Win the Start, Win the Game: Lessons From Competitive Sailing
1Top o' the Mornin' to Ya!
TLDR: It's still in the thirties here in Minnesota with winds hitting 50 miles per hour down by the water. We're trying to get our boat ready for competitive sailing season, which is one of my absolute favorite things to do. Just like in competitive sailing where you can't go straight into the wind and must start strategically to win the race, successful Christian leaders must overcome the paralysis of having too many ideas by simply starting with one - because if you never start, you never gain.
What?
When you're sailing competitively, you usually sail toward the wind for the first part of the race. But here's the thing - you can't go straight into the wind. If you try, your sail acts like a flag and just starts flapping uselessly across the boat.
You have to go about 45 degrees off the wind to get enough fill in your sails to actually move. So you zigzag - sailing 45 degrees off the wind on one side for a while, then tacking and going 45 degrees off on the other side. It's not like a running race where everyone goes the same direction. Half the boats might be on one tack with wind on one side, half on another tack with wind on the other side.
Yesterday in our roundtable, one of the guys was talking about all the ideas he has that he hasn't started yet. This reminded me of something crucial about sailboat racing: the start is a huge part of the event. It's one of my favorite and most exciting parts.
Why?
If you win the start, you get massive gains in positioning and wind advantage. There's a saying in sailing: "Win the start, win the race." As you're zigzagging toward the first mark, there's a lot of "cover" where one boat's sail will block another boat's wind. Whoever starts best has the advantage throughout the race.
A couple episodes ago, we talked about how "the start is the hardest part." This guy was stuck saying, "I don't know what to start. I've got this idea and that idea, and I don't know where to go or what to do first."
Lesson
In sailing, once you get a good start, tactics become key. You keep yourself between your competition and the next mark so you stay ahead. You're zigzagging back and forth, but you must pay attention to where all the other boats are going.
Sometimes the wind's stronger on the left or right. Sometimes it's shifting direction. Sometimes you get overpowered and need to switch to smaller sails. There are so many different combinations and solutions for sailing a sailboat and getting it to sail the fastest.
The excitement comes from all these variables and strategic decisions - just like in business and life leadership.
Apply
Here's what I took from connecting sailing to that conversation: Win the start, win the race. But if you never start, you never gain.
Too many of us get paralyzed by having multiple good ideas and not knowing which one to pursue first. We spend so much time analyzing and planning that we never actually start. But in sailing - and in life - positioning yourself well at the beginning creates advantages that compound throughout the entire race.
The key isn't finding the perfect idea or the perfect conditions. It's about starting well with the idea that excites you most and does the most good, then using good tactics to stay ahead or better yet, lead well as conditions change.
What idea have you been sitting on that needs a start? What's keeping you from taking that first tack toward your goal?
You be blessed!
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