"Row the Boat"
As an alumna of the University of Minnesota, I was so excited to see the Gophers Football team finish the season with an 11-2 record, culminating with a huge win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. They were the first team in school history to post double digit wins in the regular season and to win a bowl game.
The Gophers head coach, P.J. Fleck, who started in 2017 has an amazing amount of passion and intensity and sets high expectations for himself and his team. He admits that he’s not for everyone - he’s loud, is off the charts in terms of energy (watch him run on the field with the team at the beginning of each game and on the sidelines), and his mantra is “Row the Boat.” From the time he started as head coach, he constantly talks about Row the Boat.
Fleck said that Row the Boat began after Colt, his second son, died from a heart condition. He sees it as Colt’s life as he continues to live it for him. Here’s how Fleck explained it at the What Drives Winning Conference in 2016:
“It’s a never-give-up mantra that has to do strictly with life or adversity or handling success, never giving up, and it means a few things. When you row a boat, you’re rowing, don’t ever look at me and paddle. That’s completely different. We’re rowing. Your back is to the future, which is something you cannot control, nor can you see. You have to trust the person in front of you, that you’re looking at, that they’re doing their job and rowing at the same speed, same efficiency as you are. But that’s the future, you can’t control that. You don’t know if there’s rocks, waterfalls, stormy seas, you don’t know what’s ahead of you. You’re rowing in the present, which is the only thing you can actually control, and the only thing you can actually have an impact on. You either choose to take your oars and put them back in the boat and stop, or you put them back in the water and continue to go. But you’re looking at the past, which is the only thing you can actually learn from. But you can’t change.”
Here's a short video of Coach Fleck describing Row the Boat and the 3 Parts to Rowing the Boat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoGqXuQK0Vc
Until I wrote this blog, I didn’t know what Row the Boat truly meant. It’s an interesting way to illustrate life and to see how Coach Fleck has made it part of his football program. As we all row our boats through life, the choices we make now in planning for our future can help make our boat more solid and durable. The sturdier your boat is, the more you will be able to do and the better it will help you endure unexpected storms and events throughout your life.
I hope you enjoyed the newsletter. Please email me at cindy@fairtrustfinancial.com with any questions you have regarding planning for your future.