Learning in unexpected places

Facebook recently served a memory of our technical diving in the Redsea - 14 years ago! Gosh, what struck us is that the things we learned from our technical diving days are so ingrained in how we show up in the world today.

For us going deeper and staying longer - beyond recreational limits of 40m (which requires a deep dive certification), taught us to apply a technical diver mindset that has stuck:-

1.   Radical responsibility – There’s no buddy system and blaming others, every decision is yours to own.

2.   Intentional patience – Fast decisions kill. The right actions at the right time save lives.

3.   Relentless precision – Close enough is never good enough when your life depends on the details.

4.   Calm over chaos – Fear and panic create errors. Stay centered, no matter what.

5.   Prevention over reaction – Avoiding problems is always easier than fixing them.

6. Carry only what truly matters. Eliminate inefficiency but also have necessary contingencies.

7. Save our seas.

Because we’re 7 t-shirts each, we thought it appropriate to find 7 key principles that apply to life

1.   Own your choices. In tech diving, no dive buddy is holding your hand. If something goes wrong, you fix it. In work & life, waiting for someone else to take responsibility keeps you stuck.

2.   Stop. Breathe. Think. Do. Panic is the enemy. Whether underwater, or when making a tough decision—pausing before reacting is a game-changer.

3.   Precision beats excess. The wrong gas at the wrong depth can be fatal. The same goes for too much information, too many commitments, or cluttered messaging. Clarity and focus always win.

4.   Patience is everything. In diving, skipping decompression can cause real damage. In leadership, rushing growth, and decisions, or letting go before you’re ready can have lasting consequences. Trust the process.

5.   Plan your exit before you enter. In deep diving, reaching the bottom is easy—it’s getting back safely that matters. The same applies to projects, commitments, and even the ‘stuff’ we accumulate. Start with the end in mind.

6.   The numbers don’t lie. You don’t guess how much gas you need at 60m. You calculate. In life and business, data matters. We often operate on assumptions, but success—whether in diving, strategy, or decision-making—comes from knowing the numbers and planning accordingly.

7.   The stakes are real. In technical diving, mistakes can kill you. That forces a certain level of discipline, focus, and humility. In life, the risks may not always be as immediate, but every action has consequences. Understanding the weight of your choices—big or small—makes all the difference.

Our world is obsessed with 'more', so we keep coming back to this: No space for just in case. Not just in diving, but in how we lead, communicate, and build lives that work for us.

Have you learned in an unexpected place that still shapes your thinking today?

The things we learned from our technical diving days are so ingrained in how we show up in the world today.

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