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How Swimming Across Lake Tahoe Parallels Startup Selling #3

You’ll be shocked by who’s willing to help you.

I needed some help finding a kayaker, and Tom found Kathy for me.

She did the same swim a week ago with Tom as her boat captain.
She and I met for the first time in the marina parking lot that morning. “Hi Kathy. Thank you so much for helping out. Tom said you did this swim last week. That’s awesome.”
“Yeah – it was tough, but I got through it.”
“Are you from around here [South Lake Tahoe]?”
“I live down in the Bay Area.”
“Cool. Where?”
“Danville.” (a ~ 3-hour drive from South Lake Tahoe)
“Have you just been up here all week hanging out since your swim?”
“No. I’ve been home all week.”
Pause…
“Did you drive up from Danville here just to kayak for me?”
“Yeah.” “Are you serious? Really?”
“Tom asked me to. That’s how we South-siders like to be.”
It’s really humbling to know that people will help you if you just ask them.
-Scott
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Want to get a copy of my book?
Get it here: www.startupselling.co

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How Swimming Across Lake Tahoe Parallels Startup Selling #2

Take it one stroke at a time.
When you’re starting a 10.5 mile swim, it’s easy to think about the totality of the effort.
Endless questions fill your head – How long will it take? What if the wind picks up? What if I can’t make it? What if I lose the kayaker? What if my body gives out?
I’ve heard anxiety described as “worrying about the future,” and there’s certainly a lot of that out there in the water.
The right approach is to think only about the next stroke.
Then the next one.
Then the next one.
Then breathe.
Then the next stroke.
And the next.
And the next.
Then breathe.
I imagined our route from Cave Rock to Emerald Bay in my mind, then realized all that mattered was the next stroke.
-Scott
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Want to get a copy of my book?
Get it here: www.startupselling.co

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How Swimming Across Lake Tahoe Parallels Startup Selling #1

You start in the dark.

“Meet at the dock at two o’clock and we’ll start the swim at three,” Tom instructed me. That was 2:00 AM.

This was to avoid the wind, the current and the boat traffic that kicks in later in the day on Lake Tahoe When I launched into the water at 3:13AM, I could barely see my own arms in the water. Really only the kayaker’s red headlamp and the glow sticks decorating were all I could see. We all knew where we were going – the final destination at Emerald Bay, but none of us could see it from the start.

Usually you don’t have to see anything to know where you’re going.

Just get in the water and start swimming.

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Want to get a copy of my book?

Get it here: www.startupselling.co