Fortune favors the persistent - a great lesson from Bill Simmons

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Bill Simmons is my favorite sports writer, probably my favorite columnist.

So one of the best things I heard or read this week, is this B.S report podcast on ESPN Radio. He talks for 40 mins - characteristically, he thought he'd only speak for 15 :-) - about how he started as a journalist and got his first break on EPSN.com  

Its kinda what you'd expect from Bill - he worked insanely hard in his laid back way, almost quit a couple of times but was convinced not to, and continuously worked on making his work better.

The most telling part was how he asked for 5-week vacation before he started his espn.com job - and used most of that to plan out his columns for ESPN over the next year.

His interview with Katie Nolan revealed a similar story - her willingness to toil really hard, continuously improve and pounce on any lucky breaks.

I've enjoyed Bill for years. No one else really matches his ability and talent to marry passion, scholarship for sports/pop culture and opinion. Its so instructive to hear about the dedication required to find that voice and make it successful.

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