When all is said and done (assuming 2012 is not, indeed, the end of the world), how do I want to be remembered?
It's not a new question for me by any stretch of the imagination. I've been asking myself that since I've had cognitive thought.
But I have been thinking about it a lot more since I moved to Costa Rica for the winter (er, I prefer to say "SUNNY AND WARM ALL THE TIME" season). I took November and December and kind of went with the flow, which was good, because it seemed like every time I made a plan for something, it changed – usually against my wishes, but things seemed to turn out for the best. So I figured God's hand was in it.
It's probably not the best idea to meta-communicate about one's legacy (or life?) while one is in the process of doing whatever it is they do. At least, according to the old rules.
I'd rather be proactive – I have nothing to hide, so why not be transparent? (Well, ok, with regard to business I'm not showing my cards.) I think transparency – when it reveals genuine depth and something of value – is the best marketing tool. And yes, I just proclaimed my valuable depth. lol. Is that a problem? I'm proud of who I am.
But enough of that. I was driving back to the sunny Pacific coast and thinking about myself (indeed haha, my favorite topic), and about all the different directions that my life could go.
A few years back, the directions were more big picture. Now, it seems, I'm further down the long tail of my own life because of decisions I've already made, and I have to make more precise decisions (in some areas, namely Face Level).
Since this post would be a mile long if I dealt with everything on my giant metaphorical dry-erase board (metaphorical simply because digital is far more efficient, and less smelly), I'll spare us all that backache and simply share what I was thinking about regarding, "Ice".
I believe in competition. I think it's going to be the vehicle that grows all the various sports Face Level is into promoting. Well, perhaps not all of them, I think SCUBA Diving is pretty much solidified as a recreational sport without needing competition. But some of the others – Riverboarding, Airboarding, Bodyboarding, even Wingsuit Flying – have and will continue to benefit from competition.
I'm a big fan of Laird Hamilton, the legendary big-wave surfer. I've been a fan of his since I learned about him a decade or so ago. The weird thing about Laird, though, is that he doesn't ever compete. He surfs for Laird, and no other reasons.
I can respect that, even relate to that…but I grew up competing (football, basketball, baseball, violent family games of the board game Risk) so it's kind of ingrained in me.
But the biggest fork in the road at this stage of my life comes not from a big-picture decision (because you might not know this about me, but I could easily drop everything for a musical opportunity – that's my life's biggest passion), but from a detail one: do I go the Jake Burton route and focus on solely the company, or blaze down the road toward the goal of a Mike Stewart type athletic career, using it to enhance business on the side?
The question, then – is it possible to both:
– Produce the events / oversee the events / commentate on the events (ala Gorge Games 2008)
AND
– Compete at a high level and win the events
?
Or is it one or the other?
I'm not entirely sure of the answer. I think I can swim with the best in the world when it comes to Riverboarding; but at the same time, I'm not going to be naive and think I'm some kind of deity. Please (I'm not a Kiwi). Even Michael Jordan's performance would have suffered if he had to organize everything from the TV coverage to what kind of pretzels were getting sold in the stands at the NBA Finals, AND go out and drop 40 points.
There's something definitely to be said for F-O-C-U-S. Even if I do like all the different Face Level sports. ;)
And I think because I'm all or nothing, it irritates me to think that I'm not a god and doing both is liable to make, well, both suffer.
I want to put the best product out for the world to be mesmerized by, whether it's me as an athlete or a "thing" which is the result of my creative thought.
I haven't made a decision. I'm just saying, I'm thinking about it all. Still.
_______________________________
Photo by Alex Koutzoukis. Pre-river meal, Pascua section of the Rio Reventazon, Costa Rica.
I hear ya bro. My gut reaction after reading your dilemma is that you CAN do both, but perhaps pushing the physical/competition side of things is best for now. Take full advantage of your age and physical skills while you are at your peak. Give it all you’ve got(not that you don’t already!). Make the biggest name for yourself in the sport that you can(Not that you haven’t already!)…but you get my drift. Doing so will only enhance your marketability when you shift your focus to the business side of things down the road. The business will always be there. Your youth will not.
Doing so might feel like you’re not giving the business side of things full attention now….but you’re only young once right? You can always pass the proverbial torch to younger athletes at a later date and become the elder statesman of riverboarding. By the time you do, you’ll be the “God” of the sport that you aspire to. The Laird Hamilton or Michael Jordan of riverboarding.
I dunno. Just thinking out loud.
Cheers mate.
Hey Regan,
Thanks for the feedback amigo. I hear what you’re saying. I think the biggest thing for me is that I’m doing the RIGHT thing for me, not necessarily just what I want to do.
The temptation is there, but what was I created to do?
And if I’m doing that, do I have time for other pursuits that may or may not be related?
I think there’s a definite delineation though between Ice the persona and Face Level as a business. I know I need to continue with Face Level the business – Ice, not so much.
It served its purpose but is no longer needed. My goal from the beginning was not to make Ice famous – it was to bring a personable element that people could relate with to the industry.
Now there are many others living that.
Will I continue to do amazing rivers and be a “riverboarder”? Well, I plan to, yes, within the scope of how much time I can give to it outside of my other higher-ranked priorities.
But in many ways I would rather (and always have) be Jake Burton or Phil Knight than the athletes they sponsor.
And yeah, it’s possible to do both at this stage of the industry – I think though the more attention that I give to building the industry and Face Level, the sooner I’ll be richer than Zeus and able to spend more time actually in the river. ;)
How it all plays out will be interesting to see though over the next couple years.
Josh