Today I’m going to give you an example of how doing one small thing can change your life for the better in more ways than you can possibly imagine – how the smallest of things can lead to the absolute biggest of impacts in your life
“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life”.
That quote is from Steve Jobs, in his Stanford commencement address 2005.
So let’s talk about dots – I want to tell you a quick story
When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was be an actor. That was it for me. That was the big dream. That was the big goal.
I was going to be a rich and famous actor. I was going to move to LA, I was going to have long hair just like David Lee Roth (because that was my guy), and I was going to learn how to surf.
The surfing part was a really big piece of this. Always wanted to surf, don’t know why. When I was really young, I saw it somewhere and I was like, “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Now, I abandoned that acting dream, but the surfing part never left me. It was something that was always kind of there. I didn’t think about it every day, but it was never that far from my thoughts.
Now, fast forward a couple of decades. I was in my late thirties. Single at the time, bored, trying to figure out something I can do on a weekend during the summer. I’m looking online and – “Holy Shit, you can surf in New York City, right at Rockaway Beach, which is a subway ride away?” I had no idea.
I keep looking and was like, “Wow, look at that. You can take surfing lessons at Rockaway Beach. Okay maybe I should do this”
So let me ask you a question. What almost 40-year-old Jewish dude who grew up in Queens and lives in New York City starts to surf, right?
👉🏻This guy 👈🏻
I was like, “You know, fuck it. I’m going to do it. Why not? Let’s see what happens.”
What’s the worst thing that can happen, right?
So I put my ass on the subway, got to Rockaway Beach, got in the water, and as soon as I sat up on that surfboard…as soon as I was in the ocean on that board, I fell head over heels in love.
So connected, so deeply connected, so in love with this thing that I was and still am terrible at, but I loved it. And all that came from just listening to my soul. That thing that kept telling me for 20 years “Go surfing,”…it made no sense at all.
And that’s the point.
The story gets way cooler than that…
I had a picture of me surfing up on this dating website I was on – OK Cupid.
So I had one of these surfing pictures. I had that put up there and wouldn’t you know it, this beautiful woman contacts me.
“Oh, my God. I was in Hawaii. I took surfing lessons. I love it too.” And so now me and this woman connect over surfing. That’s our point of connection.
We meet, we fall in love, we’re still in love, she’s the love my life. We live in this beautiful apartment in New York City. All that came from following my heart and going surfing for no reason.
…But the story gets even cooler.
A year or two into our relationship, we’re on a surfing trip in Costa Rica. Lauren brings a book with her called Tony Robbins Money: Master the Game. I picked that book up and immediately thought, “Man, I used to love Tony Robbins when I was younger. When I was 17 or 18, whatever it was, loved him, helped me so much. Why have I forgotten about him all these years?”
So I made a promise to myself when I got back to New York, I was going to look for the next time Tony Robbins was in town, and go to one of his seminars.
Of course…because this is the way these things work…he was coming around two or three months after that.
So I got my ticket, went to see Tony Robbins, and my life changed. I had just the most powerful spiritual awakening, like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
Lit my soul on fire.
That whole experience led to me discovering the coaching world. Led to me discovering my passion, my PURPOSE- helping people achieve their goals and dreams.
Realizing that everything that I had gone through in my life, there was a reason for it. There was a reason for it and that’s because I was strong enough to get through all that stuff and I was gifted in a way that I can help other people achieve their own goals and dreams.
It was a small thing, wasn’t it? I just – went surfing. A small thing that had a massive impact on my life. That’s usually the way – small things = big impact.
One small thing and when you think about it – I literally found THREE loves of my life: Lauren. Surfing, and Coaching. Not bad right?
So again, I remind you – ALL of that happened from just listening to my soul, just going surfing, which made no sense at the time, but like I said, I said, “Fuck it.” And I listened to my soul. My heart.
All that unfolded for me.
Now, I’ll let you in on a secret – this video isn’t about me. At all.
It’s about you.
I just wanted to share that story. Share my story to illustrate what it looks like to
LISTEN-TO-YOUR-SOUL – your heart, your intuition- whatever you choose to call it …and why it’s so important that you do so.
And how you really can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only do that looking backward.
So what is it that YOU want to do?
What calls you?
And whatever is calling you – does it scare you?
Do you have dreams – stuff you’ve wanted to accomplish in your life that you’ve kind of put away on a shelf somewhere and forgotten about them — and when I say forgotten, you’ve forgotten about them, but not really….they’ve never quite gone away, right?
There’s always a whisper of them underneath the surface. They’ve always been there.
Is it finally time for you to start realizing those dreams? No matter how old you are, because it’s never too late for you. I got on that surfboard, I was almost 40 years old.
If it’s time, if it’s finally time for you to realize some of those goals, some of those dreams, I can help you. I want to help you. This is what I do when I work one-on-one with people.
So if this is you, simply email me. Message me at gregg@greggsugerman.com, and let’s have a conversation. Let’s see if there’s something we can work together on. I’d love to hear from you.
And regardless if you message me or not, what I hope you take away from this post is LISTEN to those things that call you.
Listen to those things that are pulling you.
Follow your heart.
Listen to your intuition
…because there’s a reason you’re being called to do whatever it is that you’re called to do.
There’s a reason for it.
I promise you.