Inspiring Athletes

Last week, I witnessed the happy homecoming of some of Canada's Paralympic athletes. Their family members and close friends greeted them upon their arrival at Pearson International Airport.

Some of Canada's 2014 Sochi Paralympic athletes and their families

I interviewed two of these athletes. Michelle Salt, a para-snowboarder and Jim Armstrong, a wheelchair curler. Both of them have an incredible competitive drive and love life. 2 1/2 years ago, Michelle was in a motorcycle accident which resulted in the loss of her right leg. She was in a coma for a week.

Michelle Salt

I asked Michelle if she was a competitive athlete prior to her accident. I wondered/assumed that perhaps this was what propelled her to become a Paralympian. Michelle shared that she did not compete in sports before her accident although she had enjoyed snowboarding for several years. She was also a fitness model before her accident.

Michelle set the goal of becoming a competitive para-snowboarder for herself to help motivate her to get through months of physiotherapy. She had to learn to walk again. At the time that Michelle set this goal, her doctor had told her that the best that she could hope for was to walk with a limp. Michelle had no idea if she would be able to achieve this goal. However, it gave her the motivation that she needed to work hard each day. Her mother and her sister were a key part of her support system.

You can read more about Michelle's journey on her web site.
http://megaleg.myevent.com


At the tender age of 63, Jim Armstrong is an elite athlete. Jim started curling at the age of 8.

Jim Armstrong

After knee and back injuries, he had to give up the sport. A friend introduced him to wheelchair curling 6 or 7 years ago. Jim says that it relaunched him. Jim says, "Curling was a big part of my life and when I lost it, it was huge. So to get an opportunity to come back in just a little different form has been great."

There are a couple significant differences in the sport of wheelchair curling.
1. Throwing from a stationary position "so it's hard to generate the big weight."
2. No sweeping.

According to Jim, this changes the strategy of the game. He enjoys the challenge of competing in a relatively new sport that is continually evolving.

Congratulations to all of Canada's athletes who competed in Sochi.

Canada's gold medal wheelchair curling team.

Squandered Opportunities

Sometimes, I just can't see the forest because of the trees. At other times, I am so focused on a particular goal or project that I lose sight of the big picture: the forest.

A couple years ago, Randy Starkman, a well respected and loved (by high performance athletes) journalist wanted to get together for a chat over coffee. I "wasn't" able to make it. Randy, the Toronto "Star's veteran amateur athletics journalist and a two-time National Newspaper Award winner, died April 16, 2012" (1) so this opportunity to be mentored by a man who already was where I intend to be is forever lost to me.

Why didn't we meet? It was inconvenient for me. A pathetic less than excuse. I live in Scarberia and Randy wanted to meet at a downtown coffee shop. I refused to make the time to make the trek downtown to see him.


"You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." (2) Zig Ziglar, Secrets of Closing the Sale (1984)

I believe this and I live by it.

On July 30, 2010, I was shooting the Canadian national track & field championships at the University of Toronto Varsity Centre. Shortly after I arrived, I ran into a veteran high jump coach, Gary Lubin. Gary asked me to photograph one of his athletes, Marie-Eve Chainey. I was happy to take her photo and provide Gary with a printed copy later. Gary doesn't do email.

A little later, Gary introduced me to Randy Starkman. He was writing a blog about Marie-Eve's journey as a high performance athlete despite her battle with kidney disease and wanted a photograph to accompany it. I was happy to provide Randy with a digital copy of the photo for his blog.

Gutsy high jumper aims to have ImPACKD on kidney disease
http://thestar.blogs.com/starkman/2010/08/the-power-of-sport-is-often-underestimated-it-was-marie-eve-chaineys-strong-desire-to-return-to-her-love-of-high-jumping-t.html

Thanks to my willingness to take a photo for a coach and God's providential leading (being in the right place at the right time, with photo journalist media pass and camera in hand), I had my first published photo -- in Randy's Olympic blog.

Happily, I don't do what ifs'. :)

___
References
1. http://www.thestar.com/authors.starkman_randy.html
2. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zig_Ziglar
3. Randy Starkman's blog about Marie-Eve
http://thestar.blogs.com/starkman/2010/08/the-power-of-sport-is-often-underestimated-it-was-marie-eve-chaineys-strong-desire-to-return-to-her-love-of-high-jumping-t.html

The View from 30,000 Feet

It's interesting how one views life much differently at 55 than at 30. I recently took a trip via airplane. One of the things that I took particular notice of was the ages of the flight attendants on each plane that I travelled on. A few of them were in my neck of the woods.

I was really impressed to see that at least a couple airlines (United, Air Canada) do not put their flight attendants out to pasture when they no longer look like beauty queens (or kings).

Written on an iPad using an Apple bluetooth keyboard (just because I can). :)

Lennox Farrell, an Encourager

On Saturday morning, I visited the Saint Catherines Seventh-day Adventist Church. I was pleasantly surprised to see Lennox Farrell, a friend of four decades, teaching one of the Sabbath school classes. Of course, I headed inside the sanctuary right away and joined his class. Upon noticing his wife, Joan, sitting at the back of the class, I went and sat beside her.

Both Joan and Lennox (especially him) have had a profound positive influence in my life since I was a boy.

One Sabbath during the early 70's, a visiting pastor or missionary at the Scarborough SDA Church shared a mission experience with us. Near the end of his story, Lennox joined him on the pulpit. When he had finished, Lennox enlightened the congregation about what Africa really looks like.

Provoked to the core of his being by the story of an African SDA Christian who was riding a bicycle with a woman's handbag around his neck, collecting donations for the church's annual Ingathering campaign, Lennox was unable to keep his seat. His primary complaint was that after the extensive period of time that this gentleman had spent in Africa, why could he not have found a better image of Africa to portray?

As a first year university student at the University of Toronto in 1977, I joined the Black Students' Union. The club leadership wisely arranged for a series of Black motivational speakers to make presentations to us. Lennox was one of these speakers. I was once again encouraged, inspired and guided by him when he spoke to us.

Seeing Lennox on Saturday morning at church brought these snap shots in time back to my mind.

These are the things that Lennox impressed upon me most whenever I read about him in the news during the 1980's or met him in person at church or at his home in the Jane & Finch community.

• integrity
• a willingness to stand up for your personal convictions and beliefs
• a willingness to stick his neck out to support and fight for those who have little or no opportunity to make their own voice be heard
• intelligent, articulate, a thinker
• a family man, a friend and a brother  

Lennox, thank you so very much for being a shining example of what manhood, Christianity and civic responsibility look like and sound like.

Steve & Jen Bebb: Creatives and business people who put their family first

What impacted me most during Steve and Jen Bebb's 6-hour wedding photography seminar yesterday was their their core values. Their number one priority is their family (their marriage and their two sons).

They reorganized their 2012 photography schedule and business model to more closely align it with their core values. Jen will only shoot 3 weddings this year so that she can be with their sons every week-end. They have outsourced many aspects of their photography business, including post processing photos, so that Steve can spend his afternoons and evenings with the boys when they get home from school.

Their work day ends at 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday!

I received much food for thought today, as a man, as a creative and as a business person. I was left with many priceless gems to ponder and hold onto for the rest of my life. Words of wisdom that will make me a better man, a more effective and successful business man and which will, when consistently implemented, enable me to grow my photography business. Many of these gems were already a part of my thinking.

Here are some of the precious nuggets that I gleaned from Jen and Steve.

Being a photographer versus being a business person

You create your reality. What you believe, you will make.

If you show extraordinary, people will assume that you can do ordinary.

Make your own unique business and images. Make a vision for your business.

If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there?

It’s really hard to stay motivated in your own business when you don’t know where you’re going.

Start with vision … the details will follow.

Because you are self-employed, your business can become your life.

You have to build a business that really inspires you.

These are a couple of their business practices that were eye opening to me.

Jen and Steve devote at least 1 hour a day to brainstorming. They write them all in their idea book.

Jen only answers work-related emails between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on week days only. “Let’s put things in perspective. We’re not saving lives.”

All of the following made a profound impression on me yesterday.

Their core life values

Their positive interactions with each other throughout the day

The team work that they displayed as they transparently shared with us their journey as business people whose product/service is wedding photography

Their love for each other and their children and their determination to keep first things first

Creatives, innovators, entrepreneurs who apply their combined creative energies in their personal lives as well as in their professional lives

The day that I spent at Jen and Steve's wedding photography business seminar was an investment which will yield big dividends for me as I apply the principles and business practices that I learned in my life and in my business model and practices.

Soraiya

There's something extra special about my one-year-old cousin, Soraiya. You can both see it and feel it. She is incredibly brilliant.

Let me give you two examples.

I'll give her a roll of toilet paper after tucking the end of the roll inside the roll (tube). Guess what Soraiya does each time that I tuck the end of the roll inside?

You got it. She pulls it out. Every time.

Recently, I relented and allowed her to hold onto [can't bring myself to say 'play' with] my iPhone 4 for about an hour while music was playing. Soraiya would turn the phone over and over. She is intrigued by electronics.

Every few minutes, she would push the home button which would display the image on my iPhone's lock screen. At the time, it was a bumble bee gathering pollen from flowers. Whether the phone was upside down or not [home button up or down], Soraiya hit the home button every time.

She turned one on March 1, 2012. I'd say that she's precocious.


For me, there is something fascinating and awe-inspiring about watching a child at play. Oh to be able to somehow get inside that rapidly developing brain and mind; to see what she sees -- from her one-year-old perspective.

The precious joys, privileges and responsibilities of parenthood. Soraiya, thou art truly blessed to have both a mom and a dad who love you.

Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur meet again in today's US Open

I was present at Serena and Samantha's first head to head meeting at the Rogers Cup in Toronto this year.

Aug. 14, 2011 Rogers Cup finals
Serena won 6-4 6-2. Serena leads 4-2 in head to head meetings.

Aug. 18, 2011 Cicinatti Open, 2nd round
Serena withdrew before her second round match against Samantha began due to a sore toe.

Sep. 11, 2011 US Open finals

My pre-match prediction: a 3-set match. Both women are playing for a great deal more than just themselves. They are playing for the pride of their nations.

Samantha is acutely aware of tennis history. In 2010, she was the first Australian woman to make the finals of a grand slam since Evonne Goolagong-Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. She is the first Aussie woman to play in the finals of the US Open since Evonne did in 1977.

As an American, few victories could give Serena greater satisfaction than to win the US Open in New York on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, figuratively, in the shadow of the twin towers; especially in her come back year after an 11-month absence from tennis due to injury and serious illness.

Of course, I'm looking for Serena to win. This would be the crowning event to a Cinderella tennis season for her.