1.Surfers are go getters: these are the guys and girls getting up before the crack of dawn to paddle out in frigid waters in the middle of the winter, to feel that rush of the water, the fresh air and the adrenaline surge you get whilst gliding down the silky smooth wall of a newly formed wave, as it releases the energy borne of some far off storm onto the beach in a crashing, gushing, pounding glorious churn of white wash. These are also the girls and guys who run the business and are looking for the edge, there is Brian building houses in Bali and Graham developing properties, there are the Doctors, the Lawyers, The CEO’s all getting their early morning surf session in, before they head out to add their contributions to the world.

2.There is always another wave: so you missed that last wave and the one before it, don’t despair there will always be another wave. This extends to many areas of life and has become a personal motto, there will always be another wave, another opportunity and provided you keep practicing, keep preparing, the day will come when you catch it and the next and the one after that, wave after wave just like a pro.

3.Take time out to gain perspective: it is amazing how insignificant things seem when you are sitting out behind the breakers looking back towards the beach, the skyscrapers ringing the beach as tall and imposing as they were when you were standing right beneath them become mere buildings on some far off shore, the ocean with its expanse continues on to the horizon and beyond. Paddling out through the ferocious pounding surf somehow seems to strip away the worries that plague us onshore, large faceless entities with their many faceted rules and regulations can’t reach you out here, there are no mobile phones, no internet, just you, your board and a few figures in the distance chilling on their boards, at one with the ocean, looking out to sea and waiting for that next wave.

4.How to overcome your fears: it takes metal to go from standing on the beach looking at the pounding waves to then hurl yourself into it, paddling and duck diving with all your might playing any advantage, using the rips and lulls to achieve your final destination. So to in life anything worth doing will take grit and determination to see you overcome your fears and self doubt to move forward. Every surfer will have stories of getting lipped, this is where a wily wave suddenly decides that your ride is over and without warning flicks you from the top of the lip into the briny deep. This is often followed by a hold down where having being caught unaware by a freak wave a couple of his mates come along and play a game of stacks on, usually resulting in yourself being pinned to the bottom of the ocean until it has had its fun and lets you up to catch a breath of fresh air. Finally the close out, this is where you have finally achieved the holy grail of surfing and are sliding along inside a glorious barrel only to find that the barrel is closing out from the other direction coming towards you, this invariably once again results in another hold down, because the ocean has a sense of humor.

5.you are not as fit as you thought you were: no mater how fit you are on land nothing can prepare you for paddling and duck diving against those pounding waves, except for paddling and duck diving.

6.You are never too old to learn: I didn’t seriously start surfing until I was 30 and since then I have met people starting at 70 and they are getting good.

7.Don’t Judge: an old fat bloke on a short surfboard can still out surf you, that attractive young girl in a bikini is actually a world champion surfer who has ridden more barrels than you have had hot dinners. Do not attempt to compete with these people, the ocean will not respect your arrogance and pride, you will come off second best. You know there is a story in this and if you want to read about it, you can right here.

8.Great surfers are made in terrible conditions: There isn’t a breath of wind, the water is crystal clear and there are set after set of perfectly forming evenly spaced right hand barrels rolling in. You see those girls and guys gracefully carving an ark down the face of the wave, spending some time in the green room and then just when you start to think, they have been swallowed for ever, they come sailing out of the tunnel and up over the top of the wave arriving safely out the back ready to re position for the next ride. They were here last week, the week before and many before that when it was windy and cold, the waves were random and the conditions were lousy. They were here practicing and practicing getting pounded and lipped in the rough conditions so that on this day, they could really have some fun.

9.Surfing will save you money: Once you have your board and your board shorts your costs are fairly well fixed, the only additional input you will need is some fuel to get you to the beach and if you carpool with a few of your surfie mates even this cost can be reduced. While you are out surfing you are not spending money at the shops or on other more expensive pursuits and although you can buy into the marketing driven surf culture products, you don’t really need to. Having the latest brand name anything is not going to make you into a better surfer, nor is it going to win you kudos with any real surfer.

10.You will find surfers everywhere: Once you start surfing you will find yourself becoming part of a massive surfing community that unites people from around the world in the common bond of surfing. It matters not that you have different languages and backgrounds you will have the common language of surfing and the ocean as a common meeting place.