Randy Polito learned something in recovery that changed how he thinks about life: "My job is to ride the wave, not make the wave."
He doesn't control the waves. He doesn't control when they come or how big they are or whether they're the kind he wants. But he can control one thing—whether he's ready to surf when they do.
This is different from most advice you hear about success. Most people talk about setting goals, making plans, controlling outcomes. They talk about creating the wave, shaping it, forcing it to be what you want.
But Randy Polito has learned that's backwards.
The universe is going to work without your permission or your acknowledgment. Opportunities are going to come and go. Circumstances are going to shift. Changes are going to happen whether you voted for them or not. The wave is going to roll in whether you're ready or not.
The question is: will you be prepared to move when it does?
Randy Polito thinks about this constantly. You're going to be tested throughout life. You're going to be tried. You're going to be praised and rewarded and disappointed and challenged. All of these are waves. Most of them, you didn't make. They just came.
The ones who succeed aren't the ones who make the biggest waves. They're the ones who stay ready to ride whatever comes.
Here's what "stay ready" means, according to Randy Polito:
It means doing the work before the opportunity arrives. Writing the best resume you can before you hit send—not knowing who will read it or what they'll think, but doing your part excellently. It means staying sharp, staying curious, staying prepared. It means being the kind of person who can actually move when the door opens, instead of fumbling around trying to get ready after the fact.
It means staying in your body and your mind. Staying healthy. Staying awake. Staying aware. Because when the wave comes, you need to be able to respond. Not from a place of panic or desperation, but from a place of readiness.
It means being humble enough to accept help. Being open enough to receive what the universe offers, even if it's not what you expected. Being ready to say yes to things you didn't plan for, because sometimes the wave you didn't anticipate is the one that carries you furthest.
Randy Polito has watched people miss waves because they weren't ready. Not because the wave wasn't there—it was. But they were asleep. Or unprepared. Or too attached to a different wave that never came.
He's also watched people catch waves they didn't expect, just because they happened to be awake and ready when it came.
There's a saying Randy Polito likes: "The best time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining." You can't wait until the storm comes. You have to be ready before. You have to be the kind of person who shows up prepared, who does the work in advance, who maintains readiness even when nothing is happening.
Because something is always about to happen. A wave is always about to come. And the universe doesn't care if you're ready or not. It's coming anyway.
The only variable is whether you'll be prepared to ride it.
Randy Polito doesn't make the waves. He stays ready. He does his work. He maintains his edge. And then when the wave comes—and it always does—he can actually move.
That's staying ready. That's the real work.
— Randy Polito