“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” – Aristotle Onassis
Sailing in High Winds
“I don’t know what to do,” Gordon Lin said, looking as if he had just run a marathon. The skin under his eyes was drooping, as if wax running down the side of a candle stick, even though the flame in his eyes was currently doused. “I don’t even know if I can do this anymore. It’s as if I’ve been sailing against high winds, forever. I’ve never done anything this hard before.”
The effects of recent hard sailing were evident in his posture and expression. Yet, what was undetectable to him, less obvious at the time, was something greater; the elements of high wind sailing, he’d developed as a result his voyage. He was also the embodiment of what Aristotle Onassis, a Greek and Argentine business entrepreneur, once taught.
Mr. Onassis, who once possessed the world’s largest privately-owned shipping fleet, imparted, “We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.”
Here are the elements of successful high wind sailing, exemplified by both Aristotle Onassis and Gordon Lin; both masters of such navigating in life.
Find your purpose or goal. About twenty-five years ago Gordon was recently married and they were living in a small mobile home. Yet, he knew what his purpose was. So, he set his goal prominently in his view and made sure he attended to it every day.
“I think about it every week. I think of it every day. It is always on my mind. I think about it constantly,” he said to me once, in those meager days.
Finding purpose for your life is like having a compass for use during your journey.
Know how far you are. When navigating his way, Gordon Lin always created accountability measures to chart his course. He took the time to determine the daily steps he needed to take to make progress toward what he wanted.
“I often awaken at about three in the morning, thinking about the things I need to do. I think, for some reason, that’s the most likely time for me to receive inspiration.” Gordon explained to me once, not long ago.
His focus, on set purpose, seems to have allowed him to develop a sort of internal Sextant that allows him to measure the angles between where he currently is and what course changes he needs to make to reach his goal.
Draw a road map. Just the other day Gordon spent a few minutes with me on the phone, verbally drawing a map of the route he had created to get through the current rough seas he was working to traverse. He had taken the time and made the effort to prepare for departure toward calmer waters.
If you don’t know how, LEARN. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be learning because of this,” he said just the other day. That means he was searching to find what he needed to learn. He actively looks to find out what skills and information he needs, so he can focus on the lesson, master it and then move forward.
Finally, when you think you’ve made it you will probably have to work harder. There seems to be a universal principle in our world that states, “Let’s see if you’re serious!” That means you can expect to receive the greatest resistance right as you see success just ahead. That happened to Gordon just this last week.
“I thought we were there,” he said in a voice filled with frustration. “But, I’ve spent the last two days working to get everyone back on board; after some interference from people who don’t have the information they need to give valid advice. I was able to go through the plan with everyone again and get them comfortable.”
“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” I thought to myself as he spoke.
Gordon has learned how to sail in high winds. And, he’s getting better at it every day, by using these five elements.
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