The Titan and the Deep Sea
A reflection on recent events — and on a new professional direction for me
Titan — and Titanic
A fraction of a millisecond. That’s how long it took for a “catastrophic implosion” to destroy the Titan and kill its 5-man crew.
12,500 feet. That’s the depth at which the wreck of the Titanic rests — and where the submersible was headed.
6,000 pounds per square inch. That’s the amount of pressure exerted by ocean water at that depth. 400 times more than at sea-level.
$250,000 each. That’s how much the “mission specialists” paid OceanGate Inc. for the privilege of taking this trip.
For the past week, I have closely followed the unfolding drama of the Titan. I greedily gobbled up all that the mainstream media churned up from the dark, unforgiving depths of the North Atlantic. The unexpected disappearance. The men on board. The search and rescue mission. The banging sounds picked up by sonar. The discovery of the debris field. The tragic conclusion. The blame game.
Through it all, one question has remained uppermost in my mind.
What is it about the Deep Sea that draws us to it, even at the risk of losing all?
You Hear A Call
“I really don’t know why it is that
all of us are so committed to the sea,
except I think…
it’s because we all came from the sea.
…All of us have in our veins
the exact same percentage of salt in our blood
that exists in the ocean,
and, therefore, we have salt in our blood,
in our sweat, in our tears.
We are tied to the ocean.
And when we go back to the sea…
we are going back from whence we came.”- President John F. Kennedy
The Deep Sea calls those who were born to explore it. It’s the kind of call that others feel as well. The inner voice that commands a would-be author to write. The fidgety hands that drive the future inventor to take up tinkering. The dissatisfaction that an erstwhile corporate climber feels before he initiates an entrepreneurial venture. At some level, the desire to “go to sea” has always been a part of who you are.
And then, suddenly, perhaps unexpectedly, the moment comes — when you know you have to take the plunge.
You Wish To Explore
“There’s nothing wrong with
enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself,
except that
when you finally see what goes on underwater,
you realize that you’ve been
missing the whole point of the ocean.”— Dave Barry
More is known about the surface of the Moon than about the surface of the sea floor. The ocean remains one of Earth’s last unexplored frontiers. The lure of the unknown is irresistible to the Deep Sea explorer. You honor that call by going where others would not dare to go. You seek to push out the boundaries of our understanding. You dive deep below the waves to grasp truths that have seemed beyond our collective grasp — until now.
You believe that hidden treasures await — if only we are brave enough to seek them.
You Want To Overcome Your Fears
“It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.”- Kahlil Gibran
Victor Vescovo is a pioneering explorer who has completed the Explorers Grand Slam — visited the North Pole, the South Pole, climbed the Seven Summits (tallest mountains on every continent — including Mt. Everest), visited the Five Deeps (the deepest points of all of Earth’s five oceans — including Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench) and been to sub-orbital space with Blue Origin. In 2022, Victor was asked — given all the risky things he did — whether he felt fear.
“Fear is something you learn to deal with…
as you train, you gain experience,
learn to control fears,
use them as a way to heighten your senses,
as opposed to something that may be debilitating.”- Victor Vescovo
You know you must confront your fears — if you are to overcome them.
You Are On A Self-Realization Journey
“Most people live on the surface of life.
But it is by deep-sea diving
in the ocean of thought
that you receive
the pearls of knowledge.”- Paramhansa Yogananda
The world’s spiritual traditions point to deep, personal introspection as the most effective path towards self-realization. Many have likened this meditative process to separating ourselves from the turbulent waves of the surface of the sea in order to seek the quiet calm that is found at greater depths. In that calm, it is said, you are most likely to find the answers you seek to the perplexing questions that most occupy your mind.
You wish to get closer to understanding the true purpose of your life.
You Seek To Light An Inner Fire
No natural light penetrates down to the deepest recesses of the ocean. Without light, photosynthesis does not occur, so plants and phytoplankton cannot survive. Fish that thrive at these depths have evolved to meet the realities of their environment in fascinating ways. One such adaptation is bioluminescence — the production and emission of light by living organisms. The phenomenon is used extensively by deep sea fish as a camouflage tactic, as a way to lure prey and as a way to communicate to others of the same species (including attracting mates).
You want to find your own way — and now you are ready to make your own light.
My Deep Sea Strategy
“Either you decide
to stay in the shallow end of the pool —
or you go out in the ocean.”— Christopher Reeve
I am no deep sea explorer — and never will be. The closest I ever got was a tourist-trap submarine ride in Cozumel, on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, in 2019. We descended to 110 feet below sea-level and surveyed a “wreck” that was right off the main dock. It might very well have been a prop — I can’t be sure. The kids had a blast, though. No, not that kind of blast. We made it safely back to our cruise ship in four pieces.
Earlier this year, however, I left the safety of another mother ship to take a plunge of a very different kind. For 20+ years, I had been an employee of companies varying in annual revenue from $100m to $330bn. In May of this year, I began to work for myself as an independent management consultant and strategy advisor — with a focus on digital transformation and growth.
Personal and professional circumstances precipitated my decision — but I had long felt called to strike out on my own. I wanted to see what else was out there that I could not yet see. I needed to confront and overcome my fears of doing something truly entrepreneurial. This is an integral part of my self-realization journey to understand why I’m really here. Whether or not my little venture will catch fire — and I will be able to light my own way forward — remains to be seen.
The name of my firm is Deep Sea Strategy LLC.
Now you know why.
Thank you for reading!
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As the spirit moves you
So I may know that my writing spoke to you
If only for a fleeting moment.
