My friend, Thong Chow Ngian sent me this cartoon. I appreciate it very much as it is uniquely related to my sporting lifestyle, and he illustrated it with me in mind. What I value most about this humourous rendition is that he has honed his artistic talents for the past 25 years. He learnt how to paint with oils, took lessons abroad, and now photographs birds in Southeast Asia, and paints them. His works on ornithology are popular and he has been commissioned to do bespoke pieces.
In his book ‘DRIVE’, author Daniel Pink wrote about three elements of motivation: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Mastery is about the willingness to spend time on an area of interest, even if it does not pay you financially. Think of ourselves when learning to play better a musical instrument, baking, writing poetry, practicing magic, doing e-sports, training for a virtual half-marathon. For Chow Ngian, he studied fine arts after working-hours, whilst working in MNCs. With his retirement, he now can fully invest more focus and effort into his area of most delight and passion.
Solomon Saris, business-owner of Simurise Learning Solutions in India, directed by his dreams whilst growing up with poverty, now enjoys promoting and leading world-class business simulation games. He enjoys games, both personally and professionally, and he has great fun playing and facilitating these through online and in-person workshops. His personal mastery has led him to completing marathons, competing in long-distance triathlons, and earning a Guinness Book of Records.
Wisdom of the Triathlete: How often do you engage in your Personal Mastery? What sustains your passion? Being passionate about something requires energy, especially when learning several new things can frustrate us. In these times of tumultuous changes, how do you turn the ‘team in turmoil’ into a higher-performing one? How do you share in your passion for learning, developing employees, enabling recruits, and building on capabilities?
Enrico Varella 
