a story about skateboarding,
and a lesson in not giving a f***
last summer I was in Venice Beach:
one of the best skateboarding communities in the world.
picture a bunch of Tony Hawk’s doing crazy shit,
and 100s of people watching in amazement.
“I’m going to rip the half-pipe” I said,
so I went up and stood on the edge.
for context: I'm not a skateboarder.
I think skateboarding is fun,
I skateboard to get from A → B,
but I cannot do the skateboard tricks.
but being in Venice, I felt inspired to try,
so I went up and stood on the edge of the half-pipe.
I got to the edge… and something happened:
I looked up.
I looked at other skaters ripping up the park,
I looked at 100s of eyes watching and critiquing,
and I chickened out.
I’ve thought about this moment for a while:
I let the hypothetical thoughts of other people stop me from doing something I really wanted to do.
I wanted a chance to redeem myself.
then yesterday… we pulled up to a coffee shop,
I looked to the right, and there it was:
a half-pipe.
it wasn’t as big as Venice...
but there were skaters skating, and people watching.
so I grabbed a skateboard and went to the drop-in,
but this time I did something different:
I did not focus on other people,
I only focussed on “experience.”
🏎️ experiencing the speed of the skateboard;
🔥 the adrenaline of risk;
😡 the frustration of f**ing up;
🏔️ the triumph of getting better.
this teleported me into a room by myself;
it was almost like I couldn’t see the other people.
all of my attention was inward,
feeling every single feeling that came up.
it was one of the best experiences of my life.
I think I experienced unfiltered life for the first time;
the thoughts of other people never crossed my mind.
so here is my action step moving forward:
people say "picture the audience in their underwear."
I say forget about the audience entirely.
focus internally; on maximizing YOUR experience,
and don’t let the thoughts of other people get in the way.
#unfiltered
Senior Digital Sales Manager
4moShe’s the best ✨