Take a Jagged little pill and come along with me on a journey to the past. In 1995, I may or may not have been a sophomore in College. I can neither confirm, nor deny that my friends played the newly released album by Alanis Morrissette. A couple times. Over and over. And over.
I grew to hate it. Nails on a chalkboard kind of hatred.
It’s funny how 25 years can smooth off the edges of such a revulsion. Now I remember it as just another part of my youth.
And now, as we enter into the boating life, one of the main songs (One hand in my pocket) has become a bit of a theme song.
Sort of…. I’ve modified it.
Now, instead of “I’ve got one hand in my pocket And the other one is flicking a cigarette”, I hear “they’ve got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is flickin’ me off”.
Sing it with me. sigh.
For some reason, the fact that we’re buying a “yacht”, quitting our jobs, and sailing off into the sunset for an endless stream of adventures seems to make everybody think we’re rich.
hmm. I guess I get it. reading that last sentence makes me sound like a bit of a d-bag.
Let me get the record straight.
We’re not rich, we’ve planned for 25+ years. We’re not quitting our jobs, we’re changing our attitude about money.
The sailing off for an endless stream of adventures is true.
That includes the adventure of a 14 year old boat breaking down in the middle of the night, and I have to fix it with nothing but a wrench, a book about engines, and coffee.
We’ve accepted that.
The “boating community” has not. At least not the ones with something to sell you.
They all have a hand in your pocket, assuming that it’s deep…even when it’s not.
I’ve got some stories, even at this early phase.
When we chartered for the first time, our captain docked whereever he wanted. When the owners of the dock complained, he refered them to me for a cash payment.
When we went to go look at the first boat we had under contract, our brokers knew the sellers didn’t have insurance. Even after finding out about the lightening strike… they still let me actually take the helm (with no experience) of an uninsured boat. It’ll be fine, right? I mean, it’s just money?
This, along with some other examples, just about got me jadded on the whole idea.
Then I met Kevin. Kevin is, quite simply, exactly what I had hoped to find in the cruising community. A person that is all about relationships. All about making sure everybody is happy.
Kevin is my new boat broker. Kevin is driving me from the Panama City Airport to the boat I’m going to survey tomorrow. A ride…Why is that a big deal? Because it’s 2.5 hrs. And then Kevin is letting me stay at his house while I’m there. Oh, and driving me back to the airport.
Kevin is selfless.
I know. “but he’s getting paid!”. Yes, of course, and he should. But the spririt of it is looking at another person, finding out what it is that is causing them stress, and doing what you can to help.
I was worried about driving across Panama. He figured that out. I’m new to this all, so he’s walking me through it.
Find out what is important to the other person. In any relationship. Help them with that. They will do the same for you.
I have full confidence that this deal will go through. But, if it doesn’t, I will always recommend Kevin.
So, if you have a hand in somebody’s pocket, get it out of there. Get to know them and find out what problems they need to solve. Solve them together. You will become better, and help somebody along the way.