5 Business Lessons I Learned From Surfing
by: Phil La Duke
from: Entrepreneur
Most
of us will never surf and the ranks of corporate boardrooms aren’t exactly
crowded with surfers, so it probably strikes some as odd that surfing can teach
us some powerful lessons. Despite the obvious lifestyle differences between
those who wear power suits and those who wear wetsuits, surfing can teach us
much about succeeding in business:
Life is a
series of rhythms.
Waves tend to come in sets. A
good surfer knows that the water can go from being completely flat to rife with
choice waves in an instant, and smart business people know the business climate
can turn on a dime. Instead of getting discouraged; you need to patiently wait
for the right opportunity and be ready to act when it comes to you.
Chase the
right waves.
Waves are simply
opportunities, and you can quickly exhaust yourself chasing the ones that you
just can’t catch. I know plenty of salespeople who jump on every opportunity
and wear themselves out running after leads that aren’t real. If you’re
exhausted from pursuing mediocre or impossible leads, you won’t have enough
energy to catch the really important deals that come your way.
Sometimes
you’ll wipe out.
The difference between good
surfers and bad ones isn’t that good surfers don’t wipe out (they do,) it’s
that a good surfer won’t let a good “maytagging” keep him or her from paddling
back out. Years ago I was surfing the pier at Huntington Beach when I took a brutal hit
that thrashed me around like a rat in a terrier’s mouth. Just as I got my head
above water a second wave slammed into me like a freight train. I dragged
my body out of the water and collapsed on the beach. As I flopped on the beach,
battered and bleeding, the junior high gym class from the local school was
coming out to surf. The gym teacher looked at me and asked if I was going
to paddle back out. When I told him that I wasn’t sure he said, “if you
don’t now, you never will.” In business sometimes we can let a career setback
destroy our confidence and undermine our ambitions. True success lies in facing
down that fear and charging out to meet the next opportunity.
Commitment is
key.
When a wave comes in, you have
a split second to catch it; it takes commitment. Those who excel in the
business world remain committed to being successful and when the pivotal,
game-changing opportunity presents itself they don’t react with a lukewarm
response; they jump on it. Commitment requires preparation and planning. You
can’t succeed in business or surfing if you aren’t sufficiently proficient and
confident.
Everything is
better wetter.
I have yet to meet a surfer
who doesn’t enjoy paddling out, even if the surf conditions are poor. Never
become so focused on your job or your career that you forget to enjoy life.
Nobody ever said, “I wish I would have spent more time worrying about my
career” on his or her deathbed. Enjoy your job or get another, life’s too short
to toil in misery.
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