Okay so in the last episode I shared my crushing loss in the world of Video Games, and how I hung up my controller. (I like to think of it as retired 😀)

I didn’t quit video games because I stopped loving competition.

I quit because I found a new arena.

The ocean.

After the Blockbuster championship, something shifted.

I had obsessed.
I had trained.
I had competed.
I had lost.

And I realized I’d hit my goal, even though I got an “L”

I took the “L” as a Lesson. ☝️

“I can do anything I put my mind to.” (My inner voice 📣)

Not too long after, I started skateboarding with friends.
Then surfing Irma’s by Sandy Beach.

Before that, I barely went to the beach.

We lived less than a mile from Sandy Beach, but my mom always warned us:

She wasn’t wrong.

Sandy’s isn’t forgiving. (I have the scars to prove it.)

But eventually, I paddled out anyway.

You can’t force a wave.

You can paddle as hard as you want.
You can want it more than anyone else.

If the timing’s wrong, you’re not going anywhere.

That was new for me.

Video games rewarded constant input.
Surfing rewarded waiting.

In surfing, effort without timing is exhaustion.

You can burn yourself out paddling for waves you’ll never catch. (Think Makapuu current)

But when you wait — when you read the ocean — one wave can carry you farther than ten forced attempts. (Full Point to Shore Break at Sandys)

Business works the same way.

I’ve seen people work harder than everyone else…
…and still miss the wave.

Not because they weren’t capable.

Because the timing wasn’t right.

People worked harder than me when I was getting started in business, but caught the wrong waves I guess..

Surfing also taught me a different kind of risk.

In games, you reset.
You respawn.
You try again.

In the ocean, mistakes are physical.

You get held down.
You get tossed.
You get humbled.

But you paddle back out.

Because the next wave is coming.

Surfing slowed me down.

It taught me to:

That patience carried into business.

Not every opportunity is your wave.
Just because everyone is doing it…

Practice patience grasshopper. 🙏

Here’s what surfing gave me that no business book ever did:

Pattern recognition.

You learn to:

That applies everywhere:

When it’s time to go — you go.

No hesitation.

Gaming taught me focus.
Surfing taught me timing.

Together, they shaped how I operate today.

I don’t force everything.
But when the wave shows up, I paddle hard.

That’s The Freestyle.

You don’t win by catching every wave.

You win by catching the right one.

And when you do — ride it all the way in.

🤙