How I Got Arrested (and What It Taught Me)
I once got arrested for swimming when I was 17.
Not streaking. Not fighting. Not drunk driving. Just… swimming. In a pool.
Here’s what happened:
It was one of those hot Amarillo nights where your brain melts and you think, “You know what would really solve all my problems right now? Trespassing.”
So my buddy and I jumped the fence of an apartment complex pool after hours. No big deal — we were staying with someone who lived there. We made a verbal contract: “If anyone shows up — we don’t say a word. We protect the friend.”
That was the whole plan. Step 1: Break in. Step 2: Swim. Step 3: Lie if needed.
Here’s where it gets genius.
We’re splashing around in the pool. Two cop cars roll up. Spotlights hit us. And what do we do?
We go underwater. To hide.
Like Navy SEALs. Except just a couple of idiots. And instead of a mission, we were trying not to get evicted… from someone else’s apartment.
“We are never so clever as when we are hiding from ourselves.”— Jean-Paul Sartre
We thought if we just stayed under long enough, the cops would… get bored?
Here’s the thing about water: It’s clear.
We were literally a few feet beneath the surface — fully visible. Two grown-ass men (well, two-thirds-grown really), holding our breath like six-year-olds playing hide and seek in plain sight.
I made eye contact with one of the officers while underwater. And you know what he did? He waited.He stood there. Watching.
Eventually we surfaced. They pulled us out. And we lied.
And then…we were arrested — up against the cruisers, cuffed, in swim trunks, barefoot, soaking wet — and taken to Randall County Jail where our friends bailed us out early that next morning for $30 each.
We walked out of the jail in our swim trunks and with our friends waiting with cameras. The only thing more humiliating than all of that was having to explain all of this to my Dad the next day.
The Real Problem: Leaders Do This Too
So here’s the point: As ridiculous as all of that sounds, the hiding reflex is real. If we’re not careful we can find ourselves doing it in sophisticated ways.
Here’s what it looks like…
Hiding, Leadership-Style:
- Avoid the hard client call
- Give up on the sales funnel you haven’t figured out yet
- Pretend your team’s “fine” when they’re actually unraveling
- Overcomplicate your strategy so no one sees you’re lost
- Over schedule to avoid harder-but-higher priorities
It’s the same reflex: Lights hit → go underwater → hope it passes.
But we all know: Hiding doesn’t work.
It didn’t work when I was 17 in a pool. It doesn’t work in when you’re in your 40’s and running business or leading a team.
People can see you. They just want to know if you can see yourself.
The Insight: Hiding Is a Drain on Your Energy, Trust, and Time
Trying to manage perception is a full-time job with no benefits.
And the longer you hold your breath, the more it costs:
- Momentum dies
- Trust erodes
- Alignment fractures
- And eventually, you drown in your own indecision
Here’s the truth no one wants to say: You don’t need more time. You need to stop lying to yourself.
Not malicious lies. Just… omission. Distraction. That thing where you pretend something isn’t broken because fixing it would be inconvenient.
The Framework: The Anti-Hiding Move
- Spot the Spotlight Ask yourself: “Where am I hoping nobody’s paying attention?” That’s the place to look.
- Say the Real Thing The one sentence that makes your stomach turn. Say it to your team. To yourself. Out loud. Don’t soften it.
- Surface and Lead You can’t lead from underwater.
The Challenge
Where are you holding your breath in business? Where is “hoping no one will notice” operating in your leadership?
What truth are you afraid to say to yourself or out loud?
Own it. Say it this week. Say it scared. Then move forward.
See you next Saturday.
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