Tag Archives: review

For Olympic champion Marnie McBean, the proof is in the medals

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Athlete shares how wanting more can fuel the path to success

by Jules Torti, Special to the Vancouver Sun (Link to article here)

The Power of More

By Marnie McBean, foreword by Steve Nash

Greystone Books, Douglas & McIntyre, 257 pages

If anyone is entitled to writing about achieving goals, it would be a three-time Olympic rowing champion with three gold and one bronze medal as testament. In The Power of More, Marnie McBean translates her infectious energy into a book that is the equivalent of verbal Red Bull.

There is an instant pep rally momentum to her easily digestible subtitle: “How small steps can help you achieve big goals.” We are introduced to the mental physique of a retired athlete who has already proven her physical endurance — and her continued high-octane enthusiasm to be better and more is contagious. Humbling anecdotal moments where McBean admits nearly quitting, failure, disillusionment and frustration quickly level the playing field. She’s normal, she’s human. Continue reading →

A Recipe for Success

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Olympic gold medallist Marnie McBean outlines a strategy for setting and achieving goals that can be applied to business – or any aspect of life

By George Hartman | June 2012  for Investment ExecutiveHow often have you set a goal and achieved it? Chances are this has happened to you a number of times. Feels good, right? Now, how often have you set a goal that others have said was too high for you – beyond your grasp and capabilities – and achieved that one? Not as often, I bet. But how good would that feel?

Marnie McBean, three-time Olympic gold medallist and winner of numerous other championships, knows all about setting audacious goals and, more important, what it takes to defy the limits that are imposed on us, either by ourselves or by others.

In The Power of More: How Small Steps Can Help You Achieve Big Goals, McBean describes her journey to world dominance in the sport of rowing – the dreams, the challenges, the pinnacles of success and the depths of disappointment. Part autobiography and part confessional, the book also is invaluably instructional and inspirational for anyone who has set their sights on personal accomplishment in sports, business or life.

As the title suggests, the book’s theme is about breaking large goals into smaller pieces and doing “just a little bit more” when the task seems too difficult. That is, pushing yourself one notch closer to your goal, whether it is connecting with that elusive new prospective client, perfecting an important presentation, completing a tedious project, climbing the CN Tower or running your first 10-kilometre race. (Which, coincidently, I did one week after reading this book, with McBean’s words – “Just one more step” – carrying me to setting a personal-best time.) Continue reading →

My 1st book review!!

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By Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

Marnie McBean adds author to resume that already includes mentor and champion

TORONTO – On a recent Italy trip with Canadians who had purchased the “Under the Tuscan Sun” package at an Olympic fundraising dinner, Jim Cuddy and Barney Bentall provided the music while Marnie McBean, Curt Harnett and Chandra Crawford served up the inspiration.

When it was McBean’s turn to talk during “Olympic Athlete Night,” the three-time Olympic rowing champion pulled out her Canadian uniform from the opening ceremonies at the 1992 Games.

The outfit, in her words, was horrendous — technicolour puke. But it remains a valuable teaching tool two decades later.

Coach Al Morrow reminded his disappointed rowers that ugly uniforms and spartan accommodations were not at the heart of their Olympic journey to Barcelona.

“Our rowing was the only thing we needed to worry about,” McBean writes in her new book “The Power of More.” “Everything else was just filler.”

The anecdote comes under the subhead “Remember What Matters.”

McBean’s book is crammed with such nuggets — unique, often off-the-wall anecdotes and life lessons. Continue reading →