I have now officially jumped into the Pacific Ocean naked. I don’t have a bucket list in life, but if I did, that would definitely be on it.

After leaving the bar tonight, some friends and I decided to close out the night with a walk to the beach. We are staying in a vacation home just a minute walk from the beach. At night, the walk is quiet and peaceful. There is no better way to end a night.. except perhaps with a beautiful sunrise.

Towards the end of our time on the beach, a friend turns to me and says, “Hey Alex, what do you think about jumping in naked?”

I immediately shoot back: “Shit, why not? Lets do this.” And then I start taking off my clothes as a sign of commitment.

One other friend commits to it, and in a few minutes we are down to our boxers.

3… 2… 1.. go! I drop our boxers and run for the waves. My feet slosh through the wet sand as I run towards a small wave coming up. I take a few steps into the water, collect myself, and then jump into the wave.

Splash!! I land jump past the wave, and hit the water, immediately getting getting my whole body wet. Luckily, the water is warm.

I look around and my two friends are in the water also. We share some laughs and then enjoy the moment. It feels so good to be in the water. We let a few waves drag us back and forth, stand up, and take it all in. The shoreline, waves, palm trees, and night sky.. they are all perfect.

A picture would be perfect for commemorating the moment. Except for the fact that we are naked, and a picture would be a horrible idea. We high five, and then walk back to our clothes.

“Shit, why not?”

Almost every time I find myself saying this, something awesome happens.

It always begins the same way. I hear a thought or challenge that sounds a bit absurd. At first, it feels slightly wrong, or even scary. And then I realize that there are almost no negative consequences. Furthermore, it passes my 80-year deathbed test. That is, I know that when I am on my deathbed, I will be glad that I did it.

When these circumstances pop up, there is only one answer.

That is why I found myself naked in the warm waters of Hawaii tonight. It is also why I quit my job to give the startup thing a try. There are no real downsides, and when I am on my deathbed, I will be glad I did it. So, “shit, why not?”

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P.S. This is post number #87 in a 100 day blogging challenge. See you tomorrow!

Follow me on Twitter @alexshye.

Or, check out my current project Soulmix.