I was chatting with Terry Laughlin, founder and Head Coach of Total Immersion, which provides coaching to swimmers who are looking to improve. Terry has always been very passionate about what he does – always looking to improve and constantly tweaking the techniques he teaches.
As we compared notes about our respective paths, I realized that although most people would consider swimming and photography to have little in common, the approach we bring to our endeavors couldn't be more similar — an inquisitive outlook, an eagerness to explore new ways of experiencing how it's done and then how it can be done better.
At the end of the day, this outlook may be found in most successful practitioners of any enterprise. One realizes that the activity itself becomes secondary to it's practice — the practice transcends the literal and becomes an exercise in achieving a higher plane, regardless of the activity. Terry called it simply: "Flow."