~ A "Letters from Silicon Valley" Series ~
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!”
~Bob Marley
You might have heard the story of the young circus elephant that was tethered to a tree and learned that it couldn’t go beyond the length of the heavy chain. When the elephant grew up, all it took was a tiny stake and light chain to keep it within its boundaries. Like the elephant, we sometimes self-impose personal limits.
Many challenges are mental illusions. I'm reminded of this each time I think about swimming from Alcatraz to San Francisco, a challenge that once intimidated and eluded me.
In my family, water was always something to be avoided, as I was raised by a mother who grew up in the desert. She was extremely afraid of bodies of water, after having a relative die in a flash flood. So, I didn't learn to swim until later in life.
Several years ago I was advising Silicon Valley executives about overcoming mental barriers. After encouraging a few people to take the plunge to navigate tricky management waters, I thought that I'd like to lead by example and overcome a challenge myself. One cold and windy day in San Francisco, I looked out over the roiling bay waters and imagined escaping from the Rock. Of course, everyone knows you can’t escape from Alcatraz; the current is too strong, it’s too windy, the waves are too big, it’s too cold, there’s too much fog, it’s too far, and there are sharks. In addition to all of these hazards, I personally had poor swimming technique and little experience. All of these things kept me from seriously considering making the crossing.
One day I read about someone who had made many Alcatraz crossings and who was going to teach a clinic in San Francisco. I went to the clinic and was inspired to formulate a plan to escape from the island. I started with just one lap in the pool the first time I went for a training swim. Eventually I built up the capacity to swim more than two miles. This is good, since the distance from Alcatraz is about one and a half miles when you factor in zig zagging as you try to stay on course; there are no lane lines in the Bay!
Eventually I entered and completed an Alcatraz race. The swim taught me several things about overcoming challenges. I learned to:
- Dream. Have a goal and visualize attaining it.
- Test assumptions.
- Learn from others.
- Create a plan with sub-goals.
- Start with a small step toward the dream.
- Be realistic about risks and work to minimize them.
- Use optimistic self-talk.
- Just do it.
I’m happy to say that this year I’m looking forward to making my 16th escape.
May you have much success overcoming your challenges.
Go Ducks!
Contact:
Humberto Chacon
humberto@chacon.us