My iPhone abruptly woke me at 5am.
Ready to ride, I loaded my mountain bike on the bike rack in darkness.
It was a cold brisk morning. Low 50s.
I was biking a trail I haven’t ridden in years.
It was sketchy last time I road it. Advanced riding.
Advanced meaning there was a combination of rocks and cliffside exposure on the trail.
But there was more...
After finishing the steep 3.5 mile climb with a 2000 ft elevation gain, it was time for the descent.
The descent requires extreme focus on the line. The line has a width just wide enough for the bike, about a foot or two wide.
The rains from prior days increased the difficulty level because there was a new element: rutting. The trench-like groove in the trail re-enforced the need for focus.
Boulders, rocks, trenches, with cliffside exposure.
The error to pain ratio was high. The slightest error results in pain.
We were in the Angeles National Forest in Southern California at 3,300 ft elevation.
The descent started.
Fixated on my line, I flowed with the bike, negotiating the technical terrain.
I rode around that rock.
Over the other.
Abruptly, I rolled over a rock with a 1 foot drop.
My front suspension lessened the impact and I kept rolling with the 29 inch tires.
Focus, Matthew.
When mountain biking in such conditions, there is only a focus on where I want to go. Not a split-second of energy gets devoted to thought or looking where I don’t want to go.
As we zig-zagged our way down the mountain, I turned a sharp corner and missed my line.
It was a rocky rut combination with a boulder, all at once. It happened fast.
I missed my line and dropped into a trench-like rut.
As I went over the handlebars, I caught myself on a boulder.
The rider behind me found me laying on the floor with my leg intertwined throughout the bike.
I may have been yelling.
I didn’t react quick enough to unclip my foot so my foot was twisted through the bike frame.
After waiting it out, I decided it wasn’t broken, so we completed the rest of the 7 miles.
The backstory of my childhood
For as long as I can remember, I wanted harmony in life.
I’m talking early teen years. I always wanted harmony.
I didn't have a violent home environment and I didn't lack harmony, it was simply something I thought about often.
I wanted to be in alignment with what I wanted to do and what I did.
Another word for it: I wanted to be connected to the things I did.
I never realized how this story I told myself would unfold.
The more I learn and grow, the more I find myself aligning what I want to be doing with the things I do.
To do this makes the journey almost frictionless because I am doing what I want. I love it. I enjoy it.
Time doesn't matter. Days of the week don't matter. I'm grateful I get to spend my seconds doing what I love.
The mountain biking line symbolizes the connection that I want to have with the way I experience life.
I didn’t always move forward with intention and alignment, though.
The first part of my life involved a lot of experimentation so that I could figure out what I wanted to do.
When ice skating, you must move side-to-side to move forward. By playing in the extreme opposites on the spectrum in life, I did that.
I’ve immersed myself in hundreds of friendships for most of my waking hours and I’ve spent weeks alone.
I’ve lived in the city I’ve grown up in and I’ve traveled for 5 months across 6 time zones to 37 different places around the world.
I’ve spent time sharing life with long-time friends and I’ve spent time sharing life with strangers.
I’ve worked on one business for years and I’ve launched 7 different projects in one year.
The truth I speak is not something I’ve read in a book. It’s something I’ve learned from experience. Conviction.
If you want to reduce the friction, play to your strengths. Align.
Find your line.
Discover your strengths by experimenting and immersing yourself in life.
If you know your strengths, find the conviction and the courage to respect them and execute against them. Get to effortless mastery.
Why am I sharing this?
As a business leader, you may wear many different hats. Use that opportunity to discover what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy. And then, execute ruthlessly against your refined muscle.
Often, business leaders get caught up in what they think they should do.
You may think you need to listen to the customer and the customer is always right.
You may think you need to follow the Lean Startup Methodology and you’re golden for success.
You may think there is some “right way” to do it.
You may think that if you do exactly as your favorite business did, you’ll have cracked the magic business code.
I’m not saying not to listen to the customer.
I’m saying, don’t forget to listen to yourself. To listen within.
Sometimes, I hear entrepreneurs complaining.
Complaining about investors, customers, or employees, and how spread thin they are.
Depending on the person and the context of the moment, I ask them this question:
“I’m curious, can you list out the top 5 people you’re living your life for?”
(Bonus tip: Look away and think about this answer in your mind right now)
(Done? Great.)
I usually get a mixed bag of answers.
1. My business.
2. My significant other.
3. Maybe, child #1.
4. Best friend.
5. Mom.
Great, I say, and then I ask them: “Where are you on that list?”
What? You listed out everyone you live life for and you didn’t include yourself?
I believe in legacy.
Legacy requires self, but it is not completely about self.
Where is self on your hierarchy of who you’re living for?
You may respond, “But Matthew, my customers pay me money, they’re the ones who keep my business afloat.”
Yes, well, that’s true. But that’s a weak truth.
Too many advisors, coaches, and mentors disrespect the person driving the bus: that is the entrepreneur.
Here’s an angle not often talked about...
Creativity requires limitations.
Creativity is a unique way of connecting the dots.
Often, an entrepreneur who identifies a problem and wants to bring a solution to the marketplace creatively connected the dots to get to where they are. (And they had the courage to pursue it)
You can be more creative and create more of an advantage if you align what you naturally enjoy with your business.
I’m talking about culture differentiation.
You see, the more you inject yourself into your business, the more unique your business can be.
Do this well and you’ll have no competition.
Think about it.
The more you integrate yourself with your business, the more it will attract a certain type of person.
The more your audience is aligned with your values and beliefs, the less friction you’ll have in "dealing" with them.
For me, it’s simple. I want to do what I enjoy and support people who I enjoy spending seconds with.
Knowing my dominant strength is thinking (a muscle I’ve been refining since I started programming at age 9), I use my dominant strength to help entrepreneurs refine their thinking.
It’s the thing I would do if money didn’t matter.
Remember, in ice skating, it takes moving back and forth to go forward... so this story I share is not an overnight process.
I bet Joel and Leo at Buffer integrated transparency into their culture because they’re rather transparent in their personal lives.
Danielle Morrill, CEO and co-founder of Mattermark, has had great momentum lately. Her curiosity and love of data is baked into the core of the company. She proclaims that she does spreadsheets in her spare time for fun. In a recent article, Danielle said, “I’ve found the problem that I find endlessly interesting.”
That is alignment. That is connection. Find that.
When you build a business that solves a problem and is influenced by self, it creates a connected culture and can serve you well in the long-term.
(As opposed to chasing the money and building a business for some external validation or to sell it)
Find, know, and respect your line.
The narrow path is the path that must be followed for the ride.
It’s the only option.
It requires vulnerability.
It is not a choice. It’s a necessity.
If you want to have a great ride, you must take the narrow path.
That is the path you will find most meaningful that will accelerate the growth of your business.
