These are crazy times. Yesterday I stumbled upon this motivational speech by Ryan Serhant which resonated a lot with me. He’s a New York-based real estate broker his first day in this business on the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. September 15, 2008. For all entrepreneurs out there; here’s Ryan’s powerful metaphor, on how to swim in the storm like a professional swimmer!
“I know, I am at the office, I’m at work, I’m not supposed to be here. There are executive orders … I am supposed to be at home … quarantine.” says Ryan, “But listen … I’m the captain of a very large ship. People look to me … people depend on me. These are unlike any times out there”.
In this article I transcripted the very powerful metaphor he used in this video. Here you have it.
I swim through the waves.
Every time there is market movement, ruffles, downturns …
There’s a lot of waves in the open ocean. [I keep on thinking about the] idea of a professional swimmer, swimming through the open ocean.
Everyone swims well when there are no waves;
Everyone’s a great swimmer;
Everyone can make a perfect time;
Everyone’s awesome.
But, all of a sudden, there’s a storm.
All of a sudden there’s lots of waves and a lot of those swimmers bounce out, right?
A lot of those swimmers start flailing, losing energy and then going under the water. Not good.
A lot of those swimmers try to go over the waves, they don’t know what to do, they go under the water.
The world right now is in a storm.
We’re in this insane storm and most people don’t know what to do so most people panic.
People are freaking out, they’re panicking.
You see that the market is sold off 10,000 points, right? The news concerning the U.S. economy after the stock market’s volatile week and falling into a bear market. The Dow is now down 21%.
Crazy.
Schools shut down, restaurants shut down everywhere and people are getting sick.
This is very real. This isn’t a fake thing.
- Stay home,
- Be safe,
- Be healthy,
- Wash your hands,
- Do all the right things,
- Don’t touch your face,
- Stay happy, and …
- Stay productive.
I think the worst thing that we can all do right now is literally just staying on the couch and watch Netflix.
Ryan Serhant
It is the middle of March in 2020, it is the future.
How Do Professional Swimmers Hit Storms?
Anyone who’s gonna come out of this storm better than where they were before the storm ever hit, are gonna go into the waves the same way professional swimmers do.
What do professional swimmers do?
What are the best swimmers do who swim in rough open seas in the middle of a storm?
They do three things:
- Breath,
- Stay calm,
- Keep moving.
Breath
The first thing is they regulate their breathing. They make sure that they’re not breathing in a panic all the time.
If the waves are coming at them from the right, they’re making sure they breathe to the left.
If the waves are coming to them from the left they make sure they breathe to the right.
They swim in accordance with the waves and they make sure that their breathing is okay.
Because if their breathing isn’t okay, what happens when you’re swimming into the waves?
Swimming into the storm, you end up with a stomach full of saltwater, and you don’t want to do that.
Stay Calm
The second thing the best swimmers do when they’re swimming in a storm and in huge waves is staying calm, keeping control of their breathing, and treading water slowly until they can figure out what to do or until help comes and finds them.
But everyone who’s flailing their arms, freaking out, … what does that do?
- You can’t control your breathing
- You lose all of your energy
Keep Moving
The third thing is that you have to keep moving.
Keep control your breathing.
Stay calm, and the way you swim through the waves is like a dolphin. You swim under the waves, so that’s what I’m doing here.
Ryan Serhant
I’m in the service industry.
I am a real estate broker.
How many people, do you think, want to see homes right now?
Not a lot.
How many people, do you think, are so excited that interest rates are so low?
How many people do you think are excited to be quarantined at home?
Not a whole lot.
These are scary scary times, but …
- I can’t panic.
- I can’t flail and …
- I have to swim underneath the waves.
Be Safe,
A Motivational Speech by Ryan Serhant
Be Healthy,
Stay Happy,
Stay Productive.