A Dude Named Tarzan

This past weekend I traveled to the land of no masks to visit two college buddies. One is from New Orleans and completely nuts and the other is from all over the place and hilarious. They landed in Melbourne, Florida where one is an Internal Medicine doctor and one is a luxury home builder. I road on their boats, drank their Trulys, and watched us all get kicked out of the yacht club of which none of us were members. Whoops.

But that is not what this story is about. It is about another dude I met and a reminder about life.

The dude was standing on the edge of the dock staring down at the water. He had long, blond wavy hair and a golden tan. He looked like a rock star, to be honest. Or the greatest surfer of all time.

"He loves fishing," the guy sitting next to me said nodding at the dude standing on the edge of the dock. We were sitting on my buddy's dock on the Intercoastal Waterway in Melbourne Beach, Florida. There were a few of us soaking in the afternoon and watching the Blue Angels dance through the sky at the air show across the river.

"We were in a tournament recently and he pulled in a 150lb tarpon. Took him an hour." The man continued.

I stared at the dude. Mesmerized.

"Who is that dude?" I asked my buddy who owned the house a little later.

"Tarzan," he replied.

"Tarzan?"

"Yeah, Tarzan. He loves to fish and has nine sponsorships with the top fishing brands in the world. He loves to fish."

He was wearing a long sleeve shirt, shorts, a baseball hat backward, and Vans.

Tarzan is 12 years old. He has braces.

Tarzan, actual name Abram, comes from a humble family. His mom and dad are a young couple with four children total. Number four was a surprise. They live in a small house in a neighborhood close to my buddy's river house.

"That kid sets his alarm for 3:30 in the morning, ties his fishing poles to his bike, and rides to the beach to fish for bait. Then he goes and uses the bait to fish for big fish. Then he brings home whatever he catches, cleans the fish, and cooks it for his mom and dad. Every. Single. Day."

Are you serious?

"Yes. He has been fishing as long as I can remember."

Tarzan, one of the coolest kids I have ever met, not only is one of the best fishermen in Florida but also can cook. I can't make a sandwich without fucking it up.

I talked to the kid for a while. He was extremely cool and very kind. He has 6,000 Instagram followers (@fish_like_tarzan). The number is low because Instagram shut down his original account last month because you have to be 13 to be on Instagram. Don't tell anyone.

I thought about that kid all weekend. Specifically, his passion for fishing.

"We were headed out in the ocean to fish one time and Tarzan started casting a line as we were driving out to the fishing sites. The boat was still moving fast so I asked him what the hell he was doing," my buddy told me.

"You can't catch a fish unless your line is in the water," Tarzan replied.

In his latest book, The Art of Impossible, Steven Kotler argues that the formula for a life well-lived is:

Curiosity --> Passion --> Purpose --> Profit.

Curiosity leads to Passion which leads to purpose which leads to profit.

I think young Tarzan is well on his way. He is already talking to boat manufacturers about them building his own custom boat. A huge boat.

Where are you in this formula? Looking for your passion? Trying to turn your purpose into profit? Exploring curiosities?

If you are as blessed as Tarzan is to have found your passion, pour into that bitch, and never let go.

You can't catch a fish if your line's not in the water.

Trey