Follow The Bubbles: A Recipe For Pivoting With Dave Kalama

Welcome to the Conscious Pivot Podcast with international speaker, business mentor, best selling author of Pivot, and your host, Adam Markell. The Conscious Pivot shares the stories and wisdom of people who have successfully reinvented some area of their business and personal life. You'll gain powerful insights into how you can fully embrace new opportunities, increase your performance, and master the art and science of innovation and resilience. So please join Adam as he guides you on your Conscious Pivot.

Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode episode of the Conscious Pivot podcast. I'm your host, Adam Markell and I am really feeling grateful as you guys are probably used to this with me now. I'm not just practicing gratitude and saying thank you, but really, really wanting to live into it in a big way. And a friend of mine, Ken Honda, he gives me the Japanese, the Japanese word that's always in my head these days, which is origato. Oregato. Oregato. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am blessed today. It's a cloudy day here in San Diego, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of sunshine elsewhere. Certainly I feel sunshine inside because we just finished up a three day speaker training, our speaker masterclass where we had a dozen people go through our training. And I woke up this morning exhausted and a bit wrung out, but also energized because I saw so much transformation over the weekend. And I also, when I looked at my calendar this morning and I saw the gentleman that I was going to get to speak to and invite to have a conversation about Pivoting on this podcast, I got even more stoked because I met this, this, this incredible person a few months back, was introduced to him at an event I was at and we have some mutual friends and his story is epic and he's led, I would suppose, a sort of a bigger than life life, which is interesting in so many ways and I want to catch up with him and I'm sure you guys are going to be fascinated to find out what he's up to today, what his journey has been in the past, but really more what's the journey look like forward from here, which is exciting as well. So Dave Kalama is our guest today and I'm going to have him come on in just a second. But I'll say a little bit about him first. He's a big wave surfer and toe in surfer, stand up paddle surfer, sup as it's called, sup surfer and racer. And he has really been a pioneer in that space. He and a friend of his and a collaborator of his, Laird Hamilton have done some of the most incredible things for the sport, I think for the goodwill of the sport, for the just the way that this sport of surfing and stand up paddling is received all over the world. And he's been sort of a leader in that space and somebody that I think is just a fine example of what it means to be a great athlete, but also to be a great person, a great father and husband and human being. You don't always, those two things don't always go together so well. So when I met him, I was taken by his story, I was taken by his character and what he's been through. So it's just a great pleasure to have him on the show today. And Dave, I want to welcome you to the Conscious Picture It Podcasts.

Thank you, Adam, and thank you for that incredible intro. I almost feel like I should say thank you and have a good day because I can't take it any higher than that. So thank you very much for that, that very gracious introduction.

Yeah, Dave, what's something that, I mean. And your intro goes on. I could read for paragraphs and paragraphs off your Wikipedia page and all the things that you've done for the first time. And you know, a number of. A number of ways that you have been an innovator. I mean, pivot. In many ways, the word pivot is about. About change. It's about evolution and innovation. You've been an innovator in the sport. But before we get into that, I'd love to know what's something that you would love people to know about you that's not typically included in your, in your bio or your introduction?

Yeah, I would say the first thing that pops into my mind is you mentioned that I've done a lot of grand adventures and feats and things of that nature. But the fact of the matter is I'm about as down home and normal as your average kid in the average neighborhood that likes to skateboard, ride his bike, skin his knees, swing from a tree and just be normal. But I found myself hanging out with perhaps the wrong people, doing things a smart person doesn't do, meaning riding giant waves and really pushing the envelope in a few different directions. But no, I've been extremely fortunate. But there is no magic to it. There is no special league or code that you need to know. It's just sort of committing to a lifestyle that is risky at times. And by that I don't necessarily mean life and limb, I just mean financially because it's, it's not a, you know, prosperous life I've led, but it's perhaps one of the richest in terms of feeding your soul and the memories that I've created over that time. So. But the fact of the matter is that, yeah, I had an extremely normal upbringing and even on a day to day basis, do not feel special or, you know, grandiose in any way. Just. I'm a normal dude doing normal things most of the time that just lead to kind of extraordinary things now and then.

Rich, a rich life, a rich existence. Not, not in money terms. But as you say, I think what you just shared is profound because what, what could be more rich than the development of our. So the nurturing souls? I mean, so anything that nurtures our souls or regenerates our souls, I would, I would put at the top of the list. I don't know that that's what people are thinking about necessarily as they're going through school or getting a job or thinking about how it is that they're going to create a family or support a family. They're not necessarily coming to those bigger life ideas. But, but it is really profound that that's where you started. What, what's something that you're grateful for right now, Dave? I have a sense of what you might be grateful for, but I want to ask you anyway.

Yeah, I'm grateful. And this was a concern of mine when I was more in the thick of it, let's say, was, would I be able to transition out of an extreme version of my life? Meaning riding these giant waves and doing these sort of big things, being able to find contentment and pleasure in a much more toned down version of myself. You know, I know a lot of people struggle with that, but I'm happy with how I've managed to find my way and stay very fulfilled as I wind down the more extreme portion of my career. My career.

Yeah, you're not. Would you call yourself an adrenaline junkie? You, you wouldn't describe yourself that way, would you?

No. But obviously if you look at the body of work, I, I do have some kind of problem with.

You're. And it's funny because you're sitting in your car right now in a parking lot getting ready to go surfing.

Right.

Because the waves are big. Now, big is a relative term because to me, I brought my surfboard into the office today just because I knew we'd be speaking and I'm going to probably get out in the water and I'm looking forward to getting wet later. And big to me out here is, you know, sort of eight, eight feet is a big wave. Six, six, six to eight feet is over my head. I'm not even six feet tall and so. But big out by you is entirely different. So what's the wave conditions today? Let's check in first of all from Maui.

Well, it's very big for this time of year. Meaning it's probably in the neighborhood of let's say 15 to 20 foot faces. Not extreme, but fairly large. Right. But that's how I'm the outer reef. I've been hydrofoiling quite a bit and with that form of surfing, you don't need as big of a wave. In fact, hardly any wave at all. Provides plenty of speed and opportunity to ride a hydrofoil. So that's what I've really been passionate about lately and having a lot of fun with. So I don't need big waves anymore. Which kind of plays into, you know, where I am and where I'm focused on going as I move forward.

Yeah. There was something in a story that you shared a couple of months back that I really remembered and I'd love it if maybe you, you share a piece of that story with us. And it was this idea that at a certain point when things were dark and cold, there wasn't a lot of light from a certain place that you found yourself physically that used the bubbles, used bubbles as a guide. And I saw that as a metaphor for a lot of things in life that we don't always have a lot of vision for the future. And things can seem dark and they can be cold and, and even scary or lonely. And we look for guidance or if we're, I think on a path where we're more self aware, we're looking for guidance as opposed to trying to figure it all out on our own. And I thought this metaphor of following the bubbles from a deep, dark, cold and potentially life threatening place was really interesting. Would you share a little bit about that story and with it the bubbles and that whole thing came from.

Yeah. So you bring up the bubbles, which is for me, it's actually an interesting item that you pulled out of that story because I've never had anybody ask me about that. But you're right, it's a very big part of orientating yourself so that you can make better decisions and know where to go. Right. So why are the bubbles important? Because after a wipeout in a real large wave like that, you are spun and cartwheeled and flipped so many times so quickly you completely lose Orientation of which way is up, because you're in this liquid state and there's no obvious pull down and there's no obvious direction up because of it. So how do you orientate yourself with the bubbles? You can feel them pass over your body and they're all going to move in the same direction once the tumbling stops. And so that orientates your which way is up. And once you have that, it becomes very simple. Follow the bubbles. The bubbles are headed towards the surface. That's where I needed to go. And so at that point of the story, it becomes really breaking the moment down, not thinking more than a second or two ahead of what's happening. And what's happening is literally swimming. You mentioned lifeguarding in our quick conversation before the show, and that swimming and the saving and your natural instinct to survive kicks in. Right. And so you get very much into the moment, literally in that moment, very specifically, and you do what you have to do in that moment. And what you need to do is swim, swim up.

That's your extreme focus.

Extreme focus. Don't get complicated, don't overthink it. Keep it simple. Don't overwhelm yourself with the enormity of the situation. Just focus on swimming, taking a stroke, one stroke at a time, get through one stroke, move on to the next one. And when you break it down into segments like that, it seems much more manageable because everybody can take a stroke. Right. And if you only had to take one stroke, I can do that. And so that builds confidence. That confidence creates more relaxation. And when you're relaxed, you're not going to consume oxygen as quickly. And so that gives you the best chance to ultimately get back up to the surface with not knowing how many strokes it's going to take, because you don't know how deep you are. You just know by the pressure on your ears. You are deep and following the bubbles up is headed in the right direction, but you don't know when you're going to arrive.

Yeah. So tension in that. In that scenario, tension, like being in a. In a. In a state of fighting for your life even, could actually cost you your life.

Yes. If you let the situation, and in its entirety, it's very easy to be overwhelmed with it and start feeling that there's no chance of survival. So you have to let go of that bigger picture for the moment and get very specific into executing small movements one at a time. Because when you do that, it's much easier to digest mentally and emotionally, and it feels much more attainable to do One stroke at a time.

Yeah. Beautiful. You're sharing a part of the recipe for pivoting, but we'll come back to that later. I think our folks would love to know now that we picked off this one moment in time where you're under the water. People get that now you're deep, you don't know how deep you are and you're disoriented because you've been flipping and you don't know which way is up. But the bubbles point to the surface. At least they're a guide for you to get back to a place of the ability to breathe, for one thing. Take us into the scene, Dave. What, what was going on that day where you found yourself in a situation where you had to follow the bubbles to the surface?

Okay, so. So that day to start with, to set the scene, Laird Hamilton was out of town and, and Laird's kind of the, the alpha dog on any given day. And without him there, that allows me to take that position. So my confidence is raised up, my role is, is perhaps inflated. And I looked at it as an opportunity. I'm going to reset the bar of how things go out here and who I am. Right. And so I came at it perhaps, or my approach might have been too confident. And I tried to make a very aggressive move on a good sized wave that. It distracted my focus from where it should have been. I was focused more on my touchdown dance than I was on running with the ball and making sure I got the touchdown right, to put it in football terms. And that's exactly what happened. I wasn't paying attention to the water when I should have been. I was focused on the people in the channel and what their cheers and screams might sound like as opposed to catching and running. And I hit a bump which bucked me off my board and started a whole literally downward spiral, figuratively and literally underwater, which started a whole episode of hold downs and life changing experiences.

Now, the face of that wave, just because people. I think numbers matter. I mean, I think the metrics of this thing actually mean something. We talking about 10 foot wave here?

I would say we were probably in the 35 to 40 foot face range.

Yeah. So a massive wave. Right.

It was big by anybody's standards. But as far as Piahi and the north shore of Maui goes, not extreme.

Yeah. Shocking to say that, but okay, I know it is.

It's not right, but it is. It gives you a picture of how extreme it can be. Over here.

You get bucked off this wave and now you're you're sliding backwards down the face. Is that what's happening?

Exactly.

Yeah. And then this thing crests and breaks and breaks on you.

Yep. And, you know, it's funny, in that moment when I'm sliding down on my back, sort of like a car wreck or something of that nature where time really slows down, I have this internal conversation going on with myself of, wow, the old surf footage that you see of the guys at Waimea. This is what it felt like. I almost have this little giggle, like we are right now, that how can I be having this conversation with myself when things are about to get as ugly as they possibly can? But again, I think it comes back to a kind of a survival mechanism that kicks in, trying to lighten the moment so that you don't become overwhelmed.

Yeah. And that. That's your survival mechanism. Because we know there are people in situations, whether they're physical like that or they're. Or in their business, their jobs, their relationships or whatever it is, when. When the. When the shit hits the fan, they freeze or they get so tense that they actually don't have any access to some guidance. But you were in a relaxed state. You're kind of, you know, checking out the scene. It sounds like as you're sliding down this wave, knowing that, as you said, things are about to get real in a big way.

Yeah.

And then instantly, boom, you're under the water. You're 20, 30ft deep. I suppose something in this dark, cold environment, you can't see anything. You don't know which way is up.

Yeah. So on the first wave, I'm tumbling and I'm spinning, but you have so much energy and so much adrenaline at that point, and there's still a lot of oxygen in your blood. Even though it's scary, it's not life threatening. Literally, almost anybody can handle one of those waves. One of them. And the first one, like I say, you've still got a lot of. Lot of energy and a lot of oxygen in your blood. It's the second one, the third one, the fourth one, that now your energy is expended, your oxygen has been used up, and now that's when things get extremely serious. So while I tell a story that I brought a lightness to the mood, by no way, in any shape or form, did I take the situation lightly. Just tried not to let it seize me up.

You didn't panic, in other words.

Right. Panicking is absolutely the worst thing you can do on almost any given situation, regardless of its waves, life, anything. Right.

Yep. So you're under, you follow the bubbles is what I remember you saying. So the bubbles are the guide, they take you to the surface, you get there and then what do you see? This is after that first wave. You make it to the surface. What's happening then?

So I break the surface. I inhale as much air as I possibly can. As I start to finish that inhale, I start getting orientated on where I am. Am I facing towards the shore? Am I facing out? What's going on around me? And so I'm face out. I'm looking directly at the next wave. Between the wave and myself is my tow partner, Brett Lickle. And he, no, excuse me, another one of my friends, Mark Angulo. And he's there to rescue me.

And he's only about jet ski.

He's on a jet ski, he's driven in to a really bad situation and he's committed himself to rescuing me. But whether I get on or not, he's already over committed and he's going to get run over by the next wave. So I realized this. I jump on the rescue sled that's attached to the back of the Jet Ski. We start to take off, but there's so much air in the water, the ski can't grab anything. Right. It's like trying to accelerate on an icy road. The tires are just spinning. You're not going anywhere. And we got steamrolled from behind by oh, I'd say a 25, 30 foot whitewater. And I got ripped off the back of the sled and that's when it brought me down very deep. I knew it was deep because I could feel the pressure increasing as I'm getting spun and pulled down. It was very apparent that, that I was deep, deeper than I'd ever been based on the pressure I was feeling in my ears.

Yeah, so same thing this time, your search for the bubbles and swimming to the surface as best you are able under the circumstances.

Yeah, so now I'm in the second wave. I'm deeper than I've ever been and I'm more fatigued because I've experienced the first wave and it's all down, but I still have a bit of energy and I'm trying to keep my wits about me. And so the internal conversation is still going on and I remember saying to myself, well, if you were ever going to have trouble, this is it, right. But if you're going down, you're going down fighting. So let's get going, you know, time to go to work. And I start swimming for the surface. And after about three or four breaths, my body goes into these involuntary convulsions, and. Which completely caught me by surprise. I had. I had no idea what was going on. I seemed like an odd place to lose control of my body. But in any case, after about three or four of them, they stopped. I took a quick inventory if I still had control of my limbs, which I did. And I figured, well, I. I don't have time to figure out what just happened. It's. The surface is where I need to focus. And so I start swimming again, and my eyes are open. It's completely dark. You couldn't see your hand 2 inches from your nose. But I'm swimming, and I'm taking 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 strokes, still pitch black. And all of a sudden, I start to see just the tiniest hint of light in the water. And that light is an indication that you're anywhere from, say, three to six feet from the surface. And so that gives you a lot of hope, because now you know where you are. You know you're close to the surface, and you know there's a chance you can make it. And so that gives you a lot of confidence, which calms you down, gives you energy at the same time. And, you know, you're just a few strokes. And so I keep going. And sure enough, I break the surface, take a deep inhale, orientate myself again, just like the last one. And it's an exact carbon copy. Brett Lickle is right there on a ski. Probably eight feet away from me, there's another giant whitewater Baron down. And the difference from the first time is I know that I need to get on that sled, the rescue sled, and hold on for dear life. Because it's not an expression anymore. It's literally the situation. It's life and death now. And that rescue sled is very floaty, and I know it will make it to the surface before I can. So I get on the rescue sled, and I hold on for dear life and brace for impact. And I remember one of the last thoughts in my head before we got hit by the whitewater was, even if my body's not on this rescue sled anymore, my hands need to be. That's how much I was anticipating holding on, that my hands would still be there even if my arms ripped off, because I was not going to let go, because it really was as serious as it could possibly get. And we tumbled and we rolled, and I hit the ski, but my hands were holding on for dear life, and I stayed with that rescue sled. And as I anticipated, the sled and the ski have so much buoyancy. They came to the surface quite quickly when the whitewater released us, which got me to the surface. And as I swam out from under the sled, my. My partner, Brett Lichol, swam out on the same side, and we broke the surface together. And I'm looking in his eyes, and he can see that I'm shooken. Seriously. And I just look at him and I just go, thank you. I love you. You just saved my life. So it was a pretty intense moment.

Yeah, two. So two of you brothers went out there and.

Yeah, put.

Put themselves in great danger, of course. And. But that's. That's a part of the. That's a part of the. The integrity of the sport, really, that you guys look out for each other. And it's. There's. There's a code. A code of honor, I suppose, right?

Yeah. You know, I feel very uncomfortable comparing it to what guys go through in war, so I don't want to give it that gravity. But I think the level of commitment is similar in that that's our brother in harm's way, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to save him, to make him be okay. And I've done the same for them. They do the same for me. And there really is a brotherhood that's formed. And everyone out there, at least in our crew, knew that the other guy was looking out for us. And when you're underwater, there's not much they can literally do. But as that fight is unfolding and you're underwater, it gives you a lot of confidence to know there's someone on the surface doing everything they can to be prepared to save me. And all I have to do is get to the surface, and then my team will be there. You're not alone, because the loneliness or isolation can be overwhelming, too. And so to know that someone is doing everything they can to. To be prepared to save you gives you a lot of confidence and creates bonds that last a lifetime.

Yes, it's that that day had an impact on you. I mean, it got your attention, to say the least. I mean, obviously there was. There was something that you were out there wanting to accomplish that day, something maybe even approve and whatnot. But this. This got your attention in a significant way, right? I mean, it changed some things for you, did it not?

You're exactly right, Adam. So prior to that, surfing was. Was fun, and it was. It was an activity that just brought me a lot of Enjoyment. And I didn't. Well, I took it seriously. I didn't take it that seriously. And after that experience and having a much clearer understanding of the immensity of what I was dealing with and the power that I was dealing with, it was a real kick in the teeth to get my shit together and be prepared and take this seriously. And it's. It's not just an activity. It's not something you do to get chicks to check you out. It's for real. And if I want to be out here for any length of time, I need to take this seriously for myself, for my family, for my teammates. And it really brought a lot of motivation and clarity to what I needed to do to be prepared.

Yeah, and I'd love to use it as a metaphor because, you know, there's people that are watching this, people listening, spend time in the water. I consider myself more of an active water person than many. And I don't know if I call myself a waterman. I spent a lot of time. I'm a Pisces, I'm in the water a lot. And, and as a lifeguard and in other. In other contexts, I've always said to myself or say always, but from. From 17 years old when I started teaching swimming to kids and camp in a lake and, and there thereafter, you got. You have to respect the water. And it's an interesting thing because the. Having respect is. Is a. Is a big part, I think, of why it is that the water holds a special place in. In. In many people's lives because of its immensity, its power. It's. It's. It represents its nature in a very uncontrolled way. And I think it even brings into focus the fact that we are ourselves such a small piece and part of that. And whether you really have that kinship with the water and understand this idea of that larger context of nature and this, this idea that there's a need to respect this greater context. People understand what it's like in their own lives to get crushed. So the wave bearing down on a surfer is great in the sense, if you can understand that story because you've been there or you've seen it even. But regardless of that, we've all had a wave break on us. We've all had that something big and heavy bear down on us. I think most people have anyway. And to be disoriented, to have a lot of the same sort of feelings that were condensed into just what probably felt like hours, but was only minutes for you. So I think I Think it's a great story from that standpoint because there's things that you did not just to survive, but really to learn from, you know, from learn, learning from the experience itself so that you could move forward from there. So you took things a bit more seriously after that. You, you had a bigger context from that experience than you had going into it. And it, and it was also guiding you in making future decisions. Right?

You're absolutely right. I could not agree more with what you just said. You know, look, looking back on it and at other times in my life when I've had massive failures, let's say those are the moments that are the key to success, right? Because without, without that kick in the teeth and that reality check, I don't take things seriously or not to the level I did, without taking them as seriously as I now was after that incident. I don't become as educated, I don't become as skilled, I don't become as well rounded in so many other areas that that all kind of grew from that experience that without it, I don't become as successful or as capable a waterman as I am without that failure.

And you became an early adopter of something I think as a result of this too, which is to the flotation that's now part of the standard wetsuits I think that surfers who are riding big waves are wearing. And at the time you guys were, I think you were one of the innovators of the toe in anyway that you were getting towed into waves which wasn't done for a long, I mean wasn't done before that. And then this idea that there could be flotation included in a wetsuit that would help surfers to get to the surface quicker and save lives. Because people die from what you just described this idea of getting hit with a serious wave and then a second and a third one, people die all over the world from this every year. But the pfd, the Personal Flotation Device or I'm not sure if that's what they called it was when you, when it got included in the wetsuit. But you're, you're one of the early adopters if not one of the innovators of that technology. Right?

Yes. I wasn't the first one to wear one in, in the tow community, but from that day forward I wore one every time. And it was, you know, in big wave surfing at that point and prior to it was very macho, is you had to be a man, you had to be self reliant and you still do. But there was this code of honor that was. Didn't allow for flirtation, it didn't allow for intelligent progression. Right. And that's what the PFD was or what it represented in this, in this scenario. So because of that incident, I started wearing the flotation, like you mentioned, which opens up your mind to an enormity of other potential devices, ideas, concepts that can now make it safer moving forward. Right. And so again, just. Just to reiterate the point that failure is a pivotal point in moving forward and progressing and really influencing not only my future, but the future of big wave surfing.

Well, I think you just shared your pivot. That's your pivot story right there. Now you're using the. You're a stand up paddleboarder. And this is an ancient thing. I think people see this today. They don't know, maybe they think it's something, you know, new and, you know, just got created. But this is, this is a part of ancient Hawaiian culture to do stand up paddleboarding, right?

Yes, it very much. It wasn't the most popular, perhaps, form of surfing, but the Duke, you know, perhaps the best known surfer ever, was the one that I first heard of teaching a gentleman named John Zaputake from Kentucky how to stand up paddle in Waikiki. And John actually adopted it as his primary way of surfing. And so he was sort of the one that carried the torch of stand up with, you know, Duke's tutelage, obviously into the 70s. And then there was a few more people that started to do it and it never really took off. But when Laird and I got into it, because of our access to media and people paying attention to what we were doing, allowed us to share it much more effectively.

Yeah. What do you see? Do you see any changes to the sport coming up? Because I think this idea of learning from experiences creates the innovation wave ahead. And there must be things that are probably going to change that we could predict now if we had a crystal ball. But are you seeing any changes on the horizon? I mean, the foil is one of them, right?

Yeah, the foil is perhaps the most significant progression going on right now in surfing. Stand up, I think, is one of the biggest developments in surfing in quite some time. I should say the popularity, not necessarily the development. It's been around for a long time. But what it did was it made surfing much more accessible to the rest of the world. So you didn't have to live on the coastline. Any body of water would do, and you can participate in an authentic way that is directly connected to the source of surfing. Right. And so that mindset that goes with the activity and then ultimately the lifestyle that goes with it is very healthy, very community and connective. So the social aspect is a very important part of what's attractive about it. And so in that sense, stand up has had a huge benefit, not only to the surf community, but society at large. But now the most recent thing I'm really passionate about is foiling. And we can do it downwinding, we can do it in waves, we can do it behind boats. So again, it's another activity that's quite accessible to any body of water. And it's fun. It's fun because you're essentially flying. Right. It's a small airplane connected to the bottom of a surfboard that when it passes through the water, creates enough lift that allows you to rise above the surface and fly.

So you don't need to get towed into this thing?

No, no. You can paddle in laying down on your stomach and jump to your feet. You can do stand up, paddle and catch it already upright, towed behind a boat or jet ski. There's so many applications and variations of it that it's really fun. And it's at the very beginning of that growth cycle. So it's a very fun time to be involved in it.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I've never done foiling, I mean, been a water skier and, you know, crossing the wake on a single ski, you get some air. So that's about as close as I've come maybe to that. But we just found out that our daughter and future son in law are going to be getting married in Hawaii next year. So I may get my chance pretty soon.

There you go. Get out there.

Yeah, absolutely. Last question and then I want to give you the. Set your free seat and get out there and catch some. I'm going to do the same later today. What is a ritual that you have? I always ask our guests because I really believe that the quality of our lives is very closely tied to the things that we would do that we do consciously, again and again. You might call them habits, but we refer to them as rituals. Just because they're not something that we're doing, just sort of because it's the way we brush our teeth with the same hand. Do you have rituals that support you in the reinventions that you've had? The ones that you're creating going forward as a business person, as a, as a role model for other people, as a father or husband.

You know, in the literal meaning of ritual, to me, I really only have one. The rest is kind of approaches to situations, and I'll get more into that in a second. But as far as rituals go, every time I get in the water, I say a little prayer that's very based in appreciation and thanks and, you know, looking for a little help and guidance, because you never know what can happen when you get in the water. But I would say throughout my life, that has probably been the most consistent ritual of anything I've ever had. And I don't. I don't do anything that would draw attention or make you think I'm praying. It's just when I get in the water and I'm on my way out, I just kind of check in with myself. And whatever term you want to give God, spirits, the ocean, whoever you check in with, I just do that and show my appreciation for what's going on, where I am, what I have, and ask for a little help out there and keep myself and everybody else safe and enjoy it. Right? But in terms of approaches, I feel like this foil thing, in a sort of funny way, I didn't anticipate. The design of the boards is very different than a surfboard, and it really showed me how stuck I was in my approaches, in my beliefs of how a board should be. And I realized with the foil board, I have to let go of all my preconceived design concepts and really start from scratch. And so just going through that process of opening my mind again and really starting with a clean slate, not bringing my old thoughts and concepts to the table was much more difficult than I ever thought it would be and has proven to be extremely beneficial in so many different aspects of my life. Because what I realized was, I don't want to take chances. I want to be safe. I want to do the safe thing. Right? In that process, I realized I can't do the same thing. Stop being afraid. Stop being afraid of change. Stop being afraid of new ideas. And that was only isolated to my board design in the beginning. And I know that's a very small thing, but it had a profound effect, because now I realize I could look at everything I do and all the decisions I make, and it was like, am I making those decisions out of fear and trying to be safe, or am I making those decisions because they're literally the best decisions, taking everything in, right? And so, boy, that's. That has taught me so much about how to approach things and how to move forward and make better decisions.

It's liberating it really is.

And I had no idea how confined I was until I had to go through that process with the boards and their design.

Well, brother, there's a neighbor of yours, at least on the island, Ram Dass, and I don't know if you've ever, you've run into him at all, but there's something pretty cool that he said that relates so well to what you just shared. And obviously, you know, his life underwent massive change. He had a stroke and his world changed significantly. He said this. He says, make friends with change. And you know, as a mantra or something to remind ourselves of it's, it's so important that, that we are, are receptive to change because it's in that receptivity that the world, that the world that we can see and perceive opens up to us. There's, you know, the sea, if you will, the sea of possibilities is so much greater when we're not looking at it, like you said, through a lens of, of safety, which is a fear based way of looking at things, right?

Absolutely. I mean, hey, the reality is things are going to change whether you want them to or not. And if you fight that change, you constrict your options, the potentials and all the things that can come from it. But like you just said, you're open to them and you can have that open mind which allows that vision to see the potential and the possibilities. Now you can start to take advantage of that change and change works to your benefit rather than against you. And that's just a perspective, that's just a mindset and can have profound results. And while I was aware of that for quite some time, I never realized how much, how important that is.

Yeah, any sense of what your next pivot is?

You know what? I'm really into the boards right now and new designs and learning so much from that. And I don't know what the next thing is, but I feel like I'm in a position to help develop it, whatever it is, because my mind's open. I know change has always been a good thing for me and so I'm excited to see what it is. However I arrive at it, it's coming one way or another, whether I like it or not. So, so let's get into it.

That's what came through for me, brother. I'm not, I'm not a, I'm not intuitive or anything, but when you were saying it, I wanted to finish the sentence by saying it's, it's good no matter what it is. I don't have to know what it is, the moment. I just know it's good. So it's been more than good. It's been great to have you on the show and spend time, and I appreciate you going through that, you know, leading us into that, to that dark place again. And I think it's so powerful to use that metaphor of following the signs, following the bubbles. That was your guidance in a place where you couldn't otherwise know which. Which way to go. Right? So thank you, brother. Thank you for being on the show and for everybody out there. I want to say, as always, how grateful I am to have access to all of you. This community has grown so in such. I mean, the size of it is not the. The big thing. I mean, it's great that it's grown so big, but the fact that the feedback that we're getting from all of you is so positive and wonderful, and I think that's the greatest gift for us that we get your feedback. So if you've not yet subscribed to the show, please feel free to do that. Please also leave a comment. You go to AdamMarkel.com podcast and leave a comment. You can leave a review on itunes. We're going to have a sweepstakes for the folks that are leaving itunes reviews, which is great. And of course, you can get access to our Facebook community at startmypivotcommunity on Facebook or go to pivotfp.com and as we started this show in gratitude, this is a great place to transition. I want to leave you with the waking ritual that has changed, changed my perspective in so many ways, changed my life, transformed a lot of things for me, and I've had the blessing to share it with many people around the world. And that is the tomorrow. And this is where I get to do this. As the show host, I will extend my prayer across this, across the ether when I say this, that my hope and my prayer is that we all wake up, that we wake up tomorrow. Because as you're listening or watching and listening to this right now, it's evident, it's quite evident that you woke up today. And that's a blessing. And just as importantly, it wasn't guaranteed. And so for us to wake up tomorrow, we can also be aware in that moment that we're waking, taking our first conscious breath of the day, realizing, yes, I am taking a breath. Like Dave said, I've made it to the surface and I'm going to live another day. I'm going to live. I'm going to breathe another deep breath of air. There are people who will be taking their last breath at the moment you're taking your first breath tomorrow, whenever that is. So I don't know that you need much more of a reason in that moment to feel grateful. Regardless of whether your life, everything, is going super easy and well, or just as you want, which is not anybody I know, frankly, or you've got challenges. However it is, whether it's a sunny day or it's cloudy like it is here in San Diego today, whether the surf is big and that excites you or it's flat that day, whatever it is, you can be grateful for that moment, for that waking breath. And lastly, if you're willing to do it, you can declare these words from your bed or when your feet hit the floor. I love my life. I love my life. I love my life. I truly do. And I wish you all the best of days. Everything that your heart could desire. I hope that comes to you now and always. So we'll see you soon. Ciao for now.

Thanks for listening everyone. We hope you now have the tools and greater insights to navigate your own pivot. Help us inspire others by sharing this episode and leaving your comments over@adammarkel.com podcasts for more tips, strategies and support as you consciously pivot into a new business and lifestyle you love, join our Pivot community on facebook@pivotfb.com Sam.