Paddling out into huge waves used to be very scary for me as a child. I grew up on Maui, Hawaii and learned to surf on the north shore at a world famous surf spot called Hookipa. I can clearly remember the first time I paddled out to surf on my first surf board. A storm has just blown through the Island and the waves were huge. You could feel the rumble of these waves from the beach

When I think back to that day, I realize that I had less fear than I sometimes do today about doing risky things. Was I scared? Hell yes and for a good reason. I knew people who had drowned, gotten bitten by sharks and stung by portugese man-o-wars (Jellyfish).  Hookipa was no joke, but I was determined to learn to surf.

Anyways, as I paddled out, huge waves that were over 20 ft. high . My arms were burning, I was out of breath and my adrenaline was pumping. I knew I had to get out past the break if I was going to #1 catch one of these waves and #2 survive. If you drop into one of these waves and are not fully commited, there is no bailing out, its called wiping out and that is no fun.  You go over the falls on one of these babies and it will hold you under for sometimes 20 seconds.  You get tossed and turned, sometimes slamming into jagged coral and run the risk of your surfboard fin running into your body.  Your attached to it by a leash on your ankle.

You see, when you go to catch one of these waves, you have to be fully committed. You cant half paddle into one of these monsters. You have to go for it with everything you have. Did I wipe out? You bet your pinky toe. Was I scared? Yep. But, I overcame that fear everytime I dropped in and surfed a wave. Over the coarse of time, the fear left and it was pure exilleration.

Fast forward to today, I still surf and it is one of the most liberating experiences I have in my life. Over the course of my life, I have learned a powerful lesson from my surfing adventures and applied it to every part of my life and business.

When I face an obsticle, instead of running away from it because its “too hard”, I face it and attack it and then overcome it. I become commited to the process rather than the outcome. Did you hear that? I don’t concentrate on results, I just do the thing. Over and over again, perfecting my craft.

Whether it be writing an article, making a blog post. Struggling with the Google PPC Monster that sucks up money like a slot machine, its all the same. I just keep on keeping on.

Most people will take a stab at being successful and when it hurts or they get scared, they run away. You must take action to overcome fear. Fear and faith cannot live in the same body. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. This is hard for some people to grasp but is a constant (law). It doesnt change.

Attack your fear with action and move your life forward.

I start my day with a devotional book by Karen Moore called “A Taste of the Spirit”.   I love reading scripture and then a summary of the scripture in Karen’s words.  This set’s the tone for my day and makes me feel great knowing that I put god at the forefront of my mind first thing in the morning.

You see, how you start your day is the catalyst for how your day will progress.  I always want to have a productive day filled with joy, contentment and happiness.  I find the easiest way to do this is concentrate on my goals and then do things throughout the day that will get me one step closer to those goals.