If You Could Sit Down and Have Dinner with Anyone, Who Would It Be?
"I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes art"
7.5 min read
I know, I know. If there was an Oscar category for "Most cliched questions of the century", this question would be a bookies favourite to pocket gold. Not only is this question a sure-shot way to never hear back from a tinder match, it has the added benefit of being almost appropriate in a multitude of settings. From job interviews to sleep-overs with friends, ask this question and watch people frantically come up with bs answers. More out of curiosity than anything else (not to mention the numerous times I tried passing other people's answers as my own) I decided to take a stab at answering this question for myself. The title's a little misleading and what follows is actually a list of THREE people (in no particular order) I would pick if I could pick anyone to have dinner with.
1. Arsene Wenger - Le Professeur
Arsene Who? For those who don't know my first pick, Arsene is the former manager of Arsenal Football Club. Arsene's not only the longest serving manager in Arsenal's history but also the ONLY manager in the modern game to go an entire "football" league season unbeaten (even if you don't watch football let me tell you it's a BIG deal). Despite his managerial successes, picking him as my first choice has less to do with football and more to do with who he is as a person.
Having followed football (and him) over the past 14 years, I can easily say that no sports personality has had a bigger impact on my life (and on millions of others) as he has had. Until he stepped down as Arsenal manager a couple of years ago he was one of the few constants in my life. I went through high school, moved to a new country and went to college, I got a job, settled in a new city (aka adulted) and I made (some) progress on discovering who I am, what I believe in and who I want to be. Reflecting on this period of my life, I now realise that I ascribe to a lot of his ideas and philosophies, especially on topics beyond sports and football and in the domains of life, love, humanity and loyalty. Here's a quote by him to give you a flavour of the kind of person he is and how he thinks about the world:
I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes art. When you read some books they are fantastic, the writer touches something in you that you know you would not have brought out of yourself. He makes you discover something interesting in your life. If you are living like an animal, what is the point of living? What makes daily life interesting is that we try to transform it into something that is close to art. And football is like that.
I admire Arsene’s vision. I admire how he attempted to create art on the pitch and truly ushered in a new era of football management with his brand of fluid, attacking football. I admire his attention to detail that took him beyond the scope of his job description. From his players diet and the equipment in the training facilities to the finances of the holdings company that owns Arsenal, Arsene had strong views on everything. Operating at the top-level in your 60s (and still now in his early-70s!) is no mean feat. Season after season competing for top honors takes an enormous amount of physical and mental discipline (among many other qualities).
I give him all the credit for making me realise that being committed to a cause where you have the ability to make people feel a certain way is a worthwhile endeavour for anyone. To act on this feeling is on me. Merci beaucoup, Arsene.
2. Imran Khan - The Skipper
I can already feel my Pakistani friends cringing but give me a chance, I might just be able to defend my choice...
For those of you who don't know him, Imran Khan is a superstar-cricketer-turned-politician who is the incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan. To mention a couple of his major accomplishments, he famously captained the Pakistani Cricket team to the country's only World Cup victory and later founded one of the country's largest cancer care hospitals via personal donations and a massively successful fundraising campaign (all before finding a political party which now forms the ruling government!). Now I'm not going to sit here and make it sound like everything he touches turns to gold; in fact over the past couple of years he has received lots of very valid criticism on his failure to deal with important political issues in the country. Neither is he the most self-aware person you'll ever meet but that's not why I look up to him either.
He's on this list because of two attributes he possesses: drive and self-belief, and it takes bucket loads of both to achieve what he has over the past 3 decades.
Walking into a cricket team as a a teenager surrounded by a group of people who believed "izzat say haarna" (losing respectably) against the English Cricket team would be a good result and still coming out on top is no mean feat. Deciding to enter politics and creating his own political party knowing full well that governing Pakistan (the handful of years the country hasn't been under military rule) has only ever been a two-party affair takes courage. Not giving up despite facing defeat after defeat in provincial and national elections with few signs of improvement takes a lots of self-belief and perseverance. If there's one thing that Khan has, its self-belief and I find that admirable. If you disagree with that then I would challenge you to think of the number of times you've set a goal for yourself only to give up (or "not really want it") after a few tries.
He might not measure up to the Merkels' and the Obamas' of the world but as a fellow Pakistani with lots of shared experiences, he earns a premium for being relatable and hence makes the list.
3. Naval Ravikant - The Angel Philosopher
If you are a regular reader of my newsletter (jk jk) you'd know that I'm a huge fan of Naval's approach to life. His claim to fame is two-pronged
His series of successful early stage investments in the likes of Uber, Twitter, Postmates
His insightful stance on wealth creation that I wrote about last year so won't repeat
Yet, why he makes this list has nothing to do with either of the above. He's on here because DESPITE being a Silicon Valley tech bro he has successfully rebranded himself as a very respected intellectual to thousands (if not millions) of young people.
I like Naval because he's someone who has achieved a high-level of proficiency in self-awareness WITHOUT compromising on the real world. I have always felt that it's harder to be around the stressors of life and still manage to find time to work on yourself than to completely opt-out of it and choose to live in the metaphorical mountains or forests. How Naval manages to maintain this balance is what I'd like to tease out of him at this Dinner convo. Here's an actionable snippet from his book that I often find myself going back to:
Every time you catch yourself desiring something say, “Is it so important to me that I be unhappy unless this goes my way?” You’re going to find with the vast majority of things it’s just not true. I think dropping caffeine made me happier. Makes me more of a stable person. I think working out every day made me happier. If you have peace of body, it’s easier to have peace of mind.
Other questions I'd like to ask Naval would be "how to's" on getting rid of self-doubt and following a routine that sets you up for inner peace as much as success. In my opinion, the feeling of never having done enough (which some of us are all too familiar with) might result in accomplishing certain tasks and achieving short-term milestones but it isn't sustainable. Naval could choose to fill his days listening to startup pitches and attending board meetings but instead works a set number of hours a week and makes it a point to meditate an hour a day, calling it the best hour of his day.
Lastly, Naval's a brilliant motivational speaker and listening to a few minutes of his latest podcast interview with Tim Ferriss will give you all the evidence you need of that.
That’s all from me. If you've read this far, thank you, and would love to hear in the comments below if this is a question that you have thought about and who your picks would be :)
Life Update
Took a (not so) brief hiatus from writing this newsletter to take the GMAT and the Certified Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) test
Traveling as I work remotely from different cities in the US. Working out of the Bay Area currently
Stay Safe,
Rohail
Want more? Check out some of my other newsletters below:
— Eat the frogs first, Ice-cream later
— Evolution’s calling
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