The Amazing Age of Access: Parkour as a Metaphor

I was watching an excellent documentary on Parkour called “Pushing Progression: Freerunning.” Parkour is the sport where these amazing athletes run, jump and land off these buildings and city landscapes, performing amazing feats along the way. 

 It’s fascinating and exemplifies how extremely globally competitive this sport has become. World Champions literally come from anywhere and everywhere. One day,  they are practicing their trade in obscurity, the next day they are winning competitions and becoming known in the growing community. 

Tony Hawk was the narrator and he said: 

“I think The Internet accelerated sports progression because it levels the playing field, anyone can produce content and can show what they are doing and what’s new immediately. And I love that the Internet provides that to kids and the Internet provides that to people who want to make a career out of it but didn’t have the resources to uproot themselves and live where the industry is. And now the industry is everywhere.”

It seems blindingly obvious but as long as you have an internet connection you literally have a big doorway to a whole world of opportunity. 

One of the elite athletes in the documentary said something very profound, that: “Parkour as a sport definitely lives on the Internet. And that is the main place for creative exchange.”

They go on to say that: 

“You have this library of material where you can go and study which is amazing.”

“We have seen a huge progression because as soon as there is a community where they mirror what you are doing and where you can mirror them.” 

I think this goes beyond Parkour. I think it’s directly relevant for every single hobby, industry, business and your career. The amount of great knowledge one can dive into, share and play off of. You can learn from the best wherever you are. It’s easier than ever to understand what is global maximum. Basically once you know what the global standard of excellence is, you can practice and push yourself to get to it. This is reflective of how global the nature of competition has become. 

But despite this amazing opportunity, the big missing piece in most people is the attitude/ mindset of constant education and learning. Just because you do have access doesn’t mean someone will use it. 

As Naval Ravikant said: “Free education is abundant, all over the Internet. It’s the desire to learn that is scarce.” So sadly true. Opportunities are literally everywhere around you, but you still have to show up and do the work!