Done is better than perfect.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord… But everything exposed by the light becomes visible-and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:8-10,13-14 NIV

“As the global culture continues to split into light and dark, the time is ripe for a new surf/active lifestyle company with overtly faith based values and scripturally based guiding principles to fill a void. More people are looking to decouple themselves from companies that do not align with their values, and in many cases, champion and support causes that go against deeply held Biblical beliefs.”

“The Parallel Economy is on the rise and SONshine Surf Co will be part of this new movement.”

-LeifQ, July 12, 2023 11:12AM

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A new Sonrise

The passage above inspired the thoughts and ideas that followed. As noted, I wrote those words down back in July as the idea of a new company began formulating in my mind.

I get tons of ideas, but many are fleeting and discarded as I process and digest them. This one kept growing in my mind.

A month later, on August 5th, I had invited ‘The Tribe’* over for dinner to pitch my idea. Their acceptance and excitement from envisioning the possibilities was further confirmation to move forward. So onward and upward we went.

Above: early iterations of the Sonshine Surf Co logo

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Sanballat and Tobiah show up

In Nehemiah’s account of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, he is met with resistance from some local officials after securing early wins from his boss, the king. The two antagonists in particular were named Sanballat and Tobiah. But despite all the hurdles and roadblocks they faced, Nehemiah and his dedicated crew finished up in a record 52 days!

We’re not rebuilding a wall, and I’m definitely no Nehemiah. But there are always going to be obstacles and barriers thrown out in front to stop or impede progress on worthwhile endeavors.

Our project is no exception and we did (and continue to) encounter some bumps in the road along this journey. As the saying goes…

It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.

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Done is better than perfect.

Speaking of sayings… My daughter Cali was sharing some old pics earlier this week and showed me an old piece of paper I had given her when she was little, and that she had kept all these years. It had a saying on it that made such a profound impact on her that it provided some guidance when making important life decisions later on down the road.

That in turn, reminded me of a certain boss, who one day, was assessing my progress on a design project I was working on.

I was painstakingly putting all my effort into ensuring my work would be flawless when presented to the client. Unfortunately, perfect takes time, and I had used up all of what was allotted to me for this assignment. While he acknowledged and commended me for my work, he then added a comment that has stuck with me ever since.

“The customer won’t often remember how perfect your project was. But they will remember that you were late. Done is better than perfect”

Never underestimate the power and impact of words.

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At some point you have to ship

All this brings us to where we are today. Sonshine Surf Co is never going to be pixel perfect, and hopefully, will never be done. But we are up and running.

Some of you have already been watching from a distance and some have participated with testing and feedback (Shout out to Tim A for being our first paying customer!). Thx for joining us on our journey!

But today, many of you are getting their first sneak peek of what we’ve been working on before we officially launch.

Today, we start to ship.

There’s a ton more work to be done and so many plans for the journey up ahead. Be sure to follow along and ride with us. Until the next time,

Live Life In The Son

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-LeifQ

*(The Tribe is my immediate family and their spouses: Britt, Cali/Moses, Caedyn/Josiah, Caitrin, Chrysten, and Cara)