#NerdsUnite: Facing Failure Head On

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Eric. He is a MAASSTTEERRR social dynamics expert that will be talking about his experiences in the field from both an expert, and experience perspective. He's not just saying "this is how to get the girl" he's here to share his actual life stories and lessons learned from them. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ERIC !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Redolpho

I am an overly ambitious person. It's generally a quality that I relish but everything has a ying and a yang to it. I have containment issues when it comes to my ambition. There is this innate tendency of mine to find my boundaries and it has led again to a place where I had taken on too much. So here's the readers digest version of what happen... 

While planning the financials for the Tandem10 I had decided that not only was I going to save money for the trip, which would be essential, but that I would also do social media consulting work while on the road. So when a friend who I respect greatly with an established sales pipeline and niche-market opportunity contacted me to partner up, I jumped on it. I have been working with him over the last couple months to get things going. 

This was my solid backup plan. A great opportunity with a great partner. You can't ask for more than that when it comes to starting a business. I just quit that partnership and here's why. I was failing. That weight of my overcommitment had become to heavy to bear and all this momentum I had quickly came to a halt. I nearly stopped doing everything except surfing and working. Something had to give and nothing is going to stop me from pursuing this dream. Nothing. 

In a conversation with someone who I consider family more than most of my blood relatives, she asked me to list off my commitments and here they were:

* Surfing everyday when possible

* Resistance training

* Cooking and diet

* Sleeping adequately (7-8 hours)

* Finding sponsors for the Tandem10

* Building a social media presence for the Tandem10

* Training for a Century Ride

* Building a social media consultancy

The last bullet could easily have 10+ bullets under it if I elaborated. All the bullets above are necessaries for my trip, except the century ride. The consultancy was a back-up, a fail-safe. No more safety net. If there is one thing that I have learned from surfing it's commitment. It's time to get both feet on the board and make this happen. I don't need a fail-safe or back up plan. I must remind myself that this is a life or death situation and that failure is not an option. I am currently on track to have a year long budget and I haven't started pursuing partnerships yet. 

I can do this but I need to remove all the other distractions so I can focus on what's important: getting a lot of life everyday, training for a life of uninhibited adventure, building a sustainable business around the tandem10, sandy beaches, big waves, and awesome people. That's it. I feel like I can breath again since making the decision even though it pained me very much to walk away. 

#nerdsunite