Widely considered to be the best big wave surfer in the world, Laird Hamilton is known for having successfully surfed the heaviest waves on the planet. He’s a pioneer in the world of action water sports and the primary influence behind many surfing innovations like tow-in surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, and hydrofoil boarding.

As you can imagine Laird has a very unique operating system in order to do what he does. In this episode we dissect how he makes decisions, his relationship with fear, his parenting style, how he has dealt with nay-sayers all of his life and the advice he would give you on all of these topics.

Laird is also a businessman. He has a variety of apparel and product lines. I took so much away from this conversation with Laird. It made me re-evaluate my relationship with fear and put some of the things I’m scared of into perspective.