NICHE

"It's not about the bike: My journey back to life" by Lance Armstrong.



I've been reading this book for a couple of weeks now, juggling it along with those that I've bought in early Oct.

Last night, while lying on the bed waiting for sleep to whisk me off to dreamland, a sudden thought dawned.

"Everyone has a talent, do you believe it? 行 行 出 状 元。 There are so many types of jobs and works. Everyone has a talent. It is just a matter of discovering it. Can you imagine that? If a person ever discovers that hidden talent and exercises it daily, of what prominence that person would achieve?" The older brother had once told me this.

It has been so many years ago; so long ago that I can't even remember how old young we were at that time when the conversation took place. Whether had he said that just to dope the silly / naive / gullible me back then; I had - and still have - no idea. One thing is sure though: I still remember this statement up till this day because I had believed it back then. I was half marveling and half despairing at the vast pool of jobs / works of different nature out in the world. Would I ever be able to discover mine? I had thought, feeling like this is nowhere easier than searching for a needle in a haystack. No, scratch that. Make it a ear stick.

Last night, before sleep overtook me, this flashback of memory - like a silent ghost - drifted into the mind out of nowhere.

I know the book written by Lance Armstrong is about his battle with cancer, overcoming it, and going on to win the Tour. Last night, though, I had a different perspective.

Look at Armstrong. He has this talent in competitive cycling. His physical finesse is amazing; he has an aerobic capacity of 83.8mL/kg/min of VO2 max (the average person has 40 - 50), he has a higher-than-normal tolerance for pain, and he has other physical attributes that I would not mention here because, well, you know, the jargon baffles me.

He has this inborn talent for cycling.

However, what if, this same Armstrong is not born in America, but, let's say, Ethiopia? Despite this being the same person we're talking about here - with the same physical attributes and iron mental will - would things have turned out different? Would he have been exposed to the world of cycling and biking in the first place? Or would this talent be buried forevermore?

You?

If you had taken up fashion designing, could you be the second-generation Valentino?
If you had taken up sculpting, could you be the next Michaelangelo?
In the world of competitive swimming, the next Micheal Phelps?
The world of singing, the next Celine Dion?
The world of writing, the next Stephen King?
The next Martin Luther? The next Picasso? The next Issac Newton? The next Da Vinci? The next Beethoven? The next Gong Li? The next Jack Neo? The next Li Jia Wei? The next Bill Gates? The next Warren Buffett?

Nature versus nurture is a common bone of contention and debates. I've always thought it's a mixture of BOTH nature and nurture. The diamond is always there, hidden inside somewhere; it just takes a bit of fire, polishing, perseverance, time, and patience to bring it out.

Me?

It's one thing to be good in some things, but it's another to be excellent and a natural in it.



Me?

I'm still in the midst of discovering my own niche. But, you know what? In this game of searching and hide-and-seek, God is a Master Player.

In the world of chess, He's the chess player and we're the chess pieces. For areas the chess pieces dare not explore, I pray that He extends his finger and give it that extra push of strength and courage.