The Long and The Short Of It

Episode 286 - Ride the Wave

Transcript:

Pete: Hey, Jen.

Jen: Hello, Pete.

Pete: I'm fired up today. I'm feeling energized. I'm having one of those weeks that feels like it's the most productive week on the planet.

Jen: Ah.

Pete: And I'm equally inspired and excited about it. But also frustrated that not every week is like this. And I think in short, what I'm doing and what I want to talk to you about is, I'm trying to ride the wave. And I feel like there might be a strategy or a learning in: How do we ride the wave when the wave appears?

Jen: Yeah. Cowabunga, dude. This is The Long and The Short Of It.

Pete: Wow, that's one of my favorite intros of all time, that you just said that. "Cowabunga, dude." That is amazing. Oh, wow. Yep. Cowabunga, dude. Anyway, I'm talking about the metaphorical riding of the wave. Although, I do enjoy myself a body surf/surf and riding the actual wave. In any case, riding the metaphorical wave. So I was sharing with you before we started recording, you said, "What's been up this week," and I was like, "Let me tell you about what's been up this week."

Jen: Yes.

Pete: I woke up and I decided on a whim that I could make the quality of a bunch of videos that I'd recorded better, because I have a new studio set up. And I previously recorded a bunch of videos for a client in my old setup, which was great at the time. But now that I look back on it, I'm like, "It looks like it was recorded by a potato. I need to update this." And so on a whim, I was like, "That's it. Today's the day. I'm re-recording the whole thing." And so yesterday, I literally recorded an entire course. I shot fifteen videos, and did it all before lunchtime.

Jen: That is an unbelievable.

Pete: It is. Even I couldn't believe it. And I was recognizing, "I have energy and momentum and a desire and space to do this, and so I'm just going to keep doing it until that runs out." And so what I realized is, I rode the wave. I rode the wave of momentum, and creativity, and inspiration, and energy. And like I said, I don't often have that. I don't know, I feel like maybe there's a parallel here to motivation, or inspiration, or just energy in general. Like, I feel like it's the kind of momentum or the kind of wave that is fleeting. And so I'm just sort of noodling on and thinking about, is riding a wave a strategy? What are you doing while you're waiting for the wave? You know, in the literal sense, you're paddling, you're chatting to the other surfers. Like, maybe there's a learning here through this metaphor that I haven't quite figured out. But I rode a big wave yesterday, and I'm feeling good about it. And it makes me think that there should be ways for us to create the conditions to ride more waves. Am I making any any sense?

Jen: Yes, it makes so much sense. It's making me think back, Pete, to an episode we did...oh my gosh, it was a long time ago. Episode 204, which was called 137 Reach Outs, which was another wave that you rode, where you literally sent one hundred and thirty seven reach outs in a really short period of time. So it's interesting to me that the waves you ride are extremely focused on a particular project, or like a particular goal. They're not spread out. They're really focused. I don't know if that is just a you thing or if that's all wave riders, but I thought I'd mention it.

Pete: It's a good point. And this maybe fits in with part of my frustration, because part of my frustration is, I have days where I know there's a list of things on my to do list that I would really benefit from doing, that maybe I know will set me up for success with a client or I know will set my client up for success. And some days, it's like trudging through the mud, and I'm like, "Yeah, you know what? That can probably wait until tomorrow. I'll just do it tomorrow."

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: I have no wave. There is no momentum. I am stuck in the mud. And so when I get these days, I get excited. I get fired up. And I'm like, "This is amazing. And, what's happened in the last forty-eight hours that didn't happen last week?"

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: So I'm like, is there a learning? Is there a way you can try and replicate this? Or is it just, "So it goes," with our energy and our momentum and our inspiration?

Jen: Well, let me ask you a question. When you began the day, was your intention to record all fifteen videos before lunch? Or did you start, then you caught the wave, and then you rode it?

Pete: That is the most poignant, brilliant question of all time...because I did not sit down and go, "I'm going to record fifteen videos." I thought, "Oh, I have some energy. I have some time. I'd love to re-record a video. And maybe if I do four or five, then that will be great. And I could do another four or five tomorrow." And what ended up happening is I got on such a roll that just one led to another which led to another, which I feel like is a really important thing for me to say out loud, because it speaks to a learning or an idea that I really know and I believe, which is that mood follows action. And so maybe you're not in the mood at the start of something to record fifteen videos, but you might be in the mood to record one. And then in doing that action, your mood changes again, and you have more of a desire to record more, and on and on it goes. That, you know, inspiration, if we sit around and wait for it, we're probably going to be waiting a long time.

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: But if we start doing the thing, then we're more likely to experience inspiration or motivation. Do you agree?

Jen: Yes. You cannot catch a wave if your board is not in the water.

Pete: Here we go. Now you're talking.

Jen: You've got to actually go. You've got to start.

Pete: Yeah. You've got to paddle.

Jen: Yes, exactly. And to be fair, sometimes those surfers are sitting there for a long time.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: I love to watch surfers, by the way. That is one of my pastimes. In the summer, I go to this beach, it's literally called Surf Side, and watch the surfers. Do you

Pete: Do you say to them, "Cowabunga!" Gosh, I hope not.

Jen: I'm going to start doing that and see how quickly my fourteen-year-old leaves my side.

Pete: Yes, yes.

Jen: So Pete, I host this thing through my Career Collective community (which is part of JWS Online) called The Productivity Power Hour. And actually, we host them three times a month. And what it is, people log in to a Zoom room. They say at the beginning of the hour what they're going to accomplish. We do a twenty-five minute Pomodoro sprint. We take a five minute break. We do a second twenty-five minute sprint. And then, everyone reports on their progress.

Pete: So good.

Jen: Sometimes, though, I catch the wave during the Power Hour, and I'm like, "I'm going to stay on for another hour, if anyone else wants to stay on." And inevitably, there are people who stay on, because they too have caught the wave. Because once you start something and you start experiencing the momentum, it feels good and you want to keep going.

Pete: It does. It really does. Do you think in that sense, it's almost contagious too?

Jen: I do. And I think because it's on the calendar, it helps.

Pete: Yeah. There's tension. There's accountability. There's other people holding you to that time and place.

Jen: Yeah. I mean, it's scheduled productivity. That's really what that one is.

Pete: Right. Yeah. That's interesting, because maybe part of why I experience it in such strange spurts is, honestly, I spend so much time working on my own. I don't always have the tension, the accountability, and the contagion of being surrounded by other people also being outrageously productive. Now, I do have my wife who's one of the most productive human beings on the planet, who definitely sometimes spurts me into action. But I do wonder if, yeah, like you've created, surrounding yourself with community makes the process of paddling or starting easier. In which case, you're more likely to build that momentum, and get that energy, and then contagion kicks in and you want to keep going.

Jen: Can we talk for a second about the difference between a spurt and a wave? It might not feel worth unpacking, but listeners, do this along with me. And Pete, I'm going to watch you here on Zoom. With your hand, can you give me the gesture of a spurt?

Pete: [gestures]

Jen: Right. You just started in a fist, and then you thrust your five fingers out and forward.

Pete: I did.

Jen: So then, can you give me the gesture of a wave?

Pete: Well, I think it's like this. [gestures] Right?

Jen: Right. So the reason I feel like we have to unpack the difference is, it's very easy to see where the spurt begins and that it ends.

Pete: Mmm-hmm.

Jen: And the wave, I'm not exactly sure when the gesture begins and it doesn't really have an ending.

Pete: Hmm.

Jen: And we might need each of those things at various times.

Pete: Wow, that's good. Okay, this is...I actually think this "riding the wave" metaphor could be useful. Shocker. We're eight minutes in to the podcast and I'm like, "Actually, Pete, that thing you brought up might actually be useful."

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: So my interpretation of what you just said, especially I just want to focus on the wave thing for a second, is you're actually constantly in motion. And this is true when you're literally in the water. Even if you're sitting on your surfboard, you are drifting with the tides, and you're drifting with the current, and you are constantly in motion. Maybe you're paddling back to get to where you were, because you drifted to the side. That is true also of, I think...to continue using me as an example, it's true in my work. It's not that I'm not doing anything until I have those days.

Jen: Right.

Pete: I'm constantly in motion. It's just that, like the hand rolling that I'm doing that suggests a wave, you're sort of bobbing up and down. And you're bobbing up and down, and you're moving, but it's not until a big set comes through and you paddle and you get onto a massive wave where it feels like, "Oh, now I'm actually doing something. Now, I'm actually moving." That's not to say you weren't moving prior. It's just to say, it feels different because there's more momentum to it, or something. Now, a spurt...I don't know how I feel about spurts anymore, after doing that hand gesture. It feels like it stops and starts, and then you're doing nothing after it finishes.

Jen: Right. And sometimes, that would be okay. Like as you're reaching the end of this video project, you might need to just spurt into action to get this thing done and then cross the finish line. But since you're in creation mode, this riding the wave seems to make so much sense.

Pete: Hmm. Yeah, it really does. I feel like you're constantly riding waves. Can you relate to this? You seem to always have energy and be moving. And maybe it's the people you're surrounded with? It just feels like you're constantly on these massive forty-foot waves, just like, "Yeah. Cowabunga, dude! Here I go."

Jen: Yeah, I feel very, very lucky. I've got a lot of wave riding in my life. However, I will tell you, Pete, that there are certain times of the year where I expect no wave riding from myself, because there is so much urgency. Like I was saying to you before we hit record, right now is the busiest time of the year in the theatre industry. It's just, it's crazy. I'm not expecting any wave riding of like big ideas for myself right now. I get to ride the wave with my clients as we're working on material. But I'm like not expecting to ride my biggest wave right now. I just need to sort of focus on exactly what is happening. And then, I know that on the back end of this season, every year, I start big wave riding, like the big ideas really start to come once we are getting closer to summer.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: And that's when I I ride the biggest waves.

Pete: It's when you go to Teahupo'o, and you get real big and thick waves. I like it. I like it.

Jen: I don't know what the hell you just said.

Pete: It's a famous surf break.

Jen: Oh, okay.

Pete: Teahupo'o is a famous surf break.

Jen: Sorry, Australian surfers. So sorry.

Pete: It's not even in Australia either.

Jen: Oops, again.

Pete: My dad's a surfer. I feel like I know more about this, which is why I laughed what you said "cowabunga". In any case, the thing I want to ask myself but also ask our listeners, as a useful question when threatening to beat yourself up about why you're not always riding waves, which is what I do, based on what you just said, is, "But what are you doing?" So, when you're not riding the wave, what are you doing? It's not that you want to be sitting around doing absolutely nothing, procrastinating, watching Netflix, sitting on your bum, reading random things on the internet. It's like, what are you actually doing in between? Now in the surfing context, they're trying to find the right position. They're paddling across to where the break is. They're looking and assessing on the horizon, "Where's the next set coming from?" So it's like, what are the habits, behaviors, activities, things you're doing when the waves aren't there or as obvious? And in my mind, that's where you have things like a reach out practice...you mentioned that earlier, the reach out episode we did. Do you have a reach out practice? Do you have a skill-building exercise that you're trying to do? Like with your clients, I'm sure they're constantly practicing their singing, for example. And so, what does it look like to have things to do in between the waves? I'm asking this of myself, clearly.

Jen: So I'm thinking about your dad, who...I don't know your dad. Hi, Dad.

Pete: Hey, Dad.

Jen: But my guess is, in order to be a really great surfer, your dad has to do more than surf. Your dad has to work out. He's got to put on his sunblock. He's got to wax his board.

Pete: Oh, yeah.

Jen: He's got to scope out what the good sites are. He's got to do some dry training on solid ground. Right?

Pete: The stretching.

Jen: And all of those things contribute to his ability to, when the wave comes, ride the wave. It reminds me a bit of the concept of "latent potential" in Atomic Habits, which James Clear explains by talking about a glass of ice. That you want that ice to melt, but if the room is at twenty-eight degrees, first you have to get it to twenty-nine degrees, and then you have to get it to thirty, and then thirty-one, and then thirty-two, and then finally at thirty-three degrees, you might see something start to happen. You'd have no idea what I'm talking about, you talk Celsius. But you get what I'm throwing?

Pete: I do. I just feel like it's wild that frozen isn't zero. Because in Celsius, frozen is zero. It makes so much sense.

Jen: Right. I'm sorry. Yeah, you guys make so much more sense than we do.

Pete: In any case, on James Clear, I feel like the other thing it reminds me of is, "You don't rise to the level of your expectations. You fall to the level of your habits or your systems."

Jen: Right.

Pete: And I feel like that's what we're talking about, is like, if you want to be set up for success when the big wave comes, have you been practicing the things that will enable you to ride that wave? So if a giant wave comes and you haven't been practicing surfing and this is your first time surfing, there's a fair chance that you're going to get wiped out. There's a fair chance you're not going to know what to do.

Jen: Fair chance.

Pete: So for me, I'm just realizing in this moment, there's no way I would have been able to record fifteen videos if I had no idea what I wanted to say.

Jen: Right.

Pete: And so, the work has come in. I've run like hundreds of these workshops for thousands of people around the world, of which I'm taking bits from each of these workshops to put into these videos. So it's not that I'm inventing things on the fly. I'm actually just executing the wave riding based on things that I've already set myself up to be able to do.

Jen: Well, that feels like the biggest aha moment of the entire conversation

Pete: We got there in the end.

Jen: Is that, part of how you get to ride the wave is you do all of the prep work, so that when the wave comes, you can actually catch it.

Pete: Right. I mean, it took us a little while. I felt like I was thrashing, thrashing literally in the water. But we got there. In order to ride the waves, think about, "What am I doing when the waves aren't there? So that when it comes, I can catch it."

Jen: Ride that wave. Cowabunga, baby. And that is The Long and The Short Of It.