I look up to a lot of people, for a lot of reasons. One of those people is a Cannibal named Eddy — Eddy Merckx.
Many consider him the best to have ever raced a bicycle. The cycling world called him “The Cannibal.” Now that’s a nickname, right? But, as a cyclist who lives out in farm country, I like this one better — “When he comes up behind you, he sounds like a threshing machine.” It’s not an exact quote, but the best I can remember from the coffee shop.
While I have competed as a cyclist, my telltale slowness never earned me a podium or a nickname. I’m not heartbroken about it. My bike is more of a therapist than a whirling piece of farm equipment. And, I’m good with that.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be great at things — so great, that I get a daunting nickname. And, so do you. We all want to live a life that names like Matt, Noah, Michelle, Grace, Stephen, Carrie and (your name) cannot capture the magnitude of your character and value you bring to the world.
Want to know the secret? I circled, underlined, highlighted and drew exclamations marks in the margin of his biography when I read it. Eddy’s secret, and maybe the secret to all of us accomplishing great things was this. “Eddy’s advantage was that he never stopped being an amateur — he did it for the love.” The professional of professionals, the very best of the best rode bikes because he loved riding bikes.
It’s easy to tell when someone does something for the love. After a hard, hard, hard day working you can still see the love in their eyes. And, there’s probably more love after the hard day than after a week’s vacation. Their work fills them up. They do it for the love.
In my career, I’ve been blessed to have jobs that I got to do out of love — empathy for the audience, fascination with the challenge — that’s where you’ll find the highlights I esteem most in my resume. Love brings the very most heroic stuff out of people. I have a hard time “doing it just for the money.” I have to find something lovable that inspires me, a mission that’s worthwhile. And that’s what I’m on hunt for today. 🙂
