle the challenge of completing an Ironman Triathlon while cultivating new experiences and developing lifelong relationships.

The pleasure-based approach versus the clinical should focus on well-being vs. clinical/medical health. This is prime time for expression, fun, creativity and even spirituality for many. So we try to find ways to allow refreshing sensory experiences in our programs. For example our coached swim workouts in local lakes and quarries are another example of something different that appeals to sensory. Instead of heading to the pool at a local fitness centre a swim in the outdoors does wonders for the mind and body.

A person’s ability to see themselves mastering a skill or accomplishing a task plays an important role in overcoming fears. We try to partner participants for support which often allows them to make positive predictions of their own progress. The gateway to serving the "wellderly" is opening up. You may even use some of these ideas as beacons to chart your course in your own business if you are marketing to US! (Yes I’m in this group too!)

GEORGE DICKSON IS A SENIOR PARTNER IN PERSONAL BEST AND WELL RESPECTED IN THE INDUSTRY FOR HIS ABILITY TO GET DIFFERENT POPULATIONS ACTIVE. If your company is interested in a Personal Best Corporate program contact caron@personalbest.ca

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