Kirk McKnight loved watching the Atlanta Braves growing up. It became a ritual for him to watch the players take the field as the voice of the commentator explained the game. Twenty years later, that same commentator became one of 33 baseball broadcasters McKnight interviewed to write his book.
“The Voices of Baseball” is an in-depth look at the nation’s 30 MLB stadiums from the perspective of the sports broadcasters. McKnight, a BYU graduate, used his education to combine passion and talent into the innovative idea for the book.
“When Kirk told us his idea, we got excited about it,” said Bottom Line Books publishers Joan and Lydia Wilen. “Every sports fan loves to relive outstanding plays and learn about special moments of games they didn’t know about. How better than to read about it from the game’s sportscaster.”
For McKnight, writing his book was a dream come true. “I interviewed 33 baseball broadcasters for it,” McKnight said. “These were guys I listened to and watched on TV all my life.” Although McKnight wrote most of his book at 4 a.m. before his day job as a valet on the Las Vegas strip, he said turning something you love into a business idea is well worth it.
“My advice would be to first find what you love and are passionate about, then find what you are really good at doing. After that just find a way to combine both of them,” he said.
McKnight is one of many BYU alumni who are using their passions to create business ideas. “Provo is becoming a mecca for entrepreneurs and students who want to start their own businesses,” said Steven Fox, associate director at the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. “You have a whole bunch of people here that are creative, capable, mature and like the idea of stretching and doing things on their own.”
Students looking for advice on using their passion to fuel business ideas have access to over 200 mentors through the Rollins Center. McKnight also recommended the book “48 Days to the Work You Love,” by Dan Miller.
“The Voices of Baseball” is scheduled to be out in Aug. 16 on Amazon and Kindle.
