Sent to you by nunok via Google Reader:
I don't know about you, but I've always been fascinated by surfing. Something about the elegance of seeing someone balancing on a board floating over the forces of nature manages to be both inspiring and relaxing to watch. But despite a period of trying to conquer skateboarding, I knew I'd never be a surfer. Partly it was down to geography – Kent in England is not necessarily a hotbed of surfing talent. More importantly, I combined a lack of balance with a dislike of swimming.
But around the age of 11 or so, I read the amazing Walking on Water by Andy Martin. Like me, he grew up in England, and didn't become a professional surfer – but due to his fascination and obsession with it, he did spend time in the water, and the book covers his journey to Hawaii to speak to the leading stars of the early 90s and to cover the world championship at the time.
What really hooked me was one passage, in which he describes being stopped at airport customs and asked what the purpose of his journey was. Having been hired to do some freelance reporting on surfing for The Times, he pulled out a busines card stating 'The Times, Surfing Correspondent', and that allowed him to carry on his journey. (I'm writing from memory as I suspect a previous loan of the book led to it never returning to my possession).
It's followed by amazing writing, characters and stories as he gets to meet all his heroes and surf Hawaii, but the key thing that stuck with me was this:
You can be an expert, earn a living, meet your heroes and be utterly absorbed by something as a writer, and sharing that can be as powerful as actually doing it for a living.
Suddenly I realised that I might never be paid to race cars or bikes, but I could earn a living by sharing my obsession and knowledge of motorsport and all things with an engine.
Having applied that approach to motorcycles, cars, technology, and writing itself, I've had the enormous good fortune to be published by leading publications in their field, visited foreign countries, had amazing experiences and spoken with a number of my childhood heroes. Less than 1% of racers will ever get to legitimately be in the MotoGP paddock, for example, but as a journalist I was able to experience it, which I'll always treasure.
And there's another key lesson.
You might think that 'those that can, do, and those that can't, write ' (to adapt a hackneyed quote about teaching). But many top sportsmen and women can't explain what they do and how they do it. It's not their job. They have to concentrate on whatever it takes to get to the top and stay there, and not consider anything else. It's why quite often the most talented people are the worst instructors, because they have no idea what it was like to be an untalented beginner!
That's why it's our job. And why it's my passion and obsession to share the things I love in a way which could inspire the same passion in others.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to TheWayoftheWeb using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
No comments:
Post a Comment