Teach a Man To (Learn From) Fish

We went whale watching off the California coach in the Santa Barbara Channel. What an amazing trip! We saw thousands of dolphin, several humpback whales, and two blue whales. The highlight of the trip for me was seeing a Mola mola up close. If you're not familiar with this fish, it's odd. That’s being polite. Actually, it's ridiculous.

While feeding, it waves its fin above the ocean surface as though drunk. Its stunted fins prevent it from swimming fast. This fish survives and thrives eating jelly fish. As you might imagine, jellyfish are barely nutritious so a Mola mola consumes vast amounts to support its large size. Adult Mola molas, also known as ocean sunfish, weigh in in excess of 250 pounds, but can grow up to 2500 lbs.

My daughter made a comment about you'd only see such a bizarre creature in the ocean. That the Mola mola was silly. There are plenty of oddities on land too but these strange creatures often don’t make the highlight reel.

The Mola mola doesn't have to be clever, fast, or a fierce predator. It floats along with its food source, and defends itself by being too big to fit in any predator's mouth. No one around to do the Heimlich maneuver in the ocean, so you'd better be able to swallow whole whatever you bite.

We live in Silicon Valley. Everything is competitive. Everyone is striving and straining to get ahead. It’s hard to imagine anything as awkward and defenseless dominating any niche. But this happens all the time!

Survival isn't always fiercely contested. Find a niche all to yourself that you can dominate even if you are slow and ridiculous. It's easy to win if you're the only one who shows up. What’s your niche?