Needless to say, I’ve been anxiously awaiting April 25th and the results of the Crushpad Challenge for 2 months now. After starting my day with a doctor appointment and a fun argument with my car insurance company, I was *very* excited when I saw the call from the 707 area code come in.

Sadly, the content of the call wasn’t the actual conversation that I had dreamed of.

The funny thing about life is that we all pretend to think that we know where it SHOULD be headed. There’s lots of sayings around this, like: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” (or my personal favorite) “Everything happens for a reason”.

The thing about these sayings is that they all imply a degree of faith in that there is a higher power at work, and that we are just along for the ride. This might be true, and in fact while I think that it is, there is also a degree of influence which we hold over our hopes, dreams, and more.

Basically it comes down to the fact that you have to be comfortable in taking a leap of faith, and trusting that inner voice inside of you that says to keep going – especially when things get hard, harder, or even ‘holy sh*t’.

Bijan Sabet (prominent VC @ Spark Capital) had a great post recently about what it takes to be successful at a startup. The part that stuck with me was:

“Since then I’ve jumped off a cliff several times. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. But all in all I’m glad for the entire set of experiences.

Startups are never easy and never predictable. It requires a leap of faith and an inner voice that says: aw hell, I’m gonna try this and give it my all even though you have no idea how it’s going to turn out.”

Whether its been moving to CA (again), working for a rocketship ride of a startup, or shooting for the moon with this Crushpad contest, these have all been similar “leaps off the cliff” for me and my family.

Things rarely turn out like we plan them to, and the trick is to roll with the punches and enjoy the ride. It is important to recognize though, that just because things didn’t pan out as expected, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t still moving in the right direction towards your larger goal.

There are many ways to learn how to make wine, and to become a successful winemaker. The Crushpad Challenge was just one of many ways (albeit a great one), and I am actively looking into other ways to do so. The people at Crushpad have been very supportive, and I hope that we still can find a way to work together.

My father, in his unique way, was always the one who would be first in line to remind me of what was truly important when things got tough. His actual quote was “Son, you got the world by the ass. Stop worrying and go enjoy it.” Truer word have not been spoke, and I do my best to remember this every waking moment.

Wine, to me, is about sharing with those that matter to us the most. Without them, it is an empty pleasure. I may not have won the Crushpad Challenge, but I am a very lucky man for the many other wonderful things in my life – especially my family and friends. This experience, and all of your support, has helped to put that in perspective and I am still amazed by the amount of people who were willing to help me chase after this silly little dream of mine.

This isn’t over. This is just additional motivation. Stay tuned…

P. S.
Who are we kidding? I probsbly woulda drank it all anyway.