14 October, 2024

I am... a sailor (lessons 4)

Lesson 4: everyone's equal though not the same

This is a difficult lesson to describe. Some of this has to do with Dave's casual way of making people feel at ease with his company, no matter where they came from or what walk of life they followed. He really believed all were equal, and no level of status or experience, or lack of it, changed his way of dealing with people. On the boat, long-distance sailors or super-successful racers were treated equally as those who were sailing for the first time.

This is not the way ships are usually run. There is probably no better environment to witness top-down management than on a boat. (Okay, maybe the army.) So, the fact Dave was the way he was, was special. This is also the reason he had endless amount of people who wanted to crew for him.

Yet, there were many who only wanted to sail in good weather, or those who preferred to come for drinks once the boat was tied up. There were those who liked the idea of sailing but always backed out at the last moment. It wasn't a big deal. He never took it personally, but would continue inviting them to come along for a sail, even if they did not share the same enthusiasm he did for being out on water.

Conclusion: stay true to your beliefs

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