My former business partner for many years, Tom, was fond of a particular Shakespearean quote:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

I am pretty sure Shakespeare was talking to entrepreneurs directly that day.

Those of you that have known me for a long time always ask me the same question when we run into each other: “So Steve, what are you doing now?”. I go on to describe my latest venture, which is no doubt completely different from whatever I was doing the last time we met. They usually chuckle a little and shake their heads and I often wonder what they are really thinking. “That Steve sure has an exciting life” or “Poor Steve, stuck as an entrepreneurial nomad” or “Steve should see someone about his A.D.D.”. Actually, all of these are probably true.

I my 35 years of adult working life, I was employed by others only twice. Each time lasted less than a year before I put in my notice. In both cases I left for the same reason: I felt like I was being “held back”; not allowed to succeed. It made no sense to me then, and I would like to say I have grown to understand it, but… nope, no sense. People like me are born destined cursed to blaze our own paths: paths to success, and paths to utter failure. Guys like me have come to learn, or will, that Success is not something you achieve, but rather, something you have every now and then. Entrepreneurship is an ocean, and we should all take surfing lessons before business school.

Have you ever watched professional surfing in-person? On TV, it seems like these guys just get one big wave after another. But in-person you get to see just how many waves they pass on. They sit there in their boards, watching as far out as they can see. Looking for the big one, the right one. Occasionally, I can imagine them saying, “Damn, that was it” as they watched one go by that they were not ready for. Just as often I am sure, they jump up on one only to realize that it is not taking them very far or they wipe-out. But eventually, because they are focused on looking, they get on a big one. And they ride, they flip, they curl for the awestruck crowd, and all of a sudden they hit the beach and its over. There are a few, who caught a wave at the perfect angle, parallel to the beach, and just kept on riding. Zuckerberg caught a good one on his first try, Steve Jobs finally caught one. I’ve caught a few big ones, but never a parallel one like them, mine always hit the beach.

I keep watching, every wave is unique. I just jumped up on another one… it feels strong… it might be at the right angle too, but I don’t know, I have felt this before and was wrong. It’s starting to rise, and the beach is pretty far off, now its up to me to pick the right line, stay up, and see how far it will take me. I wiped out on my last few attempts, so I am very focused this time. Out to my right, I thought I saw a shark’s fin chasing me…