In the spring of 1993, after quitting an executive job in midtown Manhattan, I drove to Santa Barbara. I was chasing a girl and also searching for peace of mind. Most of my mornings during those first few months in California were spent walking the beaches near UCSB and enviously watching wealthy young surfers dancing beautifully across waves. Most of the evenings were overflowing with too much beer and lots of music. Jealousy and excessive drinking are an unhealthy combination, of course. Sober, deliberate actions, and lots of gratitude are better. I was 24 years old. I didn't understand all that yet. 

It turns out that 24 is pretty old for a surfer, but I had lots of life ahead of me so I bought a surfboard, a cheap wetsuit, and a book, A Surfer's Startup. In order to get the best waves, California surfers need to get up early and head to the beach to catch the "morning glass," when the waves are smooth and rideable because the winds blow out to sea, grooming the waves. Soon I was drinking less and surfing more and earlier in the day. 

I moved from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz, where the waves are bigger, better, and more consistent. Then I went to graduate school in San Diego, which has great waves and is close to Baja California, a surfer's paradise. Today, I've explored and surfed just about every beach between San Francisco and San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico. I've also traveled to surf in Fiji, Hawaii, mainland Mexico (3 times), Australia (4 times), and Costa Rica (9 times). I still surf and ride stand-up paddle boards in waves pretty regularly and I drink rarely (and never more than two glasses). Did surfing save my life? Maybe. We all need a reason to get up early, stay sober, and get to work. I found mine. I hope you find yours too. 

I started life as the child of struggling educators in rural Pennsylvania. Today, I'm a wealthy guy dancing on waves for fun, reading books for a living, and exploring sunny California with my own kids. How strange and wonderful life can be!