Listen:
Sometimes you just miss the mark.
In life and in art and in podcasting, sometimes you take a shot and it falls a bit flat. So it was with the episode I originally recorded for this week. I did an hour talking about the ‘vid and the year that was, but upon reflection it didn’t really work for me so I decided to junk it. There’s a precedent for this. I have several unreleased episodes kicking around that will never see the light of day. Hey, even I have standards.
So I tossed the original episode, which turned out to be a fortunate thing, because between Friday’s original recording and Sunday’s re-do, Big Ramy won his first Mr. Olympia title. And you may or may not care about that, but Big Ramy’s big win in bodybuilding’s biggest show – after years of missing the mark – provides a useful object lesson for today’s episode about making incremental improvements over time. My research for the original recording took me back to a couple of my older episodes and … yeah, that's a timely lesson.
Don’t let not being the finished article stop you from beginning your journey, friends. Improvement is the product of practice and evolution. You must go through the process of improvement if you’re going to get anywhere with anything, and the sooner you start, the sooner you arrive. Resolution season is nearly upon us, so start a thing, will you? Begin. Do it badly. Get better. Let it grow.
Today’s episode also includes an ode to The Grand Tour, which is one of my favourite television shows (or, more accurately, streamed shows). The Grand Tour is part car show and part travel odyssey, and it features three hosts who have become like friends to me over the course of their various programs. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May have kept me company on many, many days on the road, and with lockdown looming yet again, they provide a reminder that personalities – on television, radio, podcasts, etc. – can be at least a temporary cure for loneliness. Whether you're into cars or not, The Grand Tour offers breath-taking cinematography, loads of hijinks, and lots of laughter. Check it out, and if you like it, there are three-plus seasons of regular episodes and extended specials to dig into.
Yet again I remember that if I talk about it all here there’s no point in listening to the episode, so I’ll stop. See below for a bit of Big Ramy and a preview of The Grand Tour’s A Massive Hunt.
This is the last episode of 2020 me. I want to thank each of you for listening to and supporting the show. I’ll encourage you here as I did in today’s episode to reach out to someone over the holidays. People are lonely, especially with lockdown coming. Reach out and say hello, whether you’re lonely or not. You can make a huge difference in a person’s life – and your own.
Happy holidays, one and all. Here’s to your cockles!
Big Ramy:
The Grand Tour:
Comments