It hit me hard when one of my OGs said it to me the other night in rebuttal to my rant about how I needed to simplify my life. We were having a good Irish Whiskey and a Dominican Cigar in the back alley of the HQ while talking about hand shaping Surf Craft, as G’s do, when I said something along the lines of “I can’t find enough time in the day, the challenges are so wildly complex, I just want to make surfboards and garments the best that I can. I just want to make my art. I just want to simplify.” and to that he replied, after a short pause and a puff of his cigar “Simple is Significant.” It hit me like the ton of bricks hitting Elmer Fudd when he realizes he got ‘got’ by Bugs Bunny yet again; simplicity is elemental. 

You ever just need a good laugh to turn your frown upside down? Yea, me too. Pretty simple, huh? Nah, pretty human! Ever realize how your day changes for the better when the random person at the grocery store smiles at you or says something nice you weren’t expecting to hear? Catches you off guard, resets your perspective and flows you in a new, momentous direction. Simple is significant. 

It's no different than the way a color makes you feel or the way a certain person’s smile affects you in ways you can’t explain. There is nothing to overthink - it’s all a biologically natural deal to crave optimism, good energy, good things in general and more importantly, to do, identify and continue to find simple things that make an impactful difference in your every day. That last sentence is wildly important and the marrow of everything I am trying to get across today because it's at the heart of what I am trying to find in this life, in my business and my overall existence on this planet, here it is again: to do, identify and continue to find simple things that make an impactful difference in your every day. When you reduce it down, it's as simple as but just as impactful as a good ‘Jus.’ The sandwich is good before the Jus but it's great after the Jus - see what I’m saying. That little extra bit of consciousness, takes it the extra mile and now it's a sandwich you crave, not a sandwich that ‘does the trick.’ Think about life the same way - better to get the Au Jus out of life, than not, right?

Some of the most epic things we  experience in this life are meant to provide us really simple feedback - good art makes us feel good or bad, happy or sad - good food fuels us - good people help us grow. See how it’s better to leave the negative side out of the comparisons as you work your way up the ladder of human experiences there? Who wants to talk about the bad food and the bad people, after all? Feel me? Here’s the difference: ‘Simple is Significant’ vs. ‘keeping it simple.’ One is optimistic and the other is passive. Which road opens more doors? Ehh, maybe we save that existential conversation for another back alley whiskey session! 

I’ll leave it there so as to keep this one significant and simple, see what I did there? 

Slainte, My Friends and most importantly, Happy Little Friday.

The utility of it all has nothing to do with the utilization 

But everything to do with the intention

The study will never stop unless you’ve given up

You can’t learn the most because knowledge is infinity 

To the edges of the globe and the reaches of what you know

Than further than that if you want to really go

Salutations to the ones who gave up along the way

I wish them happiness and not a million forms of dismay

Play on the clouds because they are closer to your dreams

Pray for surf and probably yourself plus everybody in between.

Quote of the Week “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

- Leonardo da Vinci