My Kinda Hero

“Who is your hero?” is a rather simple question but has myriads of possible answers, even for the same person at different times.?

“My father”, “My teacher”, “Army officer”, “One of the Avengers”, “Depends on the mood” could be some common replies.?

Nobody asked me that question. Nor was I looking for an answer.

“Then why this write-up?” you may ask. Mild epiphany, I'd say!?

That brings me to this fascinating ‘Where Are They Now?’ piece on Gary Smith by Joseph Bien-Kahn, that I recently chanced upon.

I had no idea who either of them was. But the summary caught my attention. And Oh! Aren’t I glad that I read it?

Apparently, Gary Smith is one of the, if not the best. So, I went and read 2 of his articles back-to-back – Mike Tyson and Tiger Woods – and no arguments there – two of the finest sports profiles I have ever read!

According to Bien-Kahn’s piece on Smith, when the erstwhile illustrious ‘Sports Illustrated’ offered 28-years-old Smith a writing job, his counteroffer was to take half the money to be on contract to write four feature stories per year. The reason was that he felt like he was a student of life and wanted to see and learn so much. So, he did not want to be on the wheel with deadlines! He wrote under this contract for 8 years and by the time he was required to “adult”, he had built up his credibility and could negotiate for a higher pay for the four-stories-per-year structure. And then, when he was still in high demand, he went ahead and retired (from the magazine) and “teaches mindfulness to elementary school kids these days”.

This is difficult to imagine in today's world of fast pace and rat race, when everyone (or almost everyone) is running after this abstract concept called "success". “Because Smith was obsessed with excavation, not exposure”, Bien-Kahn tells us. Smith’s friend Rick Reilly (a star writer himself) describes Smith as, “His life really is very Zen. He’s doing that and enjoying that. Then he makes lunch and he loves doing that. Then he does the dishes, and he likes feeling the water and soap on his hands. He’s just in the moment. It’s a wonderful thing.”

Half the money! He negotiated for more time, not for more salary! That would take an immense amount of confidence and self-assurance, I suppose! Different times, I admit, but still... How many of us will have the courage to ask for more time for ourselves – to explore, to be curious, to slow down and just breathe, or even to do nothing??

I can absolutely relate to someone who can say, “The process is really what I love. The doing of it, not having it done.”

That’s my kinda hero!

So, who's your hero?