RECOGNIZING
THE BEST
While
our American friends may get abused for being "too
patriotic", I admire the fact that they recognize
and elevate the status of their talented artists and
sportspeople. What is wrong with encouraging and promoting
excellence? Recognizing excellence doesn't have to
mean at the expense of the accomplishments of the
many who do not possess the "tools" to be
the best (in your community, country or world).
This
past week I attended the 28th Annual Canadian Sports
Awards in Toronto. The CBC Building was the scene
of the nationally televised black-tie affair. The
tone of the night was set during the first award when
three Olympic Gold Medallists (triathlete Simon Whitfield,
wrestler Daniel Igali and wheel chair athlete Jeff
Adams) came on stage dressed as 1970's Mod Squad characters.
All three men were up for Male Athlete of The Year
honours and each in his own unique way deserved the
award. Daniel Igali showed me why immigration is such
an important part of our government policy when the
newly crowned Canadian laid down on the wrestling
mat and kissed the flag of his new found country.
When Daniel's name was announced as the male winner
his first classy act was to seek out Simon and Jeff
and give them a respectful hug. With three amazing
role models for our citizens to look up to, we Canadians
need to do a more "flag-waiving".
Our
Female Athlete of the Year Award Winner was Olympic
Flag carrier Canoeist Caroline Brunet. The classy
Quebec canoeist has put in more miles in a boat then
any Canadian in history. When I shook Caroline's hand
in Sydney I could see the calloused result of fifteen
years of paddling for six hours a day with the single
pursuit of universal sporting excellence. Caroline
has stamped her mark on the paddling world forever
and her silver medal at the Sydney Games will sit
along side her many World Championship golds.
FIVE
SIMPLE RULES TO BEING HAPPY:
1.
Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
"No
one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone
can start from now and make a brand new ending."
THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
His
name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer.
One day, while trying to make a living for his family,
he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog.
He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired
to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming
and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved
the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying
death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to
the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed
nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the
father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I
want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You
saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept
payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer
replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the
farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll
make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level
of education my son will enjoy. If the lad is anything
like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we
both will be proud of." And that he did. Farmer
Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in
time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical
School in London, and went on to become known throughout
the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the
discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the same
nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken
with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? - Lord Randolph Churchill.
His son's name? - Sir Winston Churchill.
ACHIEVING
YOUR OWN PERSONAL BEST
When
my partner Sheldon Persad and I were developing the
philosophy we wanted to coach and live by, the name
"Personal Best" continued to emerge. Sheldon
was a provincial champion in a number of sports and
he excelled at any sport he committed himself to.
I on the other hand had picked bowlers for parents
(sorry to those of you who own your own shoes and
hit the alley on Friday night) and while I gave everything
I had when I competed, I lacked the tools for high
performance success. We agreed that we wanted to encourage
"excellence of effort and commitment" over
absolute performance. We have all met people who can
achieve greatness by only using a fraction of their
talents yet few of us would consider them successful.
Over the past decade we have continued to motivate,
instruct and encourage individuals to strive for their
own "Personal Best". Independent of sex
or age, we motivate people to "do the best they
can with the cards they have been dealt".
This
past weekend I ran the last half of the 107th Annual
Around The Bay 30km road race. All the Great Runners
of the 20th Century have made the annual run from
Hamilton through Burlington and back. While it was
another Kenyan that crossed the line first (absolute
winner), it was a 70 year old that stole the hearts
of the crowd. Milton Ontario's Ed Whitlock ran the
very hilly 30km race in 2hrs and a few seconds to
finish 54th overall. The man who is trying to become
the first 70 year old to break three hours in the
marathon beat every man in the race that was 50 years
of age and over. Whitlock is a superman who defies
the predictions of the aging experts. How many times
have you heard someone say it can't be done? They
may be talking about your fund-raising idea for your
charity, the timelines to finish off an important
project or your desire to take a year off your job
and take your two kids away to see the world (all
of which I have been fortunate enough to see happen).
As I jogged along thirty minutes behind Ed, I had
the chance to see many thousands of people trying
to achieve their own "Personal Best". I
had the privilege of watching my own wife cross the
finishing line four minutes faster then she had ever
completed the historic 30km foot-race. I watched Caron
leave the house bundled up for her long runs all winter
in pursuit of a time that would be well behind the
Kenyans and our 70 year old Superhuman. While their
can only be one overall winner (absolute), we can
each strive to achieve "our own Personal Best".
Congratulations to Caron, Ed and the many thousand
of you who set personal goals and then strive to test
your own boundaries (in sport - business and relationships).
LONG
LIVE ELVIS
Vancouver
has just finished hosting the very successful World
Figure Skating Championships this past weekend. The
finest skaters in the world strutted their stuff one
year prior to the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.
One of the biggest Canadian stories was the 10th place
finish of 3x World Champion Elvis Stoko. You learn
more about a person on how they handle adversity then
you do when they are successful. Elvis was his classy-self
after his disappointing competition. After a sincere
apology to his large fan base, Elvis proclaimed that
he would go back and work harder to be ready for next
year's Olympic Competition. No excuses. No poor sportsmanship
and no feeling sorry for himself. Elvis knows how
fortunate his life has been and the important role
model he is to millions of people. While he obviously
wants to return to the top of the podium he understands
Robert Frost's following quote: In three words I can
sum up everything I've learned about life: IT GOES
ON!
HAVE
A GREAT WEEK GANG!
Send
your ideas/questions to Barrie@personalbest.ca or
check out our web-site at: www.personalbest.ca
