How many times do you go out on a limb and really push your comfort zone at work? Just ask Ross Clarke Jones, the 42 year old professional big wave surfer (pictured) who has forged a career in motivational speaking whilst he travels the globe in search of the worlds largest waves. Speaking to business leaders about fear management, you must wonder how does Ross relate riding an 80 foot wall of water to business decisions?
In an interview with redbullbwa.com Ross shared “I simply describe what goes through my head, my thought processes, as I decide to go for a big wave. …..Businessmen are simply blown away by what I’m thinking, and how relevant it is. They ask me questions, like, how do I deal with the fear, and how much time do I have to consciously make the decision to go, and when I tell them, they are amazed"
Broken down, the physical skills used to ride a small wave are the same as those applied to riding gigantic swells, it is all in the mental state and preparation whilst eliminating worry and doubt from your mindset.
We can apply Dale Carnegies Basic Techniques in Analyzing Worry to Ross’s situation:
1. Get all the facts.
Ross knows he has the right equipment, has read the conditions on the day, is well prepared and has the skill to catch the wave.
2. Weigh all the facts – then come to a decision.
For Ross this comes to his faith in himself, knowledge of the ocean and he has only a split second to weigh all the facts.
3. Once a decision is reached, act!
Once Ross has committed to catching a huge ocean swell, he is not thinking of falling or not reaching his goal, as a mistake in the wrong place could be fatal. Acting on his decision comes immediately, the whole process for Ross must be weighed up in a matter of seconds.
“That moment when you decide to go for a big one,” says Ross, “can be compared to making a gnarly business decision. You know, when you have to rely on gut instinct, when you have to make a split-decision, when you have to just turn around and go (catch a large wave), that’s just the same as making big calls in business. When there is a sudden gap or turn in the stock market and you have a few seconds to make a decisions, or when there is something else that involves a whole lot of guts and instinct, that’s the same as surfing in big surf.”
In an interview with redbullbwa.com Ross shared “I simply describe what goes through my head, my thought processes, as I decide to go for a big wave. …..Businessmen are simply blown away by what I’m thinking, and how relevant it is. They ask me questions, like, how do I deal with the fear, and how much time do I have to consciously make the decision to go, and when I tell them, they are amazed"
Broken down, the physical skills used to ride a small wave are the same as those applied to riding gigantic swells, it is all in the mental state and preparation whilst eliminating worry and doubt from your mindset.
We can apply Dale Carnegies Basic Techniques in Analyzing Worry to Ross’s situation:
1. Get all the facts.
Ross knows he has the right equipment, has read the conditions on the day, is well prepared and has the skill to catch the wave.
2. Weigh all the facts – then come to a decision.
For Ross this comes to his faith in himself, knowledge of the ocean and he has only a split second to weigh all the facts.
3. Once a decision is reached, act!
Once Ross has committed to catching a huge ocean swell, he is not thinking of falling or not reaching his goal, as a mistake in the wrong place could be fatal. Acting on his decision comes immediately, the whole process for Ross must be weighed up in a matter of seconds.
“That moment when you decide to go for a big one,” says Ross, “can be compared to making a gnarly business decision. You know, when you have to rely on gut instinct, when you have to make a split-decision, when you have to just turn around and go (catch a large wave), that’s just the same as making big calls in business. When there is a sudden gap or turn in the stock market and you have a few seconds to make a decisions, or when there is something else that involves a whole lot of guts and instinct, that’s the same as surfing in big surf.”
After researching more into Ross’s life whilst writing this article, I couldn’t help notice his power of decisiveness, making a decision and sticking to it in very sticky situations. Whilst he may be seen as reckless by others, in fact he is very calculated. Want to be more decisive in stressful situations? Take a look at our Dale Carnegie Course in Effective Communication and Human Relations starting on March 9th.
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