My closest friends say, 'Livar, you are crazy'.
I take that as a compliment.
Who wants to be normal?
It's boring.
Some people climb mountains.
And I row oceans.
We left from New York and were rowing to England.
There is more than 5000km of open water.
There is nothing on the way.
There is no ship following you.
You are totally isolated.
The closest people are hovering in a space shuttle above you.
And they are not going to help you.
So you are totally isolated.
Looking up and you see millions of stars,
and the ocean is so flat
that you can see the stars reflecting in the ocean.
It's like rowing in space.
But in order to enjoy the good moments
you also need to have the bad moments.
I've capsized twice.
I went overboard in the North Atlantic in a big storm.
You are scared, of course you are.
Scared of dying of course.
I have a family, I have a wife.
Of course I want to see them again.
But if you are not scared, then there is no point in going.
In the back of your head, you know that
everytime there is a storm, it will pass
and the weather is going to be good,
and you will continue the journey and you will enjoy it.
It's the same thing with life.
You will get into storms.
It's just finding the best way to get through it.
People get a bit confused when I tell them that
I am an ocean rower, but I am also an artist.
They are quite different things.
You are standing alone there in your studio with a small brush,
painting away.
And then the other side is this crazy sport
that is one of the toughest sports in the world.
It's a big contrast.
Maybe I'm not a true artist...
because I'm too scared to paint all my thoughts.
Yeah, scared of being judged,
pushed out.
Yeah, maybe it has something to do with that.
People are scared of doing crazy stuff
because they are scared of what the neighbours will say.
That's who we are.
We want to fit in always.
You want people to like what you do.
That's just normal.
So we live this life
that isn't really what we would like to do.
But since our neighbours and friends are doing it,
you jump on the train and do it like they do it.
And it's a shame because
there are so many people out there with big dreams,
but they are just too scared to live them.
Not everybody is going to row an ocean.
For some people, just getting up in the morning is their ocean.
Keep on going, and don't stop.
If you have a dream, go for it.
I'm not going to sit there, 70 years old,
and regret that I didn't do anything.
I'm more scared of not doing it,
because I will regret it.
We have one life,
and I think we should make the most it.
Thanks everybody for your messages.
They really motivate us to keep doing this.
And you can continue supporting us
at the Patreon link below.
We really appreciate every dollar,
we appreciate every message,
And its great to be on this journey with you all.
Thank you.