Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated columnist Chris Ballard offers an inspiring story of an unusual man who loves an unusual job. This excerpt from Ballard's book, The Butterfly Hunter, is certain to ignite your search to find your true calling.

About the author:
After a string of oddball jobs, Chris Ballard found his calling at Sports Illustrated as a staff writer covering the NBA and writing features. He has written profiles of people with offbeat professions for the New York Times Magazine and is the author of Hoops Nation, which was named one of Booklist’s Top Ten Sports Books of 1998. Ballard recently moved from New York City to Berkeley, California.