Ray Bisschop on How To Live the Life of Your Dreams

Author: Jade Green
Published: Sun 08 Nov 2020
Episode Link: https://shows.acast.com/barrelsandbusiness/episodes/ray-bisschop-on-how-to-live-the-life-of-your-dreams

Ray Bisschop is a visual marketing genius, designer, photographer, loving husband and devoted Dad who started surfing about 35 years ago, around the same time he started his passion of all things creative, these two things have led him three decades later to become owner and publisher of Surfing Life magazine, but there’s been a lot in between. When he started as a designer 30 years ago it was always a dream to work for Surfing Life… that just means don’t give up on your dreams.

In this episode Ray takes on his journey from being a kid with a dream to the man who is living a life that far succeeds. He tells us about the importance of being ready when the opportunity of your dreams comes knocking... being eager and "wanting" something just isn't enough, you need to prepare yourself and build the right skills in advance.

Ray is a defender of PASSION. Passion as a way of life. Most of you have probably heard the age old saying "love what you do, do what you love", well that would be a mantra made just for this man. He explains to us how mistakes and fuckups prepared him to own his dream business, and the importance of feeding your dream and feeling your passion is the key to achieving success.

As any surfer knows, surfing is not just a sport, it's a way of life. A way to connect to disconnect from electronic devices, reconnect with nature and tap into your creative side with an awakened and refreshed mind. For Ray, there is no work-life balance, it's all about life.

Before this episode we turned to you the listeners and asked what you would like Jade to hit Ray with, this led us on to a detailed conversation about diversity in terms of gender, race and sexuality in the competitive and business side of the sport. A great question about whether or not print (and magazines) was dead lead us down the rabbit hole on the environment issues and impact the industry has on our planet. Oh, and of course the question of wave pools -, good or evil, begged to be answered.....

Tune in and learn how living and working with passion can lead you to the business of your dreams!

Key Points:

(00:00) - Welcome Ray Bisschop to Barrels and Business!
(02:59) - What was the journey to make your dream your reality.
(04:47) - What you need to do to be ready when your DREAM finds you
(07:10) - Why mistakes and fuckups are so important when starting your own business
(10:10) - When the opportunity of owning Surfing Magazine appears.
(13:05) - Is print media dead? magazines industry vs. online media, surf business and surf industry as a niche.
(20:13) - Benefits of reading paper instead of reading on a screen, Ray recommends some books about surfing:
Bali Heaven and Hell https://www.surfinglife.com.au/product/bali-heaven-and-hell/
The Rip Curl Story https://www.surfinglife.com.au/product/the-rip-curl-story/
Operation Playboy: Playboy Surfers Turned International Drug Lords - The Explosive True Story https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Playboy-Surfers-International-Explosive/dp/1787476960
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life https://www.amazon.com/-/es/William-Finnegan/dp/0143109391
(29:43) - The rebirth of print media - how printed magazines & books are 'good' for the environment
(34:06) - Gender Equality - how Ray and his wife run a gender equal business in a male dominated industry
(52:13) - How to secure a surf sponsor - the techniques for getting a good sponsor onboard
(55:35) - Relationship Building techniques and lessons
(1:15:00) - How will the growth of waves pools affect the surf industry?
(1:31:00) - The business decision behind the World Surf League (WSL) new format.
(1:41:00) - Tips for business owners to survive during COVID.
(1:50:00) - Sustainability in surfing.
(2:01:00) - Ray's thoughts about Mastery.

Key takeaways and quotes:

If the opportunity of your dreams appears, you need to be ready: “I think that people really want something to happen but they don´t understand everything they can do to actually make it happen. Generally, when it does happen, because often does, they don’t have the skills , they don't have the ability to push through the hard times”
Follow your passion wherever it leads you: “All dreams turn into reality to me, it's just following your passion wherever it leads you”
Learn from mistakes: “There is no such thing as perfect so if you get it wrong who cares? As long as you learn something from getting it wrong, then getting it wrong was a good thing”
When you are passionate about your work: "there is no work-life balance, it's all about life."
The guiding principle of business “Passion is the only requirement. What color is, what gender is, what year how old you are doesn't matter if you're passionate”
“Building a relationship, has nothing to do with making money”
Done is better than perfect “The word perfect should be taken of the English language because there is no such thing as perfect, it's an impossible goal. PERFECT IS B*******T.”
Dealing with COVID in business “I feel like the people who already knew how to pivot before COVID had no problem during COVID, it’s a state of mind that makes you effective as a person and a professional no matter what”

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