It’s not where we start…

12/11/2020

…but the journey we take.

Listening to @TalkRadio this morning made that thought clear to me. Paul Ross was speaking with Phillip Sharples – known as the turfman – who was speaking from Saudi Arabia where he’s currently installing a race course.

He started out, as most people do, not really knowing what he wanted to do but more what he didn’t want as a career – to work in an office. So he got a job cutting grass at his local golf course that he did for four years before deciding he was going to ‘be the best I can at this industry’ and went to University.

Phil spoke about PH levels, grasses etc. It could have been a totally boring session for me but Phil had the unique ability to bring his trade alive sharing the interesting places he’s worked installing football pitches in really hard terrain for example. Currently he’s installing a racetrack in Saudi for one race in February 2021! I learned grass can grow anywhere if the soil and maintenance are right.

After the chat ended, I googled Phil and found this old feature of his work in Azerbaijan – so interesting.

the-challenges-of-growing-grass-in-azerbaijan.html

So by choosing to be the best he could be at grass cutting, he grabbed every opportunity and what a career that decision has led to.

Sometimes we fall into jobs through necessity that weren’t necessarily our choice. But imagine the possibilities of deciding to be the best you can be at that job – where could you end up?

For those who love a lawn – big or small – in their back gardens Phil has written a book which can be checked out on Amazon – The Lawn Guide by Phillip Sharples.