Life and all its experiences are like waves. We’re not always in control and the greatest rides of our lives tend to happen when we just go with the flow. Like the ever changing conditions of the ocean, life throws us curveballs and experiences that we might not always be prepared for.
Fear
Every single time I paddle out I’m forced to confront my fear. It’s always there lingering and for that reason, the very first wave is often the hardest to catch. I think entrepreneurship is kind of the same. They say your first million dollars is the hardest to earn, but once you’ve earned it the next million is easier. With waves, once you catch the very first one, your adrenaline kicks, the stoke takes over and you’re ready to start playing a bigger game. I’m scared most days when I wake up. I wonder if this whole online thing is really going to work out. I wonder if I’m letting life pass me by as my friends run off, get married, and start families. But I’m willing to keep chasing waves, and chasing my dreams because all it takes is one good wave.
Uncertainty
The only thing I’m certain of at this point is that absolutely nothing is certain. That’s a blessing and a curse all at the same time. We’re often so addicted to the lives we’re trying to escape that we have no tolerance for uncertainty. We forget that there is in fact a flip side to all of it. Every single day in the ocean is an unknown. Sure there’s a forecast, and you know how big or small the waves are. But the dynamic nature of it is such that it can change without a moment’s notice. How you deal with it all is really what matters. Life doesn’t come with a money back guarantee so we have to stop living it as if we can exchange it for another.
Taking the Plunge
There’s a section on a wave that is known as the take off point where you paddle like hell to make your wave. But before you make the wave comes a moment of complete uncertainty where dreams are fulfilled or hopes are crushed, simply known as “the drop.” The drop is the scariest moment of riding any wave because it can determine whether you will eat shit or have the ride of your life. If there’s anything my time here in Costa Rica has taught me, it’s that the number of waves you’ll get in a session can be directly correlated with your willingness to eat shit. To put it more eloquently it’s about your tolerance for risk. Life and business have take off points and drops, which are about taking the plunge and knowing that there is a possibility that you will eat shit HARD. But if you haven’t tried, you simply haven’t lived. After all who wants to look back on their life and say “I almost went for it.” As I said above, one good wave makes you forget about all the wipeouts. One entepreneurial success will make you forget about all your failure. I don’t consider the earlier part of my career a success. In fact I’d go so far as to say that it was a trainwreck made up of work I didn’t care about, bosses who didn’t believe in me and forcing square pegs into round holes. So I decided to hell with it, I’ll take the plunge because all I need is one good wave.
Never Looking Back
Once you’ve taken the plunge, made the drop and you’re on your wave you should never look back. In fact in that moment it’s almost impossible not to be in a state of complete presence. When you have made a commitment , you should never look back. You really only have two options. Either go all the way or don’t go at all. Somehow if you hesitate or linger on the edge, the situation seems to get much messier and the results are not so spectacular. As they say in some sports, go big or go home.
The very nature of life is that it is dynamic and the only constant in all our lives is change. So, go with the flow, embrace uncertainty, live in the moment, paddle like hell for your wave when it comes, and don’t look back.
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This post was pure vida! Combining a sport that fascinates me with philosophies that applies to not only entrepreneurial endeavours, but to anything we want to do.
A very kinetic metaphor, love this.
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