Laird Hamilton Sees Life As Art

There was a woman who did some incredible innovation. I don't even know her name or what she did, but I appreciated what she said ... They asked her, 'When you have a great idea, what should you do?' And she goes, 'Just don't tell anybody for at least a year because they will discourage you.'

They did a study with 10,000 couples, and they said that the only thing that was consistent amongst all successful couples, no matter what the dynamics were, was that the man respected the woman.

That's my grandmaster ... I'd have to say that the ocean probably has had the biggest impact on shaping the way I behave more than any one person—except maybe my mom because she birthed me and she had a huge influence, of course.

I think the most honest way you can live is to know that dying is very easy and you can die any minute.

There's a great quote that I love—it says 'Never let your memories be bigger than your dreams.'

I tell young athletes all the time—I go, 'Listen... It's important for you to know how to talk. It's important for you to know how to behave in public ... It'll bring you a lot more opportunities. Because you can be a great athlete, but if you can't talk and you don't know how to act, you're going to have a limited potential.'

Being a surfer is like being alcoholic; everybody's one—it's just whether you drink or not. Everybody's a surfer—it's just whether you surf or not.

A quote I really like... They say that innovative people are fulfilled by accomplishing things and that competitive people are fulfilled by beating others.