Humbling

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to play golf at the Navy SEAL Tribute Celebration in Half Moon Bay. The event was hosted by the Navy SEAL Foundation and was amazing.

The Navy SEAL Foundation is a non-profit that takes care of the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  If a loved one is lost or injured, the foundation steps in and makes sure ALL loved ones can attend the funeral, grief counseling is provided, spouses and children are taken care of financially and the children of fallen soldiers earn college scholarships.  It's an amazing organization that is run by former SEALs.  Naturally, this means they do things right the first time and provide the best for their people.

This event showed just that.  It was humbling.  I was invited by a USNA alumni who I spent time with this summer talking about my transition into the private sector.  He is a former Team Guy (Navy SEAL) who has kicked ass in the private sector.  I met up with him and two of his friends and we got ready for a round of golf.  I was stoked!

Shaunnah joined our group for dinner!

The four of us were teamed up with an active duty SEAL.  It's amazing how humble these guys can be.  They have been through a tough 11 years, constantly jumping from deployment to deployment, risking their lives in places most of us can not even imagine.  He's a great guy.

We didn't just play golf and go home.  No No No.  We played at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay; were given free gear (AWESOME) and had an amazing cocktail hour and dinner event.  Top notch event for a top notch organization.  During the golf game, there were roaming cocktail carts with booze and beer.  I think our five-some focused a bit more on the carts than the game, haha.

The dinner speaker was Richard Phillips.  He was the Captain of the Maersk Alabama when it was boarded by pirates off of the Horn of Africa, captured and then rescued by Navy SEALS.  He is a great speaker!  Very energetic and witty.  His respect for his saviors was so evident throughout the entire speech.  The craziest part was the SEALs' reaction to the story.  None of them had that look of supreme achievement when the story was told.  Rather, it was more of a shy look.  They didn't want the credit and I felt like they were thinking it was just another day on the job.

It was a great event and I'm so glad to have been a part of it.  Just remember that one of the reasons we sleep well at night is because men like this are out in the shadows of the world defending your freedom.  Even more reassuring is the fact that there's an organization that supports these warriors.  The Navy SEAL Foundation does an awesome job!

- Jimmy

Welcome to California

So Shaunnah and I have been in Cali for about 2 weeks and we've noticed a trend... "Welcome to California."  The problem is it's not the greeting we usually get when we tell "the locals" we're newbies.  It's been the response we get when we are jaw-droppingly surprised at the answer to our questions.  Here are three short stories to help you understand.

1.  The Bike Ride
We were in a bike shop and I asked the bike shop guy if they organized any group rides.  He chuckled (another common theme in this series) and said no.  His reasoning was that the bike shop is not allowed to organize rides because they would then be held liable if someone was hurt during the rides.  That's right, the state of California would allow them to be sued.

2.  Can You Toast My Bagel
Getting some b-fast at a coffee shop with Shaunnah and she orders a bagel and then asked if it can be toasted.  The answer was "Sorry, no.  We don't have the permit to heat food."  The guy actually looked embarrassed when he said it, hilarious.

3.  Recycling Fee, Up-front
We purchased a computer yesterday and were getting the bill breakdown from the salesman.  "This is the cost of the computer, protection plan and tax..." Then I interrupted him when he skipped over and $8 charge and said, "What's the eight bucks for?"  "Oh, that's the recycling fee for your computer.  When you're ready to turn this one in and buy a new one you don't have to pay for it then!"  He tried to justify it with a little excitement and then I asked, "If we move out of state before we recycle the computer, can I get my $8 back?"  SILENCE!

The weather here is amazing and so far our experience has been equally amazing.  I really don't see that changing anytime soon.  The rules, however, are starting to get a little annoying, haha.

Have a great one.  Once we get settled in I'll post a few pics from the trip on the blog!

- Jimmy

Relax

Relaxing at The Golden Bear in Sacramento 

I have had the pleasure of sitting down with many people this summer who have successfully transitioned from the military to the civilian sector.  Each has given their unique advice and all of it has been great.  One of the most interesting pieces of advice I've received was about vacationing.

When I was cut from the Olympic Team, the last thing on my mind was vacation.  Because of who I am, my first thoughts were, "I need to get on with my life and set my family up for future success."  Thankfully, I came across a former Navy SEAL turned successful business man who gave me great advice, "You need to take off and fit 2 weeks of activities into a 4 week time frame."

I was astounded for a number of reasons.  Here I was, transitioning for a 2nd time and I was receiving advice, not on how to go about succeeding in the business world, but on relaxing and regenerating.  I had also never thought about a vacation the way he had.  Fitting 2 weeks of stuff in 4 weeks, GENIOUS!!!  Also, it turns out his advice was geared towards succeeding.

Catching the Mumford and Sons concert in
Monterey with friends!  

The time Shaunnah and I spent in Slovenia last year was not quite the way things are described above.  We were running around most of the time looking at stuff and I had just come off a disappointing result with the pressure of Olympic selection looming ahead.  Despite the running around and bummed attitude, it was an amazing trip and loved Slovenia.

SOOOO, now to the point. I think Shaunnah and I are finally going to fit x amount of stuff into 2x time.  (who doesn't love algebra?)  Knowing that this may be the last chance for a long time, our excitement is through the roof.

Always remember to take some time and decompress.  It will help you perform better, whether it be at work, home or on the field.  Needless to say, Shaunnah will be ready to kick butt in the classroom and I'll be ready to crush it where I land work-wise.  We're both super stoked about the future and it starts with a little vacation!

- Jimmy

The Power of the Common Goal

Watching the Olympic racing has been amazing.  I find myself sitting by the laptop at 5 or 6 in the morning and probably waking up 1/2 of my apartment complex... sorry 66 Franklin St.  After watching the men's 8 final and going nuts (cowbell, navy football game nuts) when the USA pulled even and moved through Canada, I didn't think I would get any more excited.  Then came the lightweight 4 final.

Even though the USA boat wasn't in it, I still had to watch.  The lwt 4 is arguably the toughest event at the international level.  The event has not been dominated by one crew in a long time and the trend continued yesterday.  I'm watching and focusing on Denmark, Great Britain and Australia.  All of them are duking it out and I was sure they will bring home the 3 medals awarded.  Then I notice another bow coming into the picture... South Africa.

After I noticed them, they made minced meat of the field, sprinting through the three crews and winning the Olympics!  It was amazing.  They denied the reigning world champions, Australia, a medal and de-throned the  reigning Olympic champions, Denmark.  I love watching racing and that was definitely one for the record books, literally.  It was the first time South Africa has won a gold medal in rowing at the Olympics.

I was reading articles about the race and the South Africans said something that resonated with me, "Gold."  That was their key word, what they worked toward for the last few years.  Whenever they were feeling down in training or making a move for speed in a race, they called out the word "Gold."  Simple really, they had a goal and a focus.  It worked.  When they were in the "pain locker" and gaining momentum on the field they made a call for "gold" and sprinted through the leaders to win the Olympics.

When I rowed at Navy we focused on the Jope Cup.  It took a few years, but the Navy lightweights eventually won that trophy two years in a row (2005+1, and 2005+2), defining them as the strongest lightweight team in the country.  I tried to bring that mentality to the Navy and then the national team and I feel it helped me, personally.  Not everyone always bought into it, thinking it was corny or cheesy; but it worked for South Africa!





Going into any objective, it's a good idea to have a focus, a goal.  Focusing on that goal will get you far and help you achieve the unbelievable.  Congratulations to South Africa.  Amazing race!

- Jimmy

Failure

So I've been interviewing quite a bit and a wide array of questions have been thrown my way.  This entire experience is completely new to me.  It is half fun/half terrifying.  I found that I have to be on my toes and free my mind so I can reach far back into the depths of it to recall certain events, examples or be creative. 

One of the fun questions I was asked was, "If you were a final contestant on Jeopardy and had a choice for the Final Jeopardy subject, what would you choose and why?"  I smirked, thought and came up with "History of US Rowing."  My reasons were, I am a rowing groupie and have studied the sport since I was in high school and the rowing community is extremely small compared to the population and I figured not many people are familiar with it.  Another reason, that I didn't express, was that I have NO IDEA which author in the 17th Century used the phrase, "Blahsi blahsi blahsi..."

The BEST question I've been asked is, "How do you feel about failure?"  I'm not sure if this is a common question, but it should be.  It's also somewhat of a trap.  Many would think they should answer with some kind of response that involves not ever failing and succeeding at everything you do.  THAT'S CRAP.  Everyone fails.  It's a fact of life.  Every single person in this world has gone out to accomplish something and not achieved the end result.  You know what?  THAT'S OK!!!!

I consider myself somewhat successful.  Whether it is luck, talent or just pure hard work (it's most likely the first and last reasons) I have managed to accomplish many of my goals.  However, I have also failed a lot. 

Let's talk rowing.  I have lost so many more races than I have won.  It sucks; I don't like it, but it happens.  Everytime I have failed I tried not to dwell on it.  Instead, I analyze and try to learn from it.  My sophomore year in college is a prime example.  We (the Navy Varsity Lwts) had a pretty terrible season.  Going in we had high hopes and I was determined to prove myself as a Varsity Oarsman.  But when the time came to line up and get the job done, we couldn't do it.  We finished the season under .500 winning percentage and didn't make the final at the championships.

After that series of events, I thought about what we could have done differently.  That, along with amazing leadership from the seniors and my coach helped us to NOT LOSE a single race in the US the next year.  Our first loss came in the semi-finals of the Henley Royal Regatta.  I feel that we, as a team, learned from the previous year's humble experience and capitalized on it. 

I feel a simple goal in everyone's life should be not to let failures define you.  What defines you, is how you handle those failures.  Learn from them and allow them to build your character in a positive way.  Keep a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA!!) and keep on going after your goals. 

Have a good one,
Jimmy

The Hunt

So I haven't rowed since April 13th.  For me, cold turkey is the only way to go.  I've been asked if I want to go for a row and thankfully, I've had the wherewithal to resist.  I know that one practice will turn into three per week and eventually, 11!  So, I've been hunting... JOB HUNTING.

Serious Job Hunting Face

The Navy provides it's people with NO EXPERIENCE in job hunting.  Sure, we put in preferences for where we want to go next and there is some competitiveness; but in the end we are given orders.  That's right, ordered to our next position.  Very rarely, are you interviewed.  NEVER, do you have to negotiate salary or starting date.

Sooooo, since April 13th I've been going to "school."  That's right, I'm 30 years old and I'm going to my very first job interviews, my first salary negotiations and my first real job decisions...  To be honest, it's driving me a little crazy.  I really didn't think that networking, researching companies, writing resumes and interviewing would take so much time and effort.   It's not that I mind putting in hours; but it's unexpected.

My advice:

Take your time.  Make sure you don't rush anything.  These things take more time then you would think and finding the best fit is probably not going to happen immediately.

Find leadership:  I think finding what you want to do is important; BUT finding people that will mentor you is more important.  You need to become a sponge when you begin a new chapter in career.

Trust your family:  Your family probably knows you better than you give them credit for.  Do not take this journey alone.  Take their advice, it can only help.

So I have not signed an offer for a job yet and therefore, giving advice may be a little premature; but listen to it if you want.  Remember, you should not blindly follow any advice.   Trust; but analyze and curtail it to your own situation.

Have a good one,
Jimmy

I am my Parents

"The apple does not fall far from the tree."  Man, it's weird.  I constantly find myself doing things, stopping, thinking, and saying to myself, "Jesus, I'm turning into my parents."

I love my Mom and Dad.  They are the two most influential people in my life and I think they did a pretty good job turning four hooligans into men.  However, sometimes they drive me freakin' nuts, not as much now, but when I was a little younger.  Now, I find myself doing those things that used to drive me nuts and it's driving me nuts! haha.

My Dad is like a shark.  No, he won't eat anything and is not a killer; but if he stops moving he'll probably die.  The man is in constant motion.  I've never known him to wake up past 6:30 a.m.  If he makes to that time in bed then he's really tired.  As soon as he's up it's go time.  When I was a kid I couldn't keep up.  He would have us up at the ass-crack of dawn mowing the lawn or washing cars.  We all hated it; but now I find myself kind of doing the same thing.  I think this leads to his greatest attribute, work ethic.  He's a machine.

I used to hate when my Dad turned the AC off in the house (first world problem).  It would be cool at night and heat up during the day.  He was constantly on us about turning off lights and wasting energy.  That's because he had to pay the bills and we didn't have a clue what that meant.  NOW, I find myself wanting to turn off the AC.  I think about it as a energy saving thing mostly.  In the back of my mind, however, I'm thinking about lowering that bill too.

My Mom is relentless and tough.  If she wants something she's going to keep pushing until she gets it.  It's not just a selfish trait either.  If she wants something for one of her precious little angels (I'm angel #1) then she'll get it.  It was awesome and embarrassing as a kid, haha.  Looking back though, she made all of our lives better.

Mom's also tough as nails and I think I got a little bit of that (only a fraction).  When I was in high school Mom had breast cancer, went through chemo therapy, lost her hair, and beat cancer.  As a teenager I didn't really comprehend what was going on.  I don't think we supported her the way we should have and she didn't complain to us one bit.  She still took care of us and made sure we had everything we needed.  I can only imagine how tired and sick she was and she played it off so well that her kids didn't really notice.  As people say in the military or sports, she's hard.  

So the things that drove me crazy as a kid and young adult are the same qualities I inherited from my parents.  I'm a better person for it.  Although, I do feel a little sorry for my future kids, haha.

Have a good one,
Jimmy