Just take your time – wave comes. Let the other guys go, catch another one. – Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii’s Ambassador of Aloha
I enjoy finding quotes for inspiration. The name Duke Kahanamoku jumped in my head while I sat at my desk listening to Hawaiian music. So I researched to see if Hawaii’s Ambassador of Aloha had any quotes floating around out there. I found the one you see above.
I read that quote over and over, kicked my feet up on my desk, closed my eyes, and took time for reflection.
There are lessons and certain meanings we can find in everything around us because everything has mana, it has some sort of energy. For me, words carry a lot of mana. When you and 10 other people read the same quote or hear the same story, there are 11 different interpretations because all of us are unique and have our own history.
In the words from Duke Kahanamoku also known as the Father of Modern-day Surfing, I found these 4 Rules of Excellence.
4 Rules of Success
1. Be Patient. Surfers sit on their boards waiting for sets to come rolling in. They sit patiently waiting with expectancy of catching that next wave that will make them feel alive and free. I believe there is no such thing as an over-night success because that’s the only thing we see and society focuses on. Society doesn’t focus on the patience, hard work, and perseverance of that person.
2. Make Decisions. Making decisions are vital for success. I’m sure there has been times when you have to make a decision and you felt unsure or you said, “I don’t know.”
When waves begin to roll in, the surfers have to decide which one they’ll catch. They must correctly position themselves to make sure that they take the right approach to capitalize on the opportunity. Then as the wave approaches, they must commit fully to the opportunity they have chosen and take responsibility for their decision.
3. Take Different Approaches. Let’s say you made a decision and the outcome wasn’t what you expected. That’s ok. You can’t be afraid of failure. Without failure there is no such thing as success. John Maxwell said, “Experience is NOT the best teacher, EVALUATED experience is.”
When surfers commit to a wave, a few things can happen. They may not be in the right position to catch the wave causing them to miss it. Or maybe they chose a wave expecting a certain break but got a different one. When either of these things happen, the surfer isn’t going to call it the day and paddle back to shore. No, they are going to change their approach, go off of the lessons their learned form the ocean, and go for another wave.
4. Show Aloha. Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist, wrote in his post Why Helping Others Succeed Can Be Your Greatest Success:
Another’s success does not mean I have less opportunity. In fact, another’s success can actually be my success if I had opportunity to enable, encourage, and promote them along the way!.
There’s no better feeling than the feeling of helping or giving back to someone. When you give Aloha to another person or contribute back to the community, you begin to live for something greater than yourself.
For those surfers who are patient, they have no problem with allowing another surfer catch a wave. This sort selflessness can create a domino effect that will trigger a “pay it forward” mentality. People who show and give Aloha are respected, appreciated, and make a difference in other peoples’ lives.
To Your Success
Maybe when you read the quote by Duke Kahanamoku, “Just take your time – wave comes, let the other guys go, catch another one,” you had a different interpretation. Perhaps you can think of more rules to add to the 4 listed above, if you can then please feel free to add them in the comments below.
Mahalo. Aloha. A hui hou.
Picture provided by: Luke Gordon