By Howard Tsumura
Sports Reporter
The Province

Sandy Gardner comes clean on a guilty pleasure.

“I’ve been a junkie of self-help books all my life,” laughs the 42-year-old member of The Province’s 2003 Adidas Vancouver International Marathon team.

Well, is it strange coincidence or pure serendipity that Gardner’s new career path as a promotional manager for up-and-coming self-help coach and author Michael Losier is due in part to her involvement with The Province team?

“Believe it or not, [Province coach] Carey [Nelson] told me to read a book called Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting,” Gardner says of a self-help book aimed at manifesting personal desires.

Gardner’s desire centered on completing her second Vancouver Marathon.

“So I was on the Internet reading about it, and somehow I was attracted to a link about a book called the Law of Attraction that was coming out in January.

“I ordered it, got it, read it and it was excellent. So I e-mailed Michael [Losier], the author, and told him that I really enjoyed the book.”

Losier responded, saying that he needed help setting up meetings and speaking engagements and would Gardner be able to help?

She got him booked on the Vicki Gabereau Show in late March and there are speaking engagements set for later this summer in New York and San Francisco.

And what does all this have to do with running?

“Law of Attraction states that you attract to your life whatever you give your attention, energy and focus to, whether wanted or unwanted,” says Gardner.

“It’s all about vibrations. Like right now, I know I have a foot injury. I have plantar fasciitis. But what I say to myself is that I know my body is going to heal very quickly instead of “I can’t believe I have a running injury so close to the race.”

When last we visited Gardner, she was embarking on a career as a direct-mail copywriter. She hasn’t abandoned those plans. It’s just that her new career promises bigger and better things.

“This is really changing my life,” she laughs. “I think Michael has the potential to be the next Deepak Chopra, the next Tony Robbins. He’s just an unbelievable speaker.”

So onward Gardner pushes. When she decided to take up golf, she sought to condition herself for the sport with Robert Joseph of Vancouver’s Body Balance clinic. There, she discovered that the core exercises used to prepare for the greens were perfect for marathon training as well.

“I’m a big believer in synchronicity,” she says. With so many coincidences and her positive attitude, Gardner is likely to be the author of many more personal successes.