Movers & Shakers Blog

What One Man Lost at Sea Can Teach Us About Mental Toughness on Land and in Life.    By John P. Slosek, Jr. — The Insurance Coach™   

This is one side of this story. To those of us that are striving to achieve great things in life, we know at some point, there's going to come a time when our mental toughness is going to come into play for us to hang in there through a bad day, through a bad week, bad month, or maybe a bad year or longer. And we've just got to keep going. I can recall starting my insurance business from scratch back in 1984. I had three customers, my mother, my father, and my brother. The business wasn’t generating any revenue so I took on a job at night, third shift, so I could afford keeping things running. I was working for at least five years on an average of four to five hours sleep a night and working the business during the day with the help of my wife outside of her full-time employment hours. I signed a lease on an office for 3 years with a small customer base. My wife almost bit through her lower lip when she found out I had done this. 

She backed me and the dream I had of building the agency 100%. We set a plan that her paycheck would cover the office expenses and mine would cover household expenses. This went on for five plus years. The women that worked with her advised her to drop (ME) the bum like a hot potato. I even think loser was thrown in a few times. Did my wife and I have to dig deep for mental toughness? Many, many times. We always maintained a positive mental attitude together, and we could visualize the future where we could work together in our office together. Six years later, My wife retired from W-2 wage employment for good. The women that hounded my wife constantly to drop the loser, the bum…(Me). She ended up staying in those small office cubicles for another 25 to 30 years. Our path in those 6 years was not easy. But you know what? Time is going to pass anyway. You can choose the hamster wheel of life or chose to strive for something enormous. To live the imagined life you dream about, you have in your future waiting to appear.

Here is the other side of the story. It’s about a fisherman named José Salvador Alvarenga who left the coast of Mexico in a small fishing boat expecting nothing more than an ordinary day of hard work providing for his family. It was November 17, 2012, and his partner headed out into the Pacific Ocean. A violent storm struck the Pacific Ocean. Because of the storm intensity it caused the engine to fail. He lost all communication when his equipment stopped working. Before long, he and his young fishing partner were drifting helplessly into one of the largest and most unforgiving bodies of water on Earth.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months........and months.

Eventually, his partner died from starvation and hopelessness, leaving Alvarenga completely alone on the open ocean. Imagine the silence. No phones. No rescue ships. No certainty. Just endless water in every direction and the terrifying realization that survival depended entirely upon his ability to keep going mentally long before he could survive physically. There are accounts of Jose propping is dead fishing partner up so Jose could with him to avoid the loneliness, fear and isolation. This lasted for about a week before Jose gave him to the Ocean.

For the next 438 days, José Salvador Alvarenga drifted across the Pacific Ocean. He survived by catching fish with his bare hands. He ate raw birds, jellyfish, and sea turtles. He drank rainwater when storms came, and during desperate stretches, he resorted to drinking turtle blood and even his own urine. He hid inside an ice chest to escape the brutal heat of the day and wrapped himself against the cold at night.

But perhaps his greatest battle wasn't against hunger, thirst, or the elements.

It was against hopelessness. He later said that loneliness was his greatest enemy. There were days when he questioned whether anyone would ever find him. Yet, somehow through prayer, memories of his family, conversations with himself, and a refusal to surrender, he kept going one day at a time. And isn't that what mental toughness is? It's not pretending things aren't difficult. It's not never feeling fear. It's not always knowing how things are going to work out.

Mental toughness is waking up and deciding to keep going when you can't see the shoreline.

This picture is José Salvador Alvarenga rescued after 438 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Sometimes success and survival doesn't belong to the smartest person. Sometimes it doesn't belong to the strongest. Sometimes it belongs to the person who simply refuses to quit. José Salvador Alvarenga eventually found land after 438 unimaginable days adrift. My wife and I eventually found ours after six difficult years. And if you keep your faith, maintain your attitude, and refuse to surrender to hopelessness, someday you'll look back and realize that your storm wasn't sent to destroy you. It was sent to reveal just how strong you really were. And never underestimate what can happen when hope refuses to surrender.

One day, when you finally reach your own shoreline, you'll discover that the person who stepped onto dry land is far stronger than the one who first set sail. And that, my friends, is the power of mental toughness on land—and in life.  

     And never underestimate what can happen when hope refuses to surrender.

One day, when you finally reach your own shoreline, you'll discover that the person who stepped onto dry land is far stronger than the one who first set sail.          

                                                        About the Author                                                                 

 John P. Slosek Jr. is the founder of Slosek Insurance Corporation, established in 1984 and still serving clients today. For more than 40 years, John has worked in the insurance industry helping individuals, families, and business owners better understand protection, risk, and financial responsibility. In addition to operating his and his wife’s insurance agency, John has spent over 30 years as a motivational and self-improvement speaker, focusing on common-sense life lessons, personal growth, and real-world decision-making. 

John is also the host of The Insurance Coach® radio show, heard every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. on Classic Hits 97.7. www.classichits977.com (Hit Listen Live). The program combines insurance education, life experiences, motivational insight, and practical advice designed to help listeners make better decisions for themselves and their families. John proudly resides in Massachusetts with his family and enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren.