THE DREAM IN ACTION

Click on any image to watch the full video.

Do you even realize how difficult this trick, a flip, is to do on a surfboard? Unreal.

Full video here: http://surfermag.com/av/flash/introducing-matt-meola/

I came upon this video from @reecepacheco, a fellow surfer stuck with no waves (he’s in NYC). I grew up watching Rob Machado surf and even saw him in a contest once at Oceanside Pier. He’s amazing and his career has really been an interesting one. He was once very close to top being the top surfer in the world, then stopped competing and did a lot of videos and travel. I don’t know Rob at all, but it seems that this video is a very personal one, showing off the “struggles” of being a professional surfer. Obviously it’s got to be the best lives ever but coming from someone who get’s sick when I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing something, I can sympathize with how just surfing everyday would be a struggle sometimes.

This trailer also got me very excited because next month I’m getting married, and Moll and I are going on a long honeymoon down to Costa Rica. It might be the best vacation ever… I’ll have the 3 of the most important things in the world with me; my new wife, great weather, and the ocean. I’m so pumped.

As Reece points out in his post of this video, surfing movies don’t necessarily do very well in the box office but I’ll definitely be checking this one out.

A Google engineer recently connected a Wii fit board to Google earth so that you can direct a virtual milk truck around the world in Google earth. The application was on display at Macworld and here is a video that displays the madness.

Next version of this I want to be Silver Surfer and literally surf through the air at his speed all around the “real” world. This is truly awesome.

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This post is an enhanced version of a previous post.

Recently, on the Harvard Business Publishing site there was an article called, “What Surfing Can Teach Us About Managing the Unexpected”, it was all about responding to such tough economic times. The point was made, very well, that it’s not so important how we react to economic changes but more about how we prepare and position ourselves in a timely manor to take advantage of such turbulence. This point really hit home for me as a surfer…first I’ll share an excerpt from the article…

Instead of paddling around in circles as though we were in some calm lake, we need to learn to act like surfers — to place ourselves in the rising and falling swells, paddling forward while glancing occasionally backwards, so that we will be ready when the big wave comes. If we do that, we will stand up at the right moment, establish our balance, take a deep breath, and ride the exhilarating force of history all the way to shore.

Growing up surfing this analogy seems very appropriate and there are a few obvious lessons for entrepreneurs that I draw from this analogy.

The first lesson I’ll share that surfing can provide entrepreneurs is the lesson of preparation. Along with with catching waves, another extremely difficult task when learning to surf is just paddling into the line-up, past where the waves are breaking. This paddling session, can be tedious depending on the size of the waves, and is very similar to the preparation required for a successful start or change in business. Without putting in the preparation and training necessary you don’t have a chance at success.

I used to give surf lessons back home in San Diego and when teaching surfing I’d always tell people that “riding waves is actually pretty easy, however catching them is almost impossible”. This makes so much sense from a business standpoint because a great business idea could be ridden out by many people…these people are called employees…sure it still takes work, but not nearly as difficult. What is “practically” impossible is catching waves or starting and executing on the right business, in the right market, with the right product, and the right people. Timing and positioning.

I’m encouraged that as an entrepreneur I believe that my startup is actual timed well and positioned accordingly. On ReadWriteWeb.com, a top web technology blog, there was a post about how tech firms are hiring Developers and Community Managers. This is a strong affirmation that our target market of community developers is an important and emerging market, with a need. If we can develop software that meets the needs and solves the problems that community managers are having we will be successful. But, we must also build the right team and focus on the right targets.

How do we position ourselves? Well, there are two schools of thought. One, choose a competitor. Having competition can help a company define itself. The other school of thought is that you should differentiate yourself. By differentiating yourself you can separate yourself from “the norm” and give people something that was previously unavailable. Either way, paying attention to your positioning is critical to business growth. In the line-up as a surfer it’s all about the competition. Playing off the competitions mistakes and anticipating their moves can be very advantageous. I recommend this strategy in business as well.

As a life time surfer (excluding my stint in the mid-west) the lessons I learned were first, those of preparation. Once prepared, positioning and timing were next. I learned to paddle, position myself versus my competition, and then time the waves correctly for a successful ride. Now, as an entrepreneur, I’m utilizing those lessons every day. As we work to grow our businesses it is critical to keep these surfing lessons in mind.

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Tonight I was reading the Harvard Business Publishing site and there was an article that caught my eye. It was called, What Surfing Can Teach Us About Managing the Unexpected, and was all about responding to such tough economic times. The point was made, very well, that it’s not so important how we react to economic changes but more about how we prepare and position ourselves in a timely manor to take advantage of such turbulence. This point is hitting me strong as I think about timing and positioning, first I’ll share an excerpt from the article…

Instead of paddling around in circles as though we were in some calm lake, we need to learn to act like surfers — to place ourselves in the rising and falling swells, paddling forward while glancing occasionally backwards, so that we will be ready when the big wave comes. If we do that, we will stand up at the right moment, establish our balance, take a deep breath, and ride the exhilarating force of history all the way to shore.

Growing up surfing this analogy really make sense to me. When teaching surfing (I used to give lessons) I’ve always told people that “riding waves is pretty easy, but catching them is almost impossible”. This makes so much sense from a business standpoint too because the right business idea could be ridden out by many folks…these are called employees…sure it still takes work, but not nearly as difficult. What is practically impossible is catching that wave, starting and executing on the right business in the right market, with the right product, and the right people. Timing and positioning.

I’m encouraged that SocialDreamium is actual timed well and positioned accordingly. On Read Write Web today there was a post about how Tech firms are hiring Developers and Community Managers. This is a strong affirmation that the market SocialDreamium is going after is an important, emerging market with a need. If we can develop software that meets the needs and solves the problems that community managers are having we will be successful. But, we must also build the right team and focus on the right targets.

So far, so good.

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:Surf:SD:  is a site that is based on the PopURLs model. It is designed aggregate photos and news from San Diego (my beloved  home town). It is catered to me by pulling the things I’m interested in – local SD news, Padres news, and surfing news…and photos. This is a little side project that I will share with my friends and anyone else who thinks they would use the site and I may add topics/sections as is appropriate.

If you have any questions or suggestions for :Surf:SD: please email me, or use comments on this post.