Swimming to the Buoy: Living Where Others Don’t Dare

Let’s talk about the buoy. In a literal sense, a buoy is that floating marker way out in the water, often sitting in the deep, where conditions get rough and fewer people go. For me, that buoy became a symbol of stepping into discomfort.

When I was younger and wrestling this guy who said he was a Navy SEAL, I beat him on the sand. Then he pointed out this buoy far out in the ocean, way beyond where most people would swim. He challenged me to swim out to it. It was terrifying—deep water, the unknown, maybe sharks, all that. But I did it. And then I made a habit of it—swimming out to that buoy several times a week, just to embrace that discomfort.

So the buoy, in my philosophy, is that place of hardship and challenge. It’s where you go when you want to get tougher than the average person. It’s the spot out in the deep waters where most people won’t train, and that’s exactly why you should. Because when you’re out there, you’re building mental toughness and discipline that others simply don’t have. It’s your edge.

That’s what I mean by living at the buoy. It’s about training in the harder entropy, in the deep waters of life where no one else wants to go. And when you’re there, you become stronger than anyone who stays in the shallows. It’s a huge tool for competition, mental toughness, and ultimately striving to be greater by mastering the hard stuff.