Mission Possible
For context, this is an assignment in the class I teach at MTSU with F. Reid Shippen, Ernest Chapman and a plethora of amazing subject matter experts and #ballers in business. Details can be found at AMinorInReality.com — for students, the assignment is at the bottom.
It starts with a story.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a bestselling book written by Garth Stein, recently turned into a movie. This work had a profound impact on me when I first read the book, not knowing that the universe would throw me a cosmic curveball and I would live a version of his story several years later.
If you want the cliff notes, the book is told from the point of view Enzo, the dog of aspiring race car driver Denny, and their life together (which if you are a dog lover like me, you know is 15 years if you are lucky). The big take away from the book for me is a key strategy in driving race cars…
“The car goes where your eyes go”
It’s also a key strategy in life. Every night I put my now 8 year old girl to bed, I tell her “you can have anything you can see in the beautiful mind of yours” or, the car goes where your eyes go. We also tell our students that, ad nauseum.
After reading the book in 2009, I was so inspired by the work that I decided I needed to meet Garth and tell him what an impact the book had on me. #notastalker
Some people told me I was nuts, that it was “highly inappropriate” and “unprofessional” to approach an “artist”. F@ck that. I believe anything I can see in my mind I can have.
And worst he could say was no.
I’ll spare you the entire story, but about a year later, in 2009, I was working with a little rock band from Seattle (which is a story unto itself), where Garth is from. So one day, I emailed him and asked him to lunch. No reply.
#respectfulpersistence
I waited about two months. I sent another email (that email box is long lost unfortunately — I’d kill to have the thread), told him I was going to be in town, and this time I assured him I was not a crazy fanboy who was coming to kill his family… or something along those lines… respectfully asking again if I could buy him lunch in Seattle some time.
Garth’s approach to marketing the book is an amazing story unto itself for another time (it became a NYT Bestseller), but suffice to say, I got his attention, and after several more exchanges, he agreed to lunch in a little Chinese buffet in the west side of Seattle.
I flew out, he agreed to a one hour lunch. It was amazing. He gave me over two hours, we talked about music (he loves Zeppelin, who IMHO wrote the book on rock), the book & the marketing of the book, driving (he’s got the same problem with guitars and speed I have), Buddhism, of course the Seattle music scene, and a bunch of other stuff…
Turns out “some people” were wrong.
The car goes where your eyes go.
So, your assignment if you choose to accept it, is simple.
Pick someone you admire who seems out of reach, and reach out to them. Find a way. Tell them what their work has meant to you in your life (please, don’t be #stalkery or #toocreepy) and ask them if you can buy them coffee, or Chinese food. See what happens. You might be amazed.
what is a cosmic curveball?
First you have to read the Art of Racing in the Rain — you won’t be sorry. See the movie too, but read the book first. Then, if you are interested in my cosmic curve ball it started here — and ended here. And the story continues here.
Weirdly, the book I read in 2009 for pleasure, would 6 years later provide me a roadmap to my own survival. #cosmiccurveball
The car goes where your eyes go.
