Wind, Calm, and Inner Drive!

A sailboat can glide quickly and gracefully across the water when the wind is in its sails. On a calm and breezeless day, however, the boat might just float without much movement - unless it also has an engine.

Lately, my bookshelf has been reshaping my perspective on success. In?Range, David Epstein dismantles the myth of specialization, showing how generalists thrive by weaving diverse skills into unexpected solutions. Michael A. Singer’s?The Surrender Experiment?reinforced the power of letting go, allowing life’s flow to lead to unexpected opportunities. Yuval Noah Harari’s?21 Lessons for the 21st Century?offers a compelling insight: in an era of rapid change, true resilience comes from adaptability, not rigid plans.

These ideas crystallized for me in a simple yet profound metaphor: a sailboat on the open sea. Success often depends on?balancing reliance on external opportunities with cultivating inner strength. While it’s wise to harness favorable conditions (wind), true resilience comes from building your own "engine", skills, grit, or creativity, to navigate life’s inevitable calm periods.

Imagine a sailboat cutting through the ocean, its sails billowing with wind, gliding effortlessly toward the horizon. It’s a picture of grace and momentum, a reminder of how powerful we can be when external forces align in our favor. But what happens when the wind dies? When the waves still, and the sails hang limp? The boat may float, but without movement, it risks becoming stranded, adrift in the vastness of the sea.

This metaphor isn’t just about sailing, it’s about?how we navigate life and career. Here’s how to ensure you’re never left stranded, no matter the conditions.

The Wind: Harnessing External Opportunities

Wind is the invisible hand that propels the sailboat forward. In life, wind represents the?opportunities, relationships, and lucky breaks?that push us toward our goals. Think of moments when:

• A mentor offers guidance at just the right time.
• A job opportunity appears when you’re ready for a career leap.
• A surge of inspiration strikes, turning a creative block into a breakthrough.

These are the winds we?catch,?the moments we lean into external support to accelerate our journey. They remind us to stay alert, network fiercely, and seize serendipity when it comes our way. But relying solely on wind is risky. What happens when the economy shifts, your industry evolves, or your support system falters? Like a sailboat on a calm day, you’ll stall unless you’ve prepared for stillness.

The Calm: When Life Loses Its Breeze

Every sailor knows calm days are inevitable. In life, these are the seasons of stagnation, setbacks, or isolation, when the winds of opportunity seem to vanish. Maybe You’re:

• Stuck in a job with no room to grow.
• Facing rejection after rejection.
• Feeling uninspired, even when you “should” be motivated.

In these moments, it’s easy to feel powerless. Without wind, a sailboat can’t move, unless it has an engine.

The Engine: Your Inner Power to Keep Moving

The engine is what you turn to when the wind disappears. It’s the?skills, grit, and resourcefulness?you’ve built when no one was watching. Unlike the wind (which you can’t control), the engine is yours to fuel. Think of it as:

• Skills: Expertise that makes you indispensable, even in shifting markets.
• Resilience: The mental toughness to keep going when progress feels slow.
• Creativity: The ability to pivot, adapt, or invent new paths when old ones close.

The engine isn’t glamorous. It requires consistent effort, learning, failing, and refining, even when you’re not sure when you’ll “need” it. But when the calm comes, it’s the difference between drifting and steering forward.

How to Build Your Engine (Before You Need It)

1. Invest in lifelong learning. Take courses, read widely, and stay curious. Knowledge is fuel.
2. Cultivate a “owner mindset”. See challenges as chances to build strength, not proof of limitations.
3. Save and plan. Financial security is part of your engine, it buys you time to wait for the next wind.
4. Nurture self-discipline. Motivation fades; habits keep us moving.

The Balance: Sail and Engine

What I learnt from many books I read, most successful people don’t rely on luck or hustle alone, they balance both. They:

• Ride the wind when it blows (e.g., use connections, jump on trends).
• Rev the engine when it doesn’t (e.g., upskill, pivot, or create their own opportunities).

Life, like the sea, is unpredictable. Some days you’ll fly across the water; others, you’ll need to dig deep and power through the stillness. The lesson isn’t to fear calm days, it’s to prepare for them. So ask yourself:

• What’s my “wind” right now? (Am I leveraging opportunities well?)
• Is my “engine” strong enough? (What can I do today to prepare for tomorrow’s calm?)

Build your engine. Respect the wind. And no matter the weather, you’ll keep moving toward your horizon. What’s one small step you can take this week to strengthen your “engine”? Share in the comments!