“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” – Michelle Obama

Being on the water fills my soul. Paddleboard, small gheenoe, or on our boat that is where I want to be.

Spending most weekends on the water has taught me a lot about appreciating the journey and truly finding joy in exactly where you are.

When that obligatory boat selfie gets posted to my story, my friends are always hitting me up saying how lucky I am and how they wish they could come on the boat with us. Absolutely I love bringing people with us, but let’s dissect what they see vs what happens, much like being an entrepreneur.

For starters, we have to plan, just like an entrepreneur. Lunch, drinks, gas up the boat, bug my buddy at the bait shop to get me larger shrimp, dry bag, sunscreen. That’s just to get out the door. Kind of like how being an entrepreneur who takes and idea to a business has to do all the little details just to get the business started.

Then there’s hooking up the trailer, driving the trailered boat to the ramp, waiting for your turn, actually executing launching your boat into the water (Jamie Anderson will get this), finding a parking spot, and backing your truck and trailer into the spot. Like a new entrepreneur, if someone even made it here, this is where a lot of people give up on their journey or get frustrated. When you see someone’s boat selfie or great business win on social media, that’s all you see, you don’t see the silly argument because the tie rope is on the wrong side or all the failures it took that business owner to get to that win.

Even if you weren’t starting from scratch. Maybe you’re just hopping on the boat from the dock. How many people are actually going to show up on time, let alone prepared? How many people will spend the whole day on the water and then unpack unload, spray and scrub the whole boat with salt away?

Let’s say you did it, you’re off the dock, the wind is in your hair, and you are living that good life. Then you see a bigger boat, maybe a yacht drives by and your bubble bursts a little. You want a bigger boat, you wanted a nicer boat, so instead of really just soaking in the moment your thoughts turn to why does that person have such a nice boat, I’ll never have a boat like that. Have you ever done that when you see someone else in business achieving the goals you wish to achieve?

There’s always someone with a bigger boat. I have a very successful friend who owns a tech manufacturing company. His boat is 40ft and he owns more than one. Last year he tried to pay for lunch for a group of guys who boated into a marina bar bc he rode with a friend and that’s etiquette in their world. He got shot down, by a man who rode in on a 20ft boat that was just his tinder to take him back to his mega yacht. There will always be someone with a bigger boat, but you won’t care when you really truly live for the journey.

Do you ever think about the friends back on dry land wishing they could even be on a boat?

Sometimes I do, but mainly I just soak up the journey. People on dry land wishing they could be on a boat don’t affect me. People in mega yachts sipping champagne don’t affect me. When you learn how important it is to really live in and appreciate the journey in business and in life, you will truly discover true happiness. The best part, this is your journey. No one else can do it like you, and you are writing your hero story!