It’s not about the Bike

So what does a cycling book teach us about life and business? This is not a book about cycling though, and a as the full title of the book implies, it’s about one man’s journey back to life. Imagine being at the top of your game – the youngest ever World Champion – with every possibility lying before you. And then, at the age of 25 being told you have testicular cancer in such an advanced stage that it has metastasized into your abdomen, lungs and brain. Then you find out that the treatment protocol for this disease would destroy your lungs – your engine – for doing the only thing you know to do?

This is an inspiring read – not because it’s “warm and fuzzy” – but because it highlights the difference that preparation, attitude and discipline can make to anyone’s life. Armstrong is not made to be super-human. He is candid and examines his experiences as a pro sportsman and cancer patient warts & all.

This is a book that I couldn’t put down. In fact I read it cover to cover in only two sittings. It’s easy to feel that you’ve known Lance for years. But then again, the book has all the ingredients of a great novel; tragedy, romance, struggle, success. The hero wins in the end. However there’s always the hint in the book that success to the level that Armstrong achieves requires the sacrifice of something else. I put the book down knowing the Lance is human, he just came to realise that “pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever”.