You can learn a lot just by watching other surfers. What do they do differently from you, and why? Even when you see them make the same mistakes as you, you gain a different perspective watching it from the 3rd person point of view instead of the first person point of view. You can learn even more by listening and talking to other surfers because you get more of the reasons that are behind the actions. And you’ll never know what someone’s doing underwater unless they tell you. You’ll only discover any tricks they have developed and are using underwater by talking to them. It can be little things too. I remember rinsing off with my friend’s water instead of mine because I had forgotten mine that day and I was pleasantly surprised because the water was gloriously warm. After surfing in cold water, nothing feels better than warm water. I hadn’t thought to do that and probably never would have thought about it if I hadn’t been exposed to my friend’s different and better way of doing things.
The same is true in business. I remember a conversation with a business friend who said to me, “Life is too short to make every mistake yourself.” It’s always better to learn from others whenever you can, even when it feels like the only way to learn is by doing it yourself. If someone is using a business model that seems to be working, then try it out for yourself. If someone else is buying earthquake insurance, then it’s worth thinking about whether your business needs that or not.