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Day 6 of 365 | The Boys in the Boat

My family and I went to see The Boys in the Boat at the Flicks Movie Theater last week, and holy cow, that brought back a flood of memories and feelings from my freshman year at the California Maritime Academy.

I arrived at the school not knowing anyone on campus, but a few girls on the orientation tour said they rowed crew and that I should consider coming out for the team.

Intrigued, I said yes.

Soon after, I found myself in a long, narrow, and very tipsy row boat (called a “shell”) trying to figure how to not tip over and row in exact unison with my crewmates every day after school. 

We started the season with a coach, but for reasons I can’t remember, he quit, moved away, or was fired, so our team had no coach. But we did have some Sophomores and Juniors who had rowed the previous seasons. They helped keep the team together and coordinated practices and the trips to the regattas where we would race these boats. 

I discovered from practice sessions on the rowing machines that I was pretty strong compared to other rowers, and I was decent at keeping a rhythm. 

It wasn’t long before our 4- and 8-man boats were moving with great speed through the water, even with freshman rowers, and often I was sitting in the first position, setting the pace for the boat. 

The movie The Boys in the Boat is about a Junior Varsity team that shocked everyone by beating the best teams in the nation and winning a bid to row in the Olympics. I won’t share more details, but I will say it’s an awesome underdog story.  

If you look closely at this old photo I posted, I’m the first rower, followed by Carl, Harry, and Levi. Sadie was coxswain.  

It’s super cool that someone took this photo and that I have a copy of it, because it was taken moments before we won a race that we were given zero chance of winning.

It was up near Sacramento, and we arrived with no coach, and even worse our boat had a broken part, so we didn’t even know if we could race that day.  

We asked around and luckily we were able to borrow a 4-man boat from Berkeley. You know Berkeley, the team that has scholarship rowers, and a history of being one of the top rowing schools in the nation (they were featured in the movie, which took place nearly 90 years ago as the best team then, too).  

I think Berkeley felt sorry for us and gave us their back up J.V. boat. 

We were racing against half a dozen schools, including Berkeley and Stanford, the West Coast power teams.  

The Berkeley boat was definitely nicer than what we were accustomed to, but we barely had time to figure out how to get strapped into the darn thing before we were ushered to the starting line.  

They fired the gun to start the race, and honestly the rest of it is a bit of a blur, but here is what I remember.

We didn’t have a great start because we were still figuring out the boat, but we soon found a rhythm and were almost keeping pace with the other boats.  

The four of us were decently strong rowers, but Harry and I were freshmen, this might even have been our first race, (I can’t quite remember).  

Sadie called out for a Power 20, which is the equivalent of going from a hard run to a sprint. You can’t sprint forever, so in crew, you often set an amount of fast power strokes at strategic times to get an edge on other racers.  

Not knowing how to pace myself and with my heart bounding with adrenaline, I just started pulling with all my might and as fast as I could. 

My crewmates kept pace with me, and we shot out in front of the other boats. I remember seeing us take the lead, and the excitement gave us an extra kick.  

The problem was… we had a lot of race left.

Sadie kept calling out power 20s. It felt like we kept up that sprint for the whole race, and I thought I was going to black out or my heart would explode.  

We won.  

We were all initially in shock. 

Everyone watching the race was in shock.  

How did we do that..?

It was a glorious feeling and an awesome achievement, one that we repeated at our next event in an 8-man boat in Humbolt, CA, where we again raced against Berkeley and Stanford, but also the University of Washington and some Oregon schools. 

We took home a trophy that was taller than me. It was ridiculous, and for the first time I realized that we were winning races for which we hadn’t even been considered a contender.  

I’d forgotten about these stories until I watched The Boys in the Boat.  

It was so hard for me to sit still watching the movie, as I felt compelled to move in rhythm with the boat during the race scenes. I had the urge to start rowing, right there in the movie theater.   

Anyway, it’s a delightful movie, and one I highly recommend, especially because it’s a wonderful true story of grit, teamwork, and seizing opportunity. 

Until tomorrow,

Cheers to you and yours.

Mike Turner

 

P.S. If you are wondering why I put DAY 6 of 365, my birthday was on Jan 6th, and I committed to writing a daily journal for a year (and publishing it to hold myself accountable). I plan to use this challenge to share my journey to reaching some big, ambitious goals this year. I won’t always publish here, so if you want to follow along in my journey, you can subscribe to my email list here: turner.ck.page/mikes-blog  

Day 5 of 365 Zen and The Art of Happiness

A friend, for whom I hold a great deal of respect, recommended a book called ZEN and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss. It’s not a book that I would have ever sought out, but because it came highly recommended, I ordered it without much thought or expectation.  

If I were to describe it in one word, I would say, “Wow.”

This book is not for everyone. 

Some will find it stupid or ridiculous (I almost did, but I’m glad I kept going) because the ideas and solutions the author provides are surprisingly simple, which I believe is part of its genius. 

It’s a fast read. You can get it on Audible if you don’t read much. 

I can’t easily sum up all of the wisdom in this book, but I will say this… if you find yourself, more often than not, in a state of stress, frustration, or disappointment, this book might offer you some perspective that helps alleviate those feelings. 

From the back cover: “You’ll learn how to adapt to life’s inevitable changes, how to deal with stress in a healthy way, and how to nurture a mindful happiness in your daily life.”

And if you approach this book with an open AND curious mind, I believe you can quickly achieve much greater levels of happiness in your life.  

It did for me, and for that, I labeled it a “Wow” book. 

Until Tomorrow,

Cheers to you and yours.

Mike T.

P.S. If you are wondering why I put DAY 5 of 365, my birthday was on Jan 6th, and I committed to writing a daily journal for a year (and publishing it to hold myself accountable). I plan to use this challenge to share my journey to reach some ambitious goals this year. I won’t always publish on social media, so if you want to follow along in my journey, you can subscribe to my email list here: turner.ck.page/mikes-journal

 

Day 4 of 365: Dating Advice For Married People

Amanda and I are coming up on 25 years of marriage. 

It’s been an adventure, with good times, hard times, and everything in between.  

I’m no Love Doctor, but I can share one relationship nugget that has really helped us stay “happily” married for a long time.

“GO ON LOTS OF DATES.” 

Amanda and I go on a lot of dates, Like WAY MORE dates than most other couples. 

There are lots of reasons married couples don’t go on many dates, and most of those reasons are quite valid. Here are the two most likely reasons.

  • COST: Going out to eat, especially at nicer places, is expensive, babysitters are expensive, and the more money we spend going out, the greater the likelihood of it causing financial stress, which often causes more strain on a relationship when our goal is to enhance it, not adding more underlying stress.
  • TIME: We never have enough time, right? There are ALWAYS things that need to get done around the home. Plus, so many things are competing for our time, like work, friends, family, kids, and exercise commitments. Saying YES to spending time on a date means we have to say NO or push back on other commitments. 

My relationship with Amanda is no different. We have lots of financial stress (a side effect of being full-time entrepreneurs is often never knowing whether you are going to make money or lose money each month). 

We are also super ambitious with the number of things we sign ourselves up for that eat up our time. 

But, we have found a way to spend an hour of quality time away from the house most days, to share a meal, to talk about life stuff, kid stuff, trips we want to take, business ideas, vent about work, family, etc., normal date stuff conversations. 

Our relationship hack is that we go on BREAKFAST DATES most mornings. 

We have a local breakfast diner not far from our house that we go to after we help the kids off to school, and we schedule it, just like we do work meetings or going to the dentist or the gym. 

We minimize the “COST” of eating out by always sharing one meal. 

We typically split an order of an omelet, skip the hashbrowns (for fewer daily carbs) and get an extra side of avocado instead.

It’s not a lot of food, but turns out to be just the right amount. When you go as often as we do, you end up not wanting a huge breakfast every time. We mostly sip on the coffee with free refills and chat about life. It’s great. 

The food and coffee are delightful, but we keep returning because it’s a chance to connect, plan, shed stress, and enjoy one another’s company. 

Now, I recognize that we have a distinct advantage over many couples in that both Amanda and I work from home and own our businesses, so we have the ability to control our schedules more than most.  

But, if you can’t make a breakfast date work, is there another hour you can find in your day to meet up to just sit and chat, just the two of you?

I would encourage any couple to try to make it a priority, only because I’ve seen how it’s impacted my marriage. 

We still occasionally go on fancier dates, and when we do, we often still share meals. Not just because we’ve learned that if we keep the costs down, we can go more often without it causing financial strain, but also because we find it more enjoyable to share a few different appetizers than order two huge entrees. 

Anyway, that’s the way we do it. 

I hope sharing helps someone out there…

Until Tomorrow,

Cheers to You and Yours

Mike Turner

 

P.S. If you are wondering why I put DAY 4 of 365, my birthday was on Jan 6th, and I committed to writing a daily journal for a year (and publishing it to hold myself accountable). I plan to use this challenge to share my journey to reaching some big, ambitious goals this year; this Vision Quest is one of them. I won’t always publish here, so if you want to follow along in my journey, you can subscribe to my email list here: turner.ck.page/mikes-blog  

DAY 3 of 365: My Vision Quest

Growing up in the Alaskan rain forest in Sitka and having a landscaping job throughout many summers of my youth, I grew bitter towards the rain and, as a result, became a bit obsessed with the Sun. 

Like in the movie The Croods, I choose to “follow the Sun.” I like to be out in it, to feel it on my skin, watch it rise and set—all of it.

Boise, Idaho, is considered a high desert climate, and the Sun is out most days, which I love and appreciate about Boise.

BUT, I am not a fan of Boise winters. The cold. The dark. 

Maybe it’s PTSD from Alaskan winters, but regardless, my instincts cry out at me to head south in winter. 

And over the last 20 years living in Boise, we’ve often gone somewhere warm in the winter months just to break from the constant cold and dark. And I am grateful we created and took those opportunities. 

So when I started planning a trip to Mexico over the kid’s winter break, I had ASSUMED everyone in my house would be on board and excited about it. 

Amanda informed me she was trying out for the lead role in a play, and if she got the part, she would be rehearsing during the winter break. 

(She got the part, by the way… and will be performing at the STAGE COACH THEATRE in Boise, Jan 19-Feb 3rd). 

Get Tickets Here: stagecoachtheatre.com/TICKETS/

Emilia got a new job as a receptionist at a hair salon and had other volunteer commitments. Ivy had a new boyfriend and other friends she wanted to spend time with over break, so NOBODY in my household was eager to head south… except me. 

I was surprised and not surprised. I am clearly the biggest sun junkie out of the four of us. 

But one night, laying in bed, I had a vision of me on some deserted beach on the coast of Baja California, Mexico, with my truck, a sleeping pad, a chair, a cooler, a speaker for playing tunes, a handful of books, and a Starlink dish that provides internet service anywhere in North America.

Just me, no responsibilities other than keeping myself alive and within a short drive of getting the most delicious fish tacos…

I started to fall in love with this vision but was initially reluctant to share it with Amanda, worrying that it seemed too selfish to just take off on an Adventure without them.

But Amanda, to her credit, has become my biggest supporter in taking what I now refer to as my VISION QUEST.

I leave on Jan 20th (less than two weeks…yikes).

And the coolest part…

My Dad (who is 77) will join me on my vision quest.  

He’s the one who initially planted this Baja adventure idea when he took me camping on a beautiful deserted beach in the middle of nowhere Baja, Mexico, in an old Volkswagen camper van when I was young. 

It wasn’t an easy trip. We got stuck numerous times on washed-out roads. At night, coyotes circled our camp, yipping at us. 

We made venison tacos (from canned Alaskan deer meat), which were insanely good. It was a super cool experience, just he and I, in the wild, just figuring things out, camped out on a beach in Mexico.

For this trip, we don’t have a Volkswagen camper. We have my older Ford pickup, and I just installed an 8ft x 8ft canopy to the roof rack. I can attach walls around the sides from there to make an 8×8 tent.

I’m also taking a tandem kayak, two Fat Tire E-Bikes, camping gear, and a Starlink Dish to keep updated on work projects while I’m gone. 

I’M SO EXCITED!!

I’m even taking my daughter Emilia on my journey from Boise to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she will join me for a real estate investing conference from Jan 22-24. She asked me if she could come, and of course, in my mind, I was like, HECK YEAH, but I told her I would only take her if she finished reading the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Which she quickly agreed to.  

So yeah, my vision quest is shaping up better than I expected. 

I’m going to Amanda’s play opening night on the 19th!

Get on the road early the next morning with Emilia and hopefully hit Las Vegas to catch a show that night.

Hit Scottsdale the next day.

Fly her back on the 24th, pick up Dad at Phoenix airport the same day, and head for the border.  

Arrive near Cabo around Feb 6th.

Fly over to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, to help Amanda host a five-day writers retreat. 

Then… figure out the rest… I still need to get my truck back home, but I’ll figure out that segment of the Vision Quest next month. Stay tuned…

One thing I’ve learned about myself over the last 46 years is that I love adventures, especially ones that involve beautiful beaches, warm weather, lots of sunshine, and, of course…tacos.

Until Tomorrow,

Cheers to you and yours…

P.S. If you are wondering why I put DAY 3 of 365, my birthday was on Jan 6th, and I committed to writing a daily journal for a year (and publishing it to hold myself accountable). I plan to use this challenge to share my journey to reaching some big, ambitious goals this year; this Vision Quest is one of them. I won’t always publish on social media, so if you want to follow along in my journey, you can subscribe to my email list here: turner.ck.page/mikes-blog  

Day 2: How I Bribe My Teenagers To Talk To Me

Day 2: How I Bribe My Teenagers To Talk To Me

Last year, I started offering my teenagers $20 for every chapter they read of a book of my choice, but with the requirement they had to take notes and talk to me about it before they could get the money.

I know, I know… $20 per chapter?
That is ridiculous, right?

But I tell you what…
It’s the best money I’ve ever spent.

Hear me out. My teenagers are always asking for money, to get food with their friends, for the movies, to get hair and nails done before the dance, etc. It never ends.

But now, I say, “Sure, let me know when you’ve read a chapter.”

And yes, they roll their eyes at the idea, but about half an hour later, they come back with notes and talk to me about what they are learning, which leads to meaningful discussions.

IT’S AWESOME!!

Emilia is reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and Ivy is reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Both are almost 100-year-old books that are difficult to read at times but full of priceless wisdom that I now get to have discussions about with my girls.

IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE, because I get to talk to my kids about real important life stuff, and I’ve witnessed how it’s impacting them in positive ways.

So yeah, I bribe my kids to talk to me.
And it’s one of the best parenting decisions I’ve ever made.

Have you ever read a book that changed your life for the better?
What was it? (I’d love to add it to the Dad Will Pay Us If We Read This Library).

Until Tomorrow,
Cheers to you and yours

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