Going for gaps that exist

By:  March 21, 2016 Categories: 

56 years ago today, Ayrton Senna was born. If you ever watched the 2010 documentary ‘Senna‘, you might realise how inspirational the man was.

One example. When Ayrton Senna collided with Alain Prost at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990, both retired from the race, ensuring Senna his second title in Formula 1.

Afterwards, three-time Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart questioned Senna’s racing ethics, saying he was willing to take risks other drivers wouldn’t. Senna simply replied: “If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver.”

That’s as true for racing drivers, as it is for anything you do. In life or work, many opportunities come by, equivalent to gaps in motor racing. Whilst it might be the fastest way to a stressful life, for me, going for gaps that exists is the only way.

Latest

Twenty-three years

Twenty-three years

In June we moved back to the Netherlands, six suitcases across 8000 kilometres, and after a brief spell at my parents’ place, we moved into our own home. This second move also involved putting down carpet, curtains, buying appliances and furniture — so that our new garage quickly filled with cardboard boxes and other packaging […]
August 29, 2026
Searching for meadows

Searching for meadows

Our new home in the Netherlands sits in a mundane residential area full of young families like ours. The street name comes from made (‘meadow’), still referring to a field that once lay here and now survives only in the name (just how the name Shanghai refers to a river that no longer exists). And […]
August 5, 2026
Degrees of wealth

Degrees of wealth

In eight years of living in China, taxi drivers or older colleagues loved to ask, “Which is better, the Netherlands or China?”, hoping for a single insightful answer that would explain everything. And now, back as a resident in the Netherlands, people ask the mirrored version: do I miss living in China? Neither question is […]
July 11, 2026
Goodbye to Guanyin

Goodbye to Guanyin

It’s a Saturday morning, and we’re in a taxi on the way to the airport. My clothes cling to my body and already reek of sweat, and that’s even before our 12-hour flight has started. Today I woke up at 5:30 to get up early and throw away the last furniture and items we used […]
June 30, 2026