There is something about standing at the edge of the ocean, shoes off and sand still warm from the afternoon sun, that makes it easier to breathe. Maybe it is the rhythm of the waves or simply the scale of it all. Whatever the reason, I always leave feeling more grounded than when I arrived.
Part of loving the ocean is respecting it. For all its beauty, the ocean is unpredictable. Anyone who spends enough time in the water eventually learns about rip currents, narrow channels of fast-moving water that can quietly pull swimmers away from shore before they even realize what is happening.
Most people fight the current and try to swim directly back to shore. But that is exactly the wrong thing to do. Swimming against the current requires tremendous effort and often gets you nowhere. Instead, the safest response is to stay calm and swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the current. None of us instinctively know that. Someone has to teach us: a parent, a lifeguard, a friend who had already been caught in one and made it back. Someone who cared enough to pass along what they had learned.
Small business acquisitions are full of unexpected currents. Instinct says to push harder, stay the course, and force your way back to where you expected to be. But sometimes what we need most is not more effort, but perspective. We need someone who can help us understand what is actually happening and remind us that changing direction is not the same thing as giving up.
Deals change. Information comes to light. Financing falls apart. Assumptions prove wrong. Our instinct is often to push harder simply because we have already invested so much time, energy, and emotion. That is when having the right people on your side matters most.
The best advisors, mentors, and friends are not necessarily the ones who tell us what we want to hear. They are the ones willing to ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions, and occasionally tell us things we would rather not hear. What makes those conversations valuable is trust. We know they are on our side.
Sometimes that means encouraging us to keep going. Sometimes it means helping us recognize when it is time to change direction. And sometimes, maybe most importantly, it is having someone look you in the eye and say, "I disagree with you, but I am not going anywhere."
Eventually, everyone encounters a current they did not expect. When that happens, knowing whose voice to trust matters more than knowing how to get back to shore.
And maybe one day, we could be that voice for someone else.
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