Maximize!

Trust is a rich, deep and expansive ocean

And invaluable to any journey we undertake in life. Whether in business, partnership, apprenticeship, championship, sponsorship, membership, friendship, and yes.. leadership: in fact any ship you can imagine. Trust is what you need to float the boat..

big *ships and long journeys require more of it.

Trusting the stillness in yourself when the rest of world is moving, is the best way to avoid getting violently ill from motion-sickness. And if you have to be steer your ship you can’t afford to be down below hoping the wind’ll take you somewhere nice & safe & warm.

When you’re out on the ocean, things MOVE. Surface phenomena and tides produce waves, currents are variable, the invisible force of the wind can be harnessed, but watched carefully because of it’s changeable nature and storms gather without warning. What worked yesterday, or even an hour ago, may or may not work now.. being rigid out at sea is frankly outright stupidity and blind ignorance that will get you sunk. Predictablility is not Nature’s way! ..and (oddly enough trust is NOT predictablity either)

Evolution, creativity & sailing the stormy seas of life demand flexibility and focus.So herewith are Maximillian’s (may-change-according-to conditions-but-work-now) rules for sailing, success & a brilliantly fun life:

1. Choose to leave the safety of the shore & explore if there is more!
2. Be cool with change. Knowing that even if you’ve found perfection (in an elegant system, an artwork, a woman, a rose, a relationship) it is ephemeral, and so all the more beautiful because it doesn’t last forever.
3. Watch & pay attention to subtle details
4. Trust your instincts, human senses aren’t always reliable
5. Make the adjustments according to the current conditions around you without losing sight of your destination. Keep tweaking
6. Sail on.. even if you’ve blown waaaay off course in the throes of a brutal storm: you may happen upon a glorious sunkissed island swirled about with warm breezes, fragrant frangipani and beautiful velvety-skinned natives to intoxicate your windblown senses with joy and peace. Who the hell knows?! Let life unfold as it will at your feet…
   
7. Remind yourself when it gets grisly that it’s about the adventure, that’s why we’re all here in this particular dimension playing this game (it is the best one yet developed, trust me).
8. How we deal with inevitable surprises either makes it hell or heaven. So many of us still seem SHOCKED that life doesn’t work out in a predictable fashion “but I ..(fill in justification against the unfairness) ..so how could this happen to me?” In this game wonky things happen to all of us. Getting stuck in wondering why it’s so unfair makes it unbearably painful and a futile waste of precious energy. Forget trying to figure it out whether it was fair or not, rather determine what worked, what didn’t and move on as quickly as your heart can bear.
9. If we try to stubbornly impose our will on Nature, we mostly just end up very sweaty with a sore head. If we get blown about without focus we never get anywhere and get very few brilliant stories to share. Respecting and harnessing the mighty forces of nature with our creative inventions and playful curiosity to see what is around the next horizon is the true explorers way.. and the one with all the treasure! ssshhh..

No idea why the sailing metaphor today, it just blew in across the bay: mmm, maybe because I’m going to be driving along the ocean side in 12 short minutes.. it is the beginning of another glorious long weekend in Cape Town: the weather decidely unwintery, in fact perfectly champagne – golden in colour with sparkle and crisp chill to tittilate the senses and make you feel like partying.. YIPPPPEEE!!

aah.. and the luxury yacht project I’ve been gently coerced back into (by virtue of perks) has been launched: so the gorgeous sleek Atlantic Serentity with her berth outside the 7star hotel-in-the-making has been playing in the choppy waters of my mind today. Mystery solved.