Eddie Would Go

When I was twenty years old, I hopped a flight from JFK to Honolulu to visit two of my childhood friends who were living on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. They were both surfers and after high school, told their parents that they fell in love with the University of Hawaii (neither had been there yet), so their folks would send them there.

After one semester, they both dropped out, moved to the North Shore (where some of the biggest waves on earth are), and surfed all day and drank beer and played guitar all night. (As a side note, it took their parents close to a year to realize that they were no longer in school)

When I arrived, I noticed bumper stickers and t-shirts all over the place that read, “Eddie Would Go.”

Eddie Aikau was a Hawaiian big wave surfing legend, known for tackling some of the biggest and most ferocious waves on earth. He was also the first ever lifeguard at Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore and in his career, saved over 500 people from drowning without ever losing a person.

In 1978, Eddie (as part of the crew) and dozens of passengers embarked on what would have been a 2,500 mile trek from Hawaii to Tahiti on a sixty-foot double-hulled canoe. But just twenty-miles from Hawaii, the boat capsized and the crew and passengers were left clinging to the boat, alone in the crashing surf.

Aikau made the decision to paddle the twenty miles back to shore to get help. He took off his life jacket as it was making paddling more difficult and disappeared beyond the waves.

Eddie was never seen again.

Not long after he left, the crew and passengers were all rescued.

The term, “Eddie Would Go” refers to Aikau’s willingness to surf the waves that others wouldn’t dare surf, to brave the waters to rescue swimmers that no one else would brave, and to risk his life (and ultimately lose it) to save the crew and passengers on that ship.

Where, as a leader, can you be more like Eddie (don’t risk your life, please)? But seriously, are there places where you’re waiting for others to step up when you can? Are there opportunities to do big, bold things that you’re not taking because those things are new or scary or could be really embarrassing if you fail?

You don’t have to surf thirty-foot waves to be a badass. Sometimes, having a tough conversation or suggesting a new idea or asking for a promotion is the most badass thing you could do.

Eddie would go. Will you?