The Skillbatical

Ravi Gupta (0:00)

Welcome to the Lost Debate, a show for political eclectics. I'm Ravi Gupta, and today is the day my book, The Invisible List comes out. So you can get this book wherever you get your books. And as a reminder, this book is all about how to learn new hobbies and passions laid into life. And it basically picks up in my life at the point where I had just left running schools and I started to treat each year like a school year, and myself as my only student. And I one at a time each year learned a completely new domain, power lifting, screenwriting, surfing, tennis, novel writing, biochemistry, Italian cooking. And for those of you who've been listening to this podcast for a long time, you'll learn a lot about me, but also about how I think about learning. But most importantly, it'll give you a guidebook and a method for tackling your own skills and passions. And I profile a bunch of people throughout the book. In addition to myself, who come from all walks of life, people who beat cancer and had debilitating diseases, who've retired or recently become widowed, and who use those inflection points in their life and challenges as an opportunity to take on some big new hobby or passion. And so go out and get this book, wherever you get your books today.

You know, this podcast is free. You know, a lot of us have been on this journey for a long time. If everybody who listens to this podcast gets the book, never mind if you get a few.

And remember, we have audio book, ebook and hard cover.

And we're available in a bunch of different countries.

If everybody who's listening to this gets this book, we will make the New York Times bestseller list, just from this audience. So if you're listening to this and you want to do me a favor, but also you want to do yourself a favor, read this book. It's perfect timing. It's back to school time and no time. It'll be New Year's resolutions. It's perfect time to refresh yourself, take on something different and ambitious.

And if you want to learn something about me, but also you want to do me a solid, go out and get that book today, order it. It'll be in your bookstores. It's also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, bookshop.org for local. And if all of you do that, if each of you get one book, nevermind if you get a few, we will be a New York Times bestseller, just from this podcast. So it is in your hands, audience. And as a special token of my appreciation, I am giving you an excerpt from one of the chapters. So this is an excerpt from the audiobook of my surfing chapter, which is all about what I call a skillbatical, which is when you have that time in your life where you could take time off to learn something really big. This is my chapter on all about how to go about that process. And this is just the very beginning of that chapter. So listen in, I hope you enjoy. Pre-order The Invisible List if you like what you hear. I had been underwater for too long. The wave put me in the blender so badly, I didn't know how far below the surface I was, or which direction the surface was in. My arms, the arms I'd spent my power lifting year cladding in muscle, were now so heavy and fatigued, they felt like anchors. For a heartbeat, I considered giving up. Then I felt a tug of the tether on my ankle, up. With the last of my strength, I clawed my way to the surface. The instant I broke through, I gulped in air and a lungful of seawater. Choking and spinning, I wasted precious seconds I should have used to steady myself before the next onslaught.

Through stinging eyes, I desperately searched for any sign of other surfers. Rain pelted down, obscuring everything but the waves churning around me. This was the rainy season on the Guanacaste coast of Costa Rica, when the waves routinely surpass 10 feet and visibility is terrible. Perfect for seasoned surfers, hell for beginners.

Finally, about 20 yards off, I saw Tommy Potterton, my coach. He was paddling out toward me and the next approaching wave. Stop panicking, he shouted.

Being told to stop panicking only made me panic more. It's like being told not to laugh in church or not to pick at a scab. Suddenly, it's all you can do. I had a nine-foot surfboard strapped to my right foot via a long cord called a leash. And now I was the dog and the board was my owner, dragging me wherever it pleased. I grabbed the leash trying to haul in the board when a towering wall of green water crashed down over me. Roaring filled my ears as the spin cycle began. Once again, I couldn't tell up from down. But the leash isn't just there to keep a surfer from losing his board. It's also a life preserver. I clutched the thin cord for dear life and followed it back to the surface.