Still Waters Build Strong Men

A dream is like a river, and Shaun Joy has actually lived that line. We sit down as old high school friends and trace how an outdoors-first kid from rural Minnesota becomes a man who’s guided thousands of hours on the water, survived the oil fields, and built a career in construction GPS and heavy equipment technology sales without losing his sense of wonder. Along the way, Shaun shares the mindset that keeps him moving: expect the unexpected, give credit to every stop behind you, and treat every so-called failure like paid training. 

We go deep on faith and awe, including why Alaska hit him so hard and how nature helps him feel grounded, present, and clear. We also unpack the fork-in-the-road choices so many of us face: chasing money, chasing approval, or choosing the path that actually fits your values and your family. If you’re wrestling with a toxic job, feeling stuck in comparison, or questioning what the “good life” even is, this conversation offers a practical reset built on gratitude, courage, and time. 

Shaun also gets real about habits and integrity, including his decision to rethink alcohol because routine can quietly become a trap. We talk about self-trust, small daily decisions, and why being fully present with your kids and your people matters more than any checklist. If this hit home, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the one choice you’re making to swim upstream.


0:00 Song Choice And River Metaphor
2:29 Roots Sisters And Early Mentors
5:34 Alaska Faith And Bigger Worlds
8:59 High School To Podcast Courage
12:38 Big Fish And Choosing Growth
22:35 Guiding Handshakes And People Skills
31:26 Career Switches From Retail To Road
39:50 Oil Fields Love And Risk
49:13 GPS Tech Career And Family Priorities
56:08 Loss Gratitude And The Good Life
1:01:30 Church Service And Taking Kids Fishing
1:04:55 Alcohol Self-Trust And Small Decisions
1:13:25 How Friends Describe Sean
1:21:06 Presence Conversation And Closing Wisdom
1:30:09 Goodbye And Final Toast

Transcript

Song Choice And River Metaphor

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You can talk bad about your previous experiences all you want, but you know what? If I wouldn't have had that in my life, that wouldn't have set me on this direction.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to Supernaut, where we explore the inner and outer dimensions of the self. Today Sean Joy is joining us. Sean and I graduated high school together. I'm so excited to catch up and see how life has been for him since then. So I asked you to pick a song for us to listen to before we started. What song did you pick?

SPEAKER_00 0:24

I picked The River by uh Garth Brooks.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Why did you pick it?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Uh I feel like it honestly it represents my life in a lot of ways. I've led my life uh to uh expect the unexpected, and sometimes the greatest rewards in life are is what's unexpected. So um, and just you know, we're all on a path heading downstream, upstream, whatever you may say. But uh yeah, I feel like uh I've got a deep connection to the water, and uh it's also uh um like it's just how I could try to live my life by.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah, that's a perfect song for you, and it's a perfect super knot song too. The first lines are you know a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows, and a dreamer is just a vessel that must follow where it goes. Like I'm obsessed with that. And that's like how a super knot was born. I was just like, hey God, hey art, hey universe, like whatever that energy is, like what I want to do a podcast. Like, what should I do it about? And it just, I was the vessel that it came through, you know? That's how I that's how I felt. So perfect sounding, beautiful. And you are such a dreamer, talking to your friends, getting them to describe you so that we could um have this podcast be about you, um, really just learning how much of a dreamer you are.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Yeah. And I, you know, it's just like whenever somebody said you can't do something, and like I just am like, what do you tell me I can't do something? Like, I've try to empower myself by uh against you know, some negative words that people are like, uh you you know, you can't be a fishing guide, you can't uh you'll never survive on a drilling rig. Like you won't do any of these things. Like, they're how do you gonna do that? But yeah, it's uh so I'm kind of when somebody says you can't, like I'm inspired to prove people wrong. Um, not just to prove a point, but it's like, all right, what adventure is that gonna take me on when I go down this path, you know?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

So because if you don't think you can do it, then there must be something adventurous about it. Let's see what it happens. Exactly. Yeah. But what do you where do you think you got that from?

Roots Sisters And Early Mentors

SPEAKER_00 2:29

You know, like it started like many years ago, I guess. And just, you know, as a kid, country kid growing up, you know, just in the uh, you know, here in Western Mora, Minnesota, and uh we and like grew up in the country. We had like a little farm, like we didn't grow up rich, we didn't have a lot of money, so we knew how to have fun, you know. Um, I grew up with uh an older sister and a younger sister, and that's probably why I found myself in the middle of a lake or out in the woods or uh, you know, a lot. And then uh basically I didn't realize how close I was with my sisters until uh after uh like we left for I left for college and be like, wow, it's really quiet. And uh but then I found out how much I really love my sisters too.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

So that's sweet.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Yeah, so you know, that's uh so I'll give you guys a bunch of little bits today about it, but uh yeah, you keep asking.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Yeah. Uh so you said there's been a lot of influential people in your life who have shaped you. Who comes to mind first?

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Uh the influential people in my life that, you know, obviously I feel like everybody at some point, maybe uh you have to include your parents, you know. And uh mom and dad were great, and it just everybody like we didn't have a whole lot of money growing up, but uh um we knew how to have fun as a family, you know. We had a little hobby farm and just uh just you know, we kept really close. Um so yeah, it's uh you gotta give credit to parents and then come in the people like on the outside uh that come into your life that you don't expect. Like um, I know that uh other influences such as you know Grandpa Bob, Bob Crushel, like he passed away uh about a year and a half ago now, uh at the age of 94 years old, you know. So and it's like wow, that's a long time, you know. And it's uh he was he taught me a lot about uh my faith. He taught me how to do go spearing and trapping, and uh, but yeah, the biggest part was a lot about my faith and be a you know being able to know like hey, he goes, I don't know all the answers, I know that there's this book that like guides me in the right direction, you know. And uh he he told me one time, he goes, like, you have to have a creator for anybody to be that naive to think that we're not here for a reason, um, or something wasn't set out in front of you for a reason. Like, he goes, just it everything if you can look and find beauty in anything, like you're you're speaking through God.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

So yeah, think about all the creations around us, every little thing has been created. So to thank that um there wasn't a creator making the beautiful rocks and mountains and water. I mean, it's interesting. I like to pick those people's brains,

Alaska Faith And Bigger Worlds

SPEAKER_01 5:34

yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

But um you know, like I went about three years ago, I went to Alaska for the first time, and it was like just between number one, the miracle of flight. You know, people take you know, flying these days, people take it for granted. They're like, if their movie isn't working, they're like, oh, this is miserable, like whatever, I don't have Wi-Fi. I'm like, we're partaking in the miracle of flight right now, and it's like I'm on my way to Alaska. This is like a dream come true. Like, so I get to Alaska and I'm like just landing or coming in or flying over the mountains and everything. It's like, wow, like somebody made this and it is absolutely beautiful. And it's like, how do you believe you don't have a creator of uh when you look at this? Like, so yeah, so honestly, Alaska trip. It's like I spent uh actually last year in Alaska. Um, I reaffirmed my baptism in the Kenai River of 38 degree water, and it was it was definitely definitely chilly.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

How long did you stay in it for?

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Probably close to four or five minutes. So yeah, it was it's so cold, it's like aches.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Yeah, I don't it's like a cold ice bath kind of yeah, but I do ice baths, but like I get as still as possible, and that you know makes you not feel anything anymore. But I'm supposed that was movement when you were doing it. So you still freezing the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Oh yeah, yeah. So it was oh my gosh, it was great. There was the one of the resort uh managers was also a pastor. So like it it like when I met him for the first time three years ago, he um like we hit it off like basically on a spiritual level right away, and it was like blocked up and it was like, hey brother, you know, I kind of yeah, kind of had that vibe. And like I never felt I felt he's very he was a very inviting individual, him, his wife, his whole family, like great people, and uh yeah, so I think and they perform these baptisms. No, I was the first guy that they ever baptized in the Kenai River in Alaska, so you have that forever. Wow, so but uh if you ever have the chance to travel up there, I'd highly recommend it. Like, or you know, even not Alaska. If I could recommend anybody, like go go see something that's bigger than you, get out of your county, you know, go see something else, you know, and just uh um so yeah, long story short, I'd just recommend get out, get out and go and see something, like quit visualizing it on your phone. Like, yep, oh, it's on your phone, it's not the same when you see something in person. Yep, you got a picture on your phone saying that looks like it'd be really cool to go see, but it's the adventure that gets you there.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

I know, like my dad when I talk about like, well, don't you want to go see these places? And he's like, Oh, I can see it on TV. So I mean, to each their own, some people are just fine with that, you know. Everybody finds God and beauty and different things, but for me, when I really need healing, I go to the mountains because there's nothing that makes me feel the way that they feel like small and in awe and in wonder. So I agree. I used to think I was a beach person, but no, it's mountains.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Yeah, well, and honestly, I just find it absolutely

High School To Podcast Courage

SPEAKER_00 8:59

odd. Like, I would have never thought that Beth Kelling would ever uh be sitting here interviewing me, you know. This is the craziest part. It just blows my mind that uh, you know, what did I do during high school? Do you remember what I did? Did I do the morning announcements? Yeah, okay. So like I thought I was gonna have a career in radio and that kind of stuff, and you know you thought Beth would be dead on a street somewhere. Well, you know, I was like, well, you know, she I thought that you were very you were a sweet girl, but like you were very like probably more you kept to yourself. And I mean you had your ring of friends, and like I've never had an issue with you, you know. I just tried to be kind with everybody during high school, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Well, I used to cry giving speeches in class. Um, so yeah, that's why, but I mean that's why I ran towards this, is because it was the scariest thing I could think of doing. And now a year later, like I'm not nervous anymore at all. Like I was just doing random things before you came, where before it was like, you know, like breathing exercises and preparing just so that I could, you know, do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

So this is as much of a release for you as it is for the person that you're interviewing, is what I'm I've gotten out of what I've seen. So um I hope you like continue this. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Thank you. So who else has been influential for you in your life?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

So um I mentioned I call it it was uh I call him Grandpa Bob anyways. So he would who had passed away, but uh like then I you know, then I went, I'd say Kent Lilliard was one of these guys. He was very unique-minded individual. Um I took a job working for him between uh high school and college, and uh went to work as a basically a laborer for his metal fabrication company and uh sent me up to Bemidji and uh literally the I worked construction for him and just uh on the adventures that he'd take me, it was it was a lot of fun, and uh and obviously he was a very entertaining character as well. And uh so he he taught how he would talk and tell stories and that kind of stuff. I'm like, man, if I could live half the life that that guy does someday, like that's gonna be an interesting story.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

So yeah, so that's kept you doing adventures too.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Like oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah. And then, you know, another guy that uh um where I get a lot of my outspokenness from would be like Butch Obert. And uh he uh uh he honestly has given, you know, he doesn't want to take any credit for nothing at all, but he's been a great fishing buddy of mine forever, and uh like he's known my entire family and that kind of thing, just kind of like another uh like an uncle you got really close with. So he uh the way that he speaks and carries himself or in public with strangers, he's not afraid to embarrass somebody or uh himself sometimes, but uh it's uh he's he's honestly like wow, you can actually talk to somebody uh that way and like a entertain them um and b like just you become kind of a different person if you can be an extrovert instead of an introvert. He definitely is an extrovert and not afraid of talking to anybody, so he uh he was a big

Big Fish And Choosing Growth

SPEAKER_00 12:38

influence.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

So and you said uh that I should watch the movie Big Fish last night because you feel like it's a movie made about you, and I rented it and I got 10 minutes in, and then I have a weird thing where I have restless leg syndrome. Have you ever had that? Well, if I get it, it means that I need to go to sleep instantly or I'm gonna be up for hours and I got it. So I'm like, okay, it's 8:30. I'm gonna go to sleep. I usually don't go to sleep till 10. I'm like, I'll wake up at extra early and watch it. And I slept and got the most sleep I've gotten in a couple months according to my ring.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

So well deserved.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

I have to watch it tonight now since I rented it and I only have a few hours. But I thought it would be better anyways if you just explained in your words.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

So, like Big Fish is like a a movie about a guy that about a father and a son, and this the son uh is listening to the stories of his dad. This is how his dad told all these stories and all these adventures that he's always gone on, and like and he's like, Yeah, the son wasn't believing what his dad was telling him, and uh, you know, his dad gets older and up in age, and he's like uh on his deathbed, and like and long story short, like it just should this movie is all about his dad's life and then how it came to be. And at this funeral, all of these people and characters that were like he didn't believe existed showed up at his funeral. So, and honestly, it was a bunch of crazy adventures. Um, I'd recommend everyone to go watch Big Fish. It's like uh and I like to say that my life is very similar to that, just uh never knowing exactly what path to take. And uh yeah, it's uh it's a very unique uh a very unique movie. I'd re I'd recommend it to everybody.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

So when you don't know what path to take, can you think of kind of what drives you to end up making one decision over the other?

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Do you know kind of it's I feel like it's taking into where you're at in life and then um knowing, all right, am I making this choice for a financial gain or am I making this choice for a spiritual gain? And I feel like we're always having that fork in the road. It's way easier to take the uh keep taking the fork in the right side to um do it for the financial or the social or the um all of those other reasons. But where we really need to be is like us uh as parents, like you know, what is best for our kids? Is it you know, is it homeschooling? Is it going live on the uh go travel United States while you can make these adventures with your kids? Do you know is that something so obviously those are um it's the path that we don't know, but we always feel the pressure from society. Does that make sense to this is how life the the this is the picture perfect life for somebody? And uh I don't I I don't ever want to compare myself to you know somebody else. I feel like we need you need to do what you want to do. Um no matter if somebody else thinks it's well that's insanity. You can't you can't just quit your job and go live in a camper on the road and raise your wife and or your kids and wife, and you know, so um that is a thought that has rolled through my head, obviously. It's just because I think, you know, we're only with our kids for a certain amount of time, and then pretty soon, boom, like here we are, 40 years old, you know, just uh um living our living our life, and it's like what would we have done different? Would we have spent more time with our parents when we were younger? Now here we are. Would we have done that? I don't know. So like so like for somebody to go learn, like to go and fail is a better learning uh opportunity than it is to go and succeed. Because guess what? Like if you fail, then you know exactly what like failing keeps you within the lines of the path, you know, because we're heading on life. Is like a how do I say I used to say it it was um life is like a railroad uh track made of jello, okay?

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Like they're set there, but there's always room for them to move, and yeah, so like it's just they can go anywhere, but and I mean I've been called delusional for this, and I know that if I ever got my words described to me, my number one word would be delusional, but I try and look at my life and see where I failed, and it's really hard for me to ever see anything as a failure because I've learned so much. So like I've just that just doesn't cross my mind that it was a failure, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So it's failure is like I want it, I want everybody to go succeed in life, but some the biggest people and millionaires and uh the people that actually succeed in life have failed.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

A lot, usually, yeah, a lot, like yeah, and the difference of the ones that keep going is they're probably not pity party and saying, like, oh, I failed at this, like this business closed, or this only lasted a year, or whatever, but like that my mind just doesn't see it that way. Maybe that's my superpower, you know, because I'm just like, oh my gosh, look at what I learned from the you know, so I always take the school of hard knocks, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

And you know, with with my current career, what I'm doing is uh, you know, they're like, Wow, you are extremely good at this, and they're like, How did you get to be so good? It's I'm like, I failed a lot, and I'm bluntly honest with them. And they're like, Well, you're doing this flawlessly right now, and I'm like, Well, it's because I've learned from my past to allow me to make better choices in in this future. So, like being able to understand the process of you know, the technology that I sell um has allowed me to help teach others how to use it correctly, and they don't necessarily have to go through that hard learning curve like I did. You know.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

And I think if you're also like just kind of following your instincts, like God is gonna help you go down a path that you are capable of that he knows you're capable of. You know, he's not gonna give you the desire if he doesn't think you can do it. You know, and you never know what's gonna lead up to different things. Like every job I've ever had, I can laugh at how much it has set me up for the next job that I happen to stumble upon, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

So And you know, in this day and age, there's a lot of people that are like really don't like their job and like they don't like their previous jobs and they are where they are at now. Um but the thing is, is like if you don't give credit to those places that you were beforehand, like you wouldn't be where you're at right now.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Totally.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Okay, and it's like I've had a I had a couple of friends that used to work for the company that I work for, and they're like, Oh, gotta get out of there, and um just it like they were bad mouthing it, and I'm like, hey, and they they moved on to the next step in their lives. It wasn't with the same company, but they did. But the thing is, is that if they wouldn't they wouldn't be where they're at right now if it wasn't for that past and history uh of jobs, you know, that they had and the experience that they gained from that. Well, now they know how to make better decisions moving forward from where they were currently at.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

So but people are staying so stuck in toxic places too. I've talked to so many people, especially lately, who are at these jobs where like the environment is so hostile, like where they're not allowed to be themselves or be creative or talk, you know, at all. And like also I think if people don't get brave enough and step out of those, those industries, those places are just gonna keep growing. And then like think about if your kids are working in a place like that someday, like just throwing your life away miserable all day, every single day. Like, maybe it's not fair to say, but I think take chances, like go do something for less money that I've done that a lot of times. I've given up money to do something that is less toxic and will help me be more myself, you know?

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Well, the happiness, the most happy that you and I probably ever were is when we were kids. Like we had no financial responsibility, like we had we had life. It was so great, you know. It was like no financial responsibility. And it's like I feel like when I even when I didn't have money going into college and that kind of stuff. Like it was um like I was happy. It was still happy, like in the hallway.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Yeah, when you put too much pressure on money and worship it and like make everything revolve around it, then it's your master and it controls you. And yeah, God says to be more childlike, you know, so like forget about that stuff and just be your playful self and be in a job that isn't for money, and I think you'll get rewarded.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Yeah, that's that's for sure. And it's uh yeah, I completely agree.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Yeah.

Guiding Handshakes And People Skills

SPEAKER_01 22:35

Um, and so you also said that um we could talk about your wife and how she intertwined into the fast moving life of Sean Joy.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Yeah, it's uh I feel like um yeah, she is she's hung with me, so it's uh she's a little bit more uh um I'd say not one to go stand up in a big front of a big crowd of people and talk, you know, um where I was. Uh so part of my life, I probably feel like I should like give you a walkthrough of my careers.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

So I find after high school we graduate.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

After high school I graduated, I went off to work for uh Kent Lilliard, like I said, for uh North Country Welding and traveled. Um and then uh college started that fall. Um I took a job uh so during all this time, like we my parents and my dad or my dad and I owned and operated a guide service on Millax Lake Fishing Guide fishing guide service. You remember this, right? So boy, Sean smells like fish again today. Um but uh no, it's uh so ever since the age of 12 years old, I actually worked on a launch, and this comes into effect of one of the most influential people that I've that helped form me as well as the former owner of the launch that we purchased. So when I was 12 years old, started working on this boat called Captain Hook's Guide Service, and uh Daryl Ingsdall was the owner of it. He was a um school, he was a music teacher in Onamia, and he was known as the only singing launch captain on Millachs Lake. Okay, so right, kind of one off already. So he uh um number one, he taught me how to play guitar, and number two, he taught me how to talk to people of every creed, color, ethnicity, background, rich, or like it didn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

He taught you by you watching and observing him, or he like actually told you some advice about it.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

As in the fact, like, so we would bring people fishing from all over with all different walks of life, you know. And like he goes, You gotta go up, you gotta shake their hands. He taught me how to shake a guy's hand, and he taught me how to shake a woman's hand, and like that's something I'll remember forever, you know. So what's the difference?

SPEAKER_01 25:15

Like, well, I always just tried to do it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Like a nice firm handshake, let somebody know that you're behind there. You know, if you go shake a dude's hand and it's like a limp, you know, it's not yeah, what's going on? Yeah. And uh, but anyways, but what do you do for a woman?

SPEAKER_01 25:29

For a woman, you go you grab her hand and then you two hands two hands and say thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

So and honestly, like I would have never I would have never known that, you know. And uh whether there's an actual book that says that's how you're supposed to shake a person's hand, but that's what he taught me. Um, but he taught me that you treat everybody equal, no matter what their skin color is or if they're rich or poor or whatever. I had just like you have me here, but I would have people on my on this launch boat for four to eight hours at a time, and they're trapped with me. So guess what? You have a story, I have a story. Let me ask you about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do? What you know, I got to interview people day after day after day without the microphone, but at the end of the day, it was very, very rewarding, and I made a lot of friends and a lot of repeat customers and that kind of stuff through that. So um basically the guide service was a part-time job for myself and a part-time job for my dad. And uh um, well, how it came to be us owning it was when I was 16 years old, the former owner Daryl, um, his health was failing. Well, he looks for me to buy this thing. I'm 16 years old. I'm like, how am I gonna do this? So I actually write up a business plan at the age of 16. What's it gonna cost for fuel and paint and insurance and all the things, all the licenses, all the what it's gonna take to run a guide service? And with him being a teacher, like he missed out, misses out on like the first three to four weeks of uh fishing season because he's still teaching in school, and then the um then you misses you miss out in September. So my dad and I, I well, I brought it to my chief financial officer, aka dad, and I said, Dad, if you ever want to do anything great for me, like you would buy me this boat. And uh he goes, Well, how I sold it to him was I said, This will be a great retirement plan for you and a great future for me, you know. And uh, so he said, Well, I'll go get my captain's license, I'll try it out for the that summer, and uh we bought it that fall, so and then we we owned it for 16 years, so and got to bring a lot of amazing people out fishing and make a lot of memories on that boat.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Why did you decide to sell it?

SPEAKER_00 28:05

So, in um well, through all of the you know, since it was a part-time job, like I love fishing, so like and I love people, so it's a great lifestyle, but obviously it doesn't always pay the bills. Once again, making choices for is it for the money or is it for um happiness? You know, fishing like brings me a lot of happiness, and probably a lot of people in Minnesota coming up in the next day, you know. So there's probably a lot of people heading north right now.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Oh yeah, this is the perfect week to this is perfect, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

So yeah, if you would have booked this on fish and opener, I probably wouldn't have been here. So yeah, but so yeah. Um and my dad became not only like for buying this, like he uh he worked at a factory for 45 years here in Mora at a plastics factory for 45 years at the same place. And what he always told me, he goes, Sean, I never want you to work in a factory. And so I've been pretty adamant that I'll never do that. But my dad was able to put food on the table and you know, clothes on our backs because of that place, and uh it's just I feel like people and society has like changed a bit to where I don't feel like there's people that go to work and do the same thing for the rest of their lives. I don't I don't feel like there is that anymore. You know, I don't feel like we see that loyalty to an employer. So I feel like employers are now having to get smarter and try to make a more inviting place for uh make a more inviting place for employees, you know, that's uh because you know, atmosphere goes a long way.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

So but and I think that's good. I think we should be putting pressure on companies like we were talking about earlier, to you know, maybe uh the factory wasn't toxic, but um, there's always more you can do for people.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

Oh, for sure. And it's like there's a job to do, there's a it's like morale goes a long ways. You can sink a lot of ship if ships if you don't have good morale, so but so through all this time of uh running the guide service and meeting all these interesting people, and like hey, and then I was um I took it a so after high school, went to work for Kent, and then uh went to this is we're still guiding on the weekend. I would come home and guide on the weekends, and you know, dad would run the boat during the week. He'd get done with an eight, nine-hour day here at work, and then go up and take a trip from five to nine or six to ten at night. And it's like I'd drive from Brainerd or whatever it might be to go take a trip, and uh, which was where I went to college, but um, so I took a job working at a local sporting goods store up in Brainerd.

Career Switches From Retail To Road

SPEAKER_01 31:26

It was called Reeds Sporting Goods, and I think I bought a gun from there one time.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Yeah, probably. Yep. So either the Reeds in Baxter or there was a Reeds in Walker, and then there's a Reeds in Millac. So um, I took this job working at Reeds, and I found out where I was working was more fun than what I was going to college for. And uh I went to college to be a marine and small engine mechanic, go work on inboards and outboards and uh dirt bikes and four-wheelers and that kind of stuff. I thought that was the path that I was gonna take, but I had no idea. Like, I know that I really like wrenching and being mechanical, and I'm like, this then I found out that I like working on my own stuff and not everybody else's, you know. So um, but anyways, so working at Reeds, I found out that I like dealing with sales and selling people fishing stuff and teaching them how to do it. Here's the tools to go succeed and go fishing. So I thought that was awesome. And then I got into the fishing electronics side of it, selling fishing electronics at Reeds, and uh um that it's literally that's probably what set the stage for where I'm at today. Um and yeah, for with selling technology for heavy equipment stuff, so that's where I what I do currently. But so I worked uh worked for Reeds and then I took a job um after college uh for a mobile marketing rig for a fishing company called Pure Fishing was a big mother company that owned a bunch of these other little companies, and I ran uh a big semi-truck and trailer, and uh Dale Sprouse is the guy that owns it. I gotta give him credit too for being another influencer in my life, you know. And uh I had the privilege to travel the United States and go to all these fishing tournaments and um uh like do events for like classic sales and grand openings for Shields and Cabela's and Gander Mountains, but I got to follow the Bassmaster Tour and the Redfish Cup and like I'm a young guy.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

That sounds so fun.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

Yeah, always a great job. But I was like a I was no offense to any carnies out there, but like I was like a high-end carney. I'd literally go from one town to the next, set up my truck and trailer in my tent, be there for three to five days, tear down, go to the next town. And it was uh um I so I'd be gone like sometimes I was gone like 10 weeks at a time. And that was uh that was really that got hard because like dad's trying to run this business back here, and like I'm not able to help out as much as I want to.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

And that was your idea. So you're feeling all this guilt, yeah. Oh yeah, so a loving life.

SPEAKER_00 34:31

Oh yeah. So we ended up uh um in that job, it was a great job, and then like contracts for marketing and that kind of stuff. We weren't it was kind of on edge. I'm like, I'm not sure if uh if we were going back to work in the spring or we're going back on the road. Um, so I took a job working back here just at uh for my aunt and uncle for a little while doing the marine and small engine uh sales actually for casual cycle. And once again, very influential people, aunts and uncles, you know. And uh that opportunity uh, you know, just uh it was great. And uh I then I found, you know, between you know, I did that for probably close to a year, and then uh I was still guiding on the side, like so we're still taking trips on nights and weekends outside of the regular eight hours, you know. So we're we we stack our schedules, you know. And um, yeah, so then for about a year, then I left Casual Cycle. I thought I found true love down in the cities, and it was not uh, you know, just uh and but I took a job being a correctional officer for Anoka County, and seems like a huge change, yeah. You think so? Apparently I passed some sort of a test that I could mentally, physically, you know, do that position.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

And um so you're like it must be what I'm supposed to do.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Yeah, well, the opportunity was like, hey, you know, so and so you'd be a good fit for this. And I'm like, I feel like I'm a lot more positive person than what a corrections person is, you know, or what what kind of a outlook they have to hold, I guess. Um but yeah, that so I did that for about a year, and uh um like I felt like this is not where I need to be at all. I'm like, God, what am I gonna do? You know, like how am I gonna I don't I have no idea what to do. So like once again, still guiding on the nights and weekends amongst taking, you know, working for the Anoka County, and I'm like, this is not that's not what I want to do. And then I'm like, give me a sign, give me what I can do. So guess what? In 2008, my old company, Reed Sporting Goods, called me up and said, Hey, we're opening up a store on Millax Lake. Would you come back to work for us? And I'm like, Yes. My home lake where I guide, run a sporting goods store, like, and it's uh that was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

So all the Dreams Coming show.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Yeah, 2007, 2008. Yeah, 2008 is when we opened that store and um got to be a part of the whole thing, get watching it get built and get product in there and open the doors, and it was it was awesome. And like a bunch of locals, like they knew who I was, and yeah, wow, you're really good with fishing electronics again, you know.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

And that's only four years after we graduated, so you're 22 at this time. Yeah, all that happened in four years, now you're 22.

SPEAKER_00 37:40

Yep, and uh so worked for Reeds, and then it's like and it's retail, and anybody who works retail out there, like I salute you, like it is uh it's not an easy job being in customer service or retail because nobody if there's somebody that's never worked uh retail or in customer service or waiter or waitressing, like they don't know what it's like to actually be on that side, and you know, so like I give respect to that, those people with those jobs, you know, it's it's it's a thankless job a lot of times, but that opportunity uh of opening that store um led me and worked there for close to two years, and uh um another fishing wholesale outfit came in, like friends of friends in the industry that I knew, and they said, Hey, we got a job for you. A guy that I used to work with at Berkeley and blah blah blah. And he uh uh he goes, I got a job for you. I'm working for this wholesaler, I need somebody to cover the um North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the UP of Michigan territory. And I'm like, All right, I kind of missed the road a little bit, but I'd be home a lot more, you know. So, and I'd still be able to manage the guide service on on this side. And uh he goes, so I took that job and I left Reeds and went to work for Sportsman Supply Inc. and sold fish and tackle and lures and uh electronics and that kind of stuff, and just uh did it from uh how do I say I did that for about a year, and every time I was out in I got to travel from North Dakota at in 2010, uh late 2010, early 2010, sorry, to uh um the UP of Michigan. The UP

Oil Fields Love And Risk

SPEAKER_00 39:50

of Michigan like had the worst economy at this point, and then but North Dakota was like starting the oil boom out there, and every time I was out in North Dakota, I'd get a job offer. And uh I had I had one of my customers that I sold tackle to in Williston, North Dakota, call me up one day and said, Sean, like, hey, I got a customer here, he's having an issue with his trolling motor. Would you mind taking a look at it the next time you're out here? I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna be out there on Tuesday, actually. So I go out, I go out and uh I fix this guy's trolling motor in about 10 minutes, and he was so happy. He goes, Man, if you ever want a job, I got a job for you. And here I've been pounding the pavement from North Dakota to the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, for about $35,000 a year, you know, it's like way more time invested. But it was funny how great jobs, you know, don't necessarily pay the greatest. Does that make sense? And but it was a great job, but this guy offered me a gig. Um, and he said, he go, I'm like, well, what do you do? He goes, Well, I'm a superintendent of six drilling rigs. And I'm like, well, what does that pay? He goes, Well, start start you off at $28 an hour, and this is 2010. And I'm like, holy cow, like I just I'm a 25-year-old kid that just saw dollar signs, you know. I come home and you know, I'm trying to figure out like life and like, hey, do I go out there, do I take advantage of this or what? Well, during about a about a month prior, I had a guide trip on uh Father's Day weekend with this one of my regular customers, and he um he he was a hard customer, you know, and but rightly so he uh he called me up the week of the fourth of July and asked me if he could bring his wife and daughters up for the fourth of July night. And I I honestly had an open boat that night and it worked out, and uh so we booked him take him out. Well, here he brings his wife and three daughters out, and he he just wanted a place to fish. He's he wanted a spot for the his wife and daughters to go watch the fireworks on the fourth of July, you know. And uh that's when uh Katie walked down the dock, so um, which is my wife. So she walked down the dock, and she's she's from Lakeville, Minnesota, and I'm more a Minnesota, definitely two different walks of life. I'm a little probably more redneck, and yeah, she's a little more sophisticated, no doubt. And uh she uh um, but yeah, we've so just like I do, like I started a trap, you're trapped on my boat for four hours. So I'm gonna start interrogating you. I'm like, where are you from? What do you do? Going to school, what's the thing? And uh I mustered up uh enough uh courage at the end of the trip to uh ask for phone number, and uh because I was at a point in my life where I, you know, I've like I'm like this is this is a good girl, like she is one, and uh yeah, I was totally like I was not she goes, Well, you live here and like I'm in Duluth going to UmD, and I'm like, Yeah, that you guys you're like in my backyard, like way close. Here I'm like a worldly traveler, I'm like Duluth from Malax isn't that far. And uh so she uh she actually gave me her number, and one day uh our first date, we went up to Duluth, and I don't know if she wanted to be caught in public with me or not, but uh she said, Um, take me to McDonald's. Like that's so that's where we went for our first date, and we had very good conversation. I brought her out, and I literally just Told her absolutely everything about myself, all the highs and lows of my life, and I just I I just put it all out there, and it's like either you're gonna take it or you're gonna leave it, you know. And uh like we got done with that date, and I didn't like hear from her for like a week or two, and I'm like, did I scare her away or what? Well, obviously, you know, like I do some announcing for motocross races and car races and do that kind of stuff. And uh I got asked to announce the Kennabut County Fair and motocross race that year, and uh they uh so I'm announcing this, and I actually texted her a few days beforehand and be like, Well, would you like to get out to get together Friday night and go to the fair with me? And so she came back tomorrow and she goes, Where are you at? I'm like, I'm up in the announcer stand, and like she didn't know that it was me announcing, so it was kind of funny. So we'll get you in. But that's literally how we started, and uh she yeah, so she walked down the doctor the rest of her life, and that was it. But so I literally met her, and then a month later I take this job working in western North Dakota on a drilling rig, and she's thinking that uh she's thinking that this does not she doesn't do long distance relationships already. She goes, I don't do long distance relationships. So, and I'm like, there's no distance too far, like I don't care, like I am done. Like, I like I want you, and uh yeah, she it's it's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

So need it just made it work, you convinced her.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

Exactly well, and I s it was our motto was no distance too far. And uh actually on my wedding band, which is like a duck ring, it says NDTF means no distance too far, and uh um 725 of 2015 is when we actually got married.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

So 2015?

SPEAKER_00 46:12

Yep, okay, but so that tells you that I roughnecked on a drilling rig for about four and a half years, and a lot of people are like, Sean, you're not gonna last two weeks out there, you know, or you're not gonna last a week, you're gonna be chewed up and spit out. Well, I love the job because it paid big money, and then I worked seven days on, I would get seven days off. Well, what would I do on my seven days off? I'd come back and I'd run the bit the fishing business. It was a great balance. So, and uh we made it work in 2015. I got married, the oil fields uh kind of took a dive, and uh I wake actually came back to work for Reeds again um for about a year, and I was just like after working on a drilling rig and surviving out there, the roughest, harshest weather, that kind of stuff, working with a bunch of people that not always have like the greatest work ethic together. Um I shouldn't say the work ethic is there, but the they don't it it's hard to mesh with people that all think that they're a chief instead of an Indian, you know. So having that experience of going out there and working in 40, 50 below weather to working in 110 degree temperatures, like and that group of people, and being able to it was very diverse, needless to say, it was just like that. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it was it proved to myself that I could literally do anything, you know, it really did, because no matter cold how cold or how hard something was, or it was extremely dangerous, you know, and uh I did knock my teeth out when I was out there, so I got a new fresh set of teeth. I got hit in the face with a chain. So, number one, lucky to be alive. Uh, so that phone call went over pretty good when I called home. I said, Yeah, I knocked my teeth out. She's like, No, you didn't. And I'm like, I sure did. So I sent her a picture and basically missing my teeth.

SPEAKER_01 48:30

It was not good, but we'll have to see if we can find that picture.

SPEAKER_00 48:34

Uh yeah, I'll show that one later. We won't put that one out there, but no, yeah. Okay, so um, but that but that job taught me how to really work hard, you know, and I I like working around people that have a forward mentality and want to work hard together and accomplish some big things. And uh like so I came back to Minnesota after oil fields failed, and I went back to Breeds temporarily, you know, still guiding. And then uh um I just had to make a change from auto retail and uh my cousin, I was looking

GPS Tech Career And Family Priorities

SPEAKER_00 49:13

for a change. My cousin called me up and he goes, Hey, you're really good with those fish and electronics. I'm like, Yeah. He goes, Well, my construction company is looking for a GPS guy. I'm like, okay, like I don't know anything about moving dirt. I mean, I can make a motocross track, that's fine, but I don't know anything about moving dirt. No, no, no, we we would teach you. And I'm like, I like I have no idea. He goes, Well, would you come in for an interview and meet the owner? I'm like, yeah, sure. I'm like, if if you think I could do this job. So um, so my cousin Mike, he uh got me in in touch with Dobozinski and Sons, and I sat down with the owner of Dobozinski's, one of them, and uh Doug told me, he goes, I'm tired of having 10 people that know 10 about this technology. I want one guy that knows 100%. And I'm like, I'm okay with learning it as long as I have somebody to teach me or can guide me in the right direction so I can learn this. And uh that's if it wasn't for that guy, it another influential person in my life, Doug Dobozinski, going out on a wing in a prayer and hiring a guy that knew nothing about GPS to allow me to take his uh GPS machine control world and like get it off the ground even further than uh where it was at. Um so like once again, giving credit where credit is due, um, big time. And so I worked, ended up, I will I was living at Millax and I was driving to Corcoran, Minnesota from I think it was I worked, I'd wake up at 3 30 in the morning and drive down and uh be down there by 5 30. And just uh it was a it was hard work, you know, and it was exactly what I was asking for. Um, but as Katie and I are progressing in our lives, um in 2018, like we found out that she's pregnant with our first, you know, and we uh uh yeah, so I'm like, wow, like I'm gonna have to make some sort of a change here because being gone being gone that amount of time per day, like you can't do it, you know. Um, and it was nothing that that company did wrong. It was just the like where I was living and commuting, like I just couldn't make it work. Um, so I had to make a tough choice and leave such a great company to better myself with my family. So once again, it wasn't about chasing money, it was now about chasing uh supporting a family, happiness, yeah, happiness, and that's really what it boiled down to be. Um so yeah, we found out we were having our first child, and I found a I was I was pursued by a company, uh, an engineering company to um do 3D GPS modeling for them, for which is what I was doing at this construction company. I was in charge of all their GPS stuff, and they're uh making sure the dozers and excavators were all calibrated and make sure that, and then I was flying drones and I was I was I like literally all this stuff just got handed to me and it was like, how did I get this lucky to have a job that is this much fun? But now like I had to make a life choice, um, and I wanted to do something similar. But this uh so WSB Engineering hired me uh as a 3D GPS modeler. Basically, this is a CAD world kind of thing. You build it in CAD, they then we build you a housing development, you know, and uh they opened that opportunity to me. And um there was uh I I took it and it was just way more flexible with uh having a family and whether I could work from home, and obviously we're coming into the COVID times, which was extremely hard on everybody, and um but yeah, so I ended up working for those guys for a couple of years, and like I um I flew drones for them and I actually taught other people how to fly drones. I'm like, man, I really kind of like this teaching thing of showing people how to succeed with this technology, you know. And uh I ended up getting a phone call from one of our vendors that I used to work with at Dobozanski's, and it they called me up and it was RDO equipment, and they said, Hey, there's a technology sales position in northern Minnesota, and we think that you'd be a great fit. And I'm like, okay, I'm like, I've never sold this big technology before, and and like I know this stuff is really, really expensive. I'm like, I I could probably do it, I'll figure it out. Um, but I was really on the fence because WSB was a great company, once again, like giving credit where credit is due the whole way, you know. And uh um, so I took a job working for RDO equipment and uh as a technology sales specialist sales guy. Yeah. So and I've been doing that for five and a half years now.

SPEAKER_01 54:57

So like so everything that you did kind of just led up to what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 55:03

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 55:04

Yeah, like we talked about earlier.

SPEAKER_00 55:06

Wow. Yeah, and it's uh it's if one hand shakes the other, like if you don't give credit to where if you don't give credit to where you've been, like you're never gonna appreciate where you're going. You know what I mean? It's like that's kind of my motto, and it's like, you know, you're a dream is like a river.

SPEAKER_01 55:32

So it's like and appreciation just breathes more appreciation, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 55:37

And now I'm going out, I'm going out and I'm making like I don't even want to call them customers, but I'm making new friends because like I'm so involved in this construction industry and the opportunities that this company is allowed to um let me go out and like you get to meet people, but you get to uh challenge yourself and expand.

SPEAKER_01 56:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:01

Yeah. I'm honestly every day is different. Like, there is not a single two days in a row that's the

Loss Gratitude And The Good Life

SPEAKER_00 56:08

same. And I get to meet new people all the time. I get I have old customers, I got new customers, and like my biggest reward is you know, if I get a new customer that's never ran technology before for dozers and excavators and motor graters and uh GPS basin rovers, like and I sell them this tool and I show them how to use it, and then they're like, it's a game changer for their entire company, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 56:37

And that can really help.

SPEAKER_00 56:39

So it it really helps them, and it's it's not necessarily me that sells it, it's just I show them how to win with it, but now I can sit back and watch the growth of that company because of what I did for them, and that's a I guess that's a reward for myself. So yeah, so so yeah, but um I guess I left out a little part of that story. I know I'm long-winded, I apologize in well-monotoned voice, so sorry. Um, but um one of the hardest things that uh happened, like is so 2016, you know, obviously this is where we ended basically running the guide service. So because I was very committed to the construction industry and world, which is very heavily summer-based, you know, for work. And obviously fishing is a really big summer-based thing on Malax Lake, you know, running a launch. So um I and I told dad, I'm like, if we can't run it 100%, I like let's let's just you know set it on the shelf.

SPEAKER_01 57:55

So but but it did bring you where to where you are now.

SPEAKER_00 57:59

100%, like 100%. Like it's so it's so awesome, and it's just all those people that I got to meet along the way, and all those people that helped form my personality, and like I see how like there isn't I'm not afraid to talk to anybody, so except for you. I was kind of nervous when I came in here, so it's like I was Am I not inviting? No, I just haven't felt nervous like for an interview before, so I felt it felt good, but I it's I wonder what about it though.

SPEAKER_01 58:34

Did you think I would try and make you cry?

SPEAKER_00 58:36

Oh, I'm I'm sure. Like, there's probably the the closest like to make me cry. Um I can tell you the hardest thing that I experienced is losing my dad. Okay, he was not only my um dad, but he was my coworker, he was my boss for uh owning the and he was a partner, you know. He opened the door for me to, you know, if it wasn't like the fishing world like changed me and he gave me that opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 59:12

And so many people don't get to find their passions in life or get to find what really makes them alive, and you found yours, and he helped you find it.

SPEAKER_00 59:20

He never held me back. He did he he guided me. He's like, Don't don't work in a plastics factory, and he goes, So I'm like, touche. So like obviously, I just told you that I worked for a bunch of different places, but out of all those places that I've worked, like I've been fine, like it I will find happiness, and then I will find happiness, and I'll find happiness as I keep going down. Like, just find the place that makes you the happiest, you know.

SPEAKER_01 59:53

So it's kind of happiness evolves, mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 59:57

Big time. It's like or what we have as a younger person thinking, what oh, that's the good life, you know. What is the good life? Like now it's about a comparison. Well, society says this is a good life, but if you're not happy because like you don't you feel like you have these expectations to live up to this societal um expectation, and constantly chasing exactly instead of contentment, and just like living present and like meeting people and talking to people and helping them is what makes you present. Yep. Oh, I gotta have a big house, I gotta have all the things, I gotta go um like on all these fancy trips. Like, no, it's not about those, it's those are material things. Like when it all boils down to it, if I could be a sales guy for anything, I would sell time. If I could sell time, like I feel like I'd be the richest man in the world.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:04

Well, I think you should start your own podcast about presence, and uh that pretty much is time. Like if we if we can be better at being present in the moment, then we get that time. Yeah, you know it really slows down, so big time. So and I think you should start your own podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:21

Start my own podcast, all right. Well, I might take a place to rent here, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:28

Okay, so what do you believe in?

Church Service And Taking Kids Fishing

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

You're uh Christian, yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:32

And uh go to I'm a Christian, uh believe uh that um we have an awesome like I I I go to church here at uh Grace Lutheran Church in Moore, Minnesota. I serve on the church council there. Um I'm myself and a couple others, like we recently got put on and we're kind of the younger blood of the church council and trying some new things and bringing some uh fun opportunities to the church. And uh um like I so I I've I feel like you have to believe in something and like just in any direction, like I've got friends that are non-denominational, I've got uh you know people that believe in many, many different things, and it's like it's just a matter of just being accepting of all those, you know, and it's like I'm I'm open to a lot of them. So as long as as long as your beliefs aren't trying to kill my beliefs, I think we'll get along just fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:38

So totally, yeah. So that's kind of it, but yeah, and so I heard you're incorporating your love for outdoors and fishing in with the church and maybe starting a youth fishing group or and stuff like that. What kind of stuff?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:53

And honestly, like so. We'll like I'm trying to get a little a group of like a couple times a summer, get some youth together and go fishing.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:01

Yeah, some of my best childhood memories are like um camping with church and doing stuff like that, so that's great. So that might be some kids' only opportunity to be outdoors.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:14

Exactly. Like um I used to uh when I while I was guiding, um, I would donate time for like take a these take a kid fishing events, and it's probably one of the most rewarding things. It's like once again, I did it for absolutely free. I donated my time and my boat, my money and my gas. And uh like to go take these kids that have never had an experience like this. Probably the one that I remember the most was I was down on Lake Minnetonka, and uh there was this fishing tournament, and I got paired up with two young kids, and I ended up uh um these two young, this one kid, they're these are all inner city kids that we have out fishing. So, like some of them may have never been on a boat before. This one kid he goes, I don't want to go out on the ocean. I don't want to go out on the ocean. And I'm like, This isn't the ocean, buddy. Like, this is just the lake, we're good. So it was like he's like, so we got him over the fear of that, and next thing you know, he's smiling ear to ear with catching fish and that kind of stuff, and it's like doing something as small as that one time in my life could have changed that whole kid's direction, you know. Everything like like every little influence that or opportunity that can be shown or attempted or tried can like totally send you down a different path, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:38

So the people that have influenced you, like you know how important it is, so you don't just want to keep influencing people, and it's almost selfish how good it feels.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:47

You're not wrong. You're not wrong.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:49

So what lesson is taking you the longest to learn?

Alcohol Self-Trust And Small Decisions

SPEAKER_00 1:04:55

Lesson that taking the longest to learn. I feel like the lesson that took me the longest to learn is like I probably shouldn't drink, to be honest. And I I really feel like like that's probably the next step or challenge in my life that I can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:08

I heard you quit for a while.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:10

Uh I yeah, I quit as in like I quit drinking like beer, which allowed me to which was not a healthy thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:20

And then uh beer drinking beer wasn't healthy, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:24

Like I put it on so now you just drink hard liquor, which is not a much better choice by any means. It's like uh so but even now it's like I feel like all right, next challenge, life cleansing. I probably, you know what, I only get one of these bodies. Like, I should probably start being a little bit kinder to it. And I'm not against people that drink, I'm not against people that don't drink. At the end of the day, it you need to make it a personal choice for you. And um, if it's gonna, if you're drinking so much that it's gonna hurt or influence somebody else is life, like you don't like I don't ever want that. So yeah, it's uh so that's the next challenge. So as of May 1st, like I've kind of which is kind of a big thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:14

So I just yeah because last time I saw you day drinking.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:18

We may have been at the winery.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:20

Yeah and then I think you were supposed to go you guys were supposed to meet us at the next place and then you guys just didn't show up. Did you realize in like that time like oh maybe it's just time to go home.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:30

I think uh I think we had to go home for a babysitter but yes I think we didn't want to we didn't want to push the bar.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:38

Yeah. Did you feel okay the next day?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:40

Oh I was fine like we weren't like it's just day drinking is a beast. Yes it is and honestly like um we don't do it very often and it's but I feel like it's still a part of my life like when I for work and social like I take a customer out we have dinner and drinks or lunch and drinks or something like that. It just seems like it comes natural but I feel like it it's just as easy for me to order a drink as it would be to order a glass of water or a it's just changing that habit.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:11

And I think the if you do it less like you do then you notice more how much it affects you. You're like oh gosh like I feel it.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:20

Instead of it just being baseline.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:22

Let me say 40 years old it's like you're starting to feel it. Okay. So yeah it's uh I'm feeling it that's for sure. So it's uh I know that um I need to make we we make poor enough to so yeah yeah I have another one shot so uh May 1st do you have a goal though like like I'll just forever? Could be yeah I just like and honestly like um I do believe like there are some things in life like um that stuff was like I feel like wine and beer were um created for us I guess in a way but uh there I'd say like the wine is more biblical you know and so I feel like partaking in that and enjoying a glass of wine every once in a while is you know it's just the indulgence if I you know controlling the indulgence and I don't you know that's kind of the biggest thing I've I've seen alcohol tear a lot of people's lives apart and I'm like I just don't want to get near that edge you know and fall off and it's just like once again my kids are five and seven years old I want to be a part of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:42

So are you somebody that can have one or two and stick with that or are you like me where like that's just not it just doesn't work that way.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:53

Um I would say I've it seems like if you have one you gotta have more you know so that's where it's just a lot easier just to go zero and be our hero you know so it's kind of I feel like that'd be a lot easier for myself just to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:12

So yeah so how much time have you spent comparing yourself to the perfect version of yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:20

Perfect version of myself like I feel like that's a daily thing like you gotta be like what am I doing right now? Am I am I doing what I should be doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:09:31

Am I is it in a positive criticism way or like negative self-talk that you need to change?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:37

Um like I'm hard on myself you know it's like because I want to do everybody should want to do better right um there's definitely times in life where uh um you're like man I messed up there what what would I how how should how could I handled that differently be like you know did you go out did you drink did you drive did you you know there's poor decisions that you make even soberly but um yeah so my biggest goal is just to like back off from the alcohol side and because I really don't feel like it's a crutch but it's uh it started becoming too routine you know what I mean and it's just like oh everyone's doing it like whatever and like I don't I just don't want it to consume me and that's kind of so yeah. Yeah that makes sense but the perfect version of myself would be I'd be the perfect version of myself I'd be back being a fishing guide and taking people fishing and meeting people from all over and having those experiences once again in my life because that's where I feel like you know that's where I should be at you know that's what I want to do. That's what I how I started my whole career is with fishing and I feel like I'm gonna end it with fishing, you know so that's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:11

I'm so glad now we know your big life goal fish all the time.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:16

If I had a good if I was gonna make a bumper sticker it'd be fish yourself to death. So yeah like love it. Yeah there you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:23

Let's do it fish yourself to death that could be the name of your podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:26

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:28

But yeah I think it starts with making those decisions like not drinking but it's more about the like cognitive dissonance of it of like if I think alcohol is bad but I still drink what's all that space in there in between there you know like that's me not trusting myself that's me doing something that I don't like that I do. So that's what I'm working on really hard right now is like if I don't think texting and driving is good, then I better not text and drive or I'm lying to myself, I'm treating myself poorly I'm you know like all the bad things. So I just have to figure out everything that I believe and then make sure I do it. And I think those are the steps to get you to believe that you're worth um being a full-time fishing guide. Yeah. And the opportunities are just going to start laying out in front of you where all of a sudden like it's just there and you're like how did this even happen? All of a sudden I'm a fishing guide. I don't even remember making these decisions but I made all these small decisions that got me there.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:25

Right. And honestly everything like once again give credit to what's behind you so you know where you're going down the road you know so it's uh gratitude again gratitude yeah big time and uh like I've you can talk bad about your previous experiences all you want but you know what if I wouldn't have had that in my life that wouldn't have set me on this direction.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:47

So good bad so instead of like pity party for yourself or um victim victim mind state yeah right you're like this happened for a reason.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:58

It'd be so tough.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:59

I feel like everything happens for a reason there's no doubt about it. Um yeah I feel like there's a a lot of there's a lot of people out there that uh fall victim or to even when they're really not the victim they're the they just keep telling themselves that story over and over again.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:22

Yes and we all we all do. There's still a million stories I

How Friends Describe Sean

SPEAKER_01 1:13:25

have to change. Mm-hmm for sure yeah okay well now we're on to the segment where I reveal to you how people see you. Oh my goodness. So I had you give me names and numbers of people I could reach out to to describe you and adjectives and then I put all those into the main themes and so you ready?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:46

Wide open.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:48

Your first word is effervescent because two said charismatic two said creative charming popular friendly likable personable extrovert funny humorous and two said adventurous your second word is ironclad because two said loyal two said humble trustworthy leader dependable principled devout religious and cautious three is unstoppable because you're ambitious driven two said hardworking dedicated resilient efficient passionate impulsive and intense fourth is razor sharp because you're intuitive astute quick witted adept mischievous proficient professional and problem solver I don't know how many people are going to be described as astute before I really understand what that word means but basically razor sharp. Okay fifth is nurturing because you're protective doting caring giving selfless thoughtful accommodative and a helper and some one-liners that people said somebody said whatever he chooses to do he put one he puts 100% of himself into it sometimes I worry he stretches himself too thin but I believe he really lives life to the fullest and someone else said he enthusiastically forges forward despite the warnings from the adults in the room and the synopsis that I wrote is you pull people in fierce in your faith fearless in your living you were never meant to be still and the people around you have always known it you move fast and love deep and everything you've built proves that the two were never meant to be separate. So please remember you are not these words you are not your thoughts you are the space between the words the space between the thoughts you are the one who knows you have thoughts observe them reflect on them but no you are not them that's awesome so Sean you are pretty bold is there anything that does scare you dying alone alone but yeah well clearly that won't be the case you have all these people that love you.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:17

No and it's like um very uh like I guess you know the biggest fear like you know I don't ask you know I pray for anybody that's ever lost a child you know that is a huge fear of mine like I would 100% I don't like I I pray for anyone that's ever lost a child like that is probably the the deep probably the biggest scare that I'd ever had and you know I probably why I'm a slightly a overprotective dad but at the end of the day I want you to go get hurt and make oh learn from those lessons you know is like that kind of stuff but yeah and it's uh but I would I I don't know what I would do if I lost a kid you know that's that's the hardest thing but what would you do over and over again if it was all you could do for the rest of your life you know you want to feel it like let's say it at the same time three two one fish fish okay yeah yeah for sure so like obviously fishing um and it's not just about the fishing it's the people but yeah it's always been about the people it's the whole experience yep and that's uh been taking people fishing for the entirety of my life of my first guiding customer was my grandma you know and it was like so she had to drive me to the lake but I brought her fishing I we caught fish so yeah and it's uh yeah it was being able to take uh um just give credit where credit's due to other people try to be kind um when the like try to any how do I say this be kind to everyone at the end of the day be kind and no matter if if somebody wronged you um or you wronged them you need to go apologize and put it to bed because like distance and misunderstanding creates more hate in the world and I don't want anybody to hate and it's uh like hate's such a strong word but it's like you know there are families that have gotten torn apart because of you know money or something like that and I guarantee you there are people out there that wish they would have had an opportunity to talk to their other sibling or their mom or their dad and they they totally missed out on it because they let something materialistic come between them and I don't want that for anybody you know my thing is no revenge because every person that I've given love to that didn't deserve it needed it you know there's nobody the people that treat you the worst need love the most okay so when your grandkids are your age 40 what do you do right now that you hope they do what do I do right now that I hope to do I hope that I'm still able to take grandkids fishing but but uh I do have I know that raising kids so far has been challenging um but I feel like every parent feels the challenge of being a parent like yeah there's plenty of books out there on how to be a parent and how to train your kids and how to do this and like wow that wasn't in the book you know we have a lot of those experiences um but uh I feel like we need to start listening more to our natural what is what's God telling us to do for our kids like he wants us to go play with our kids and not be on our phones he wants us to go um have an experience like with our family and make a memory because guess what that's that's really that's what I want I just want people to live and go out and make these memories that otherwise if we live in the box if we look at the screen like we're losing out on intellectual time with others and you know in this day and age like I'm found as I'm finding out that I'm a really weird person in today's day and age with our younger culture that's like anything from that 18 to

Presence Conversation And Closing Wisdom

SPEAKER_00 1:21:06

25 year old range like and I open up a conversation with them and they're like you know what the heck it's like what do I what did I say wrong you know it's just a they're like step back that a another person's carrying on a human conversation with them and it's like wow no Veda doesn't do that beta can have real conversations but no I know what you're saying yeah yeah so being able to um like I just want so that's where I've tried to make anybody that I sit down with or talk with whether it's a customer or a stranger at the store or the clerk or whatever like I try to break up their day just a little bit just to be like a little bit different just so that way you can bring a human element to it.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:55

You're breaking them out on the matrix.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:57

Yes exactly yes 100% like you know I I went through the drive through and um they are they're people get very robotic you know because they're taking orders and they're taking money and like they're just they they get in their drive and then they're like is there anything else I can do for you and I'm like smile that's it and they're like uh they either lock up or they're like you know girls don't like it when you tell them to smile though right I know okay okay I'm not just smile okay that's fine I'm not I'm not yeah but maybe instead of like have a good day I I love where you're going with that I just know as women like when we're told like oh you're you're prettier when you smile or you should smile it's just like I was going through the drive through line I was just like no I know no I love this idea though like what can we I just like I just want to not say the same like oh how are you I'm just like trying to think of different ways to say to greet people even or to say goodbye because like let's just not be so surface level.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:00

Let's like get to it.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:02

So like anytime I go to a gas station like everybody's like uh they're like how are you doing today and I'm like I'm so happy I gotta sit on my hands to keep them from clapping. You know they're like wow I did not see that answer coming or I'm finer than frogs hair I'm yeah like yeah whatever like you can just like say little things like that. It's uh um and that's probably what people will remember me after I hopefully they remember me.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:33

Yeah they'll probably go tell their coworker like this guy said this today and then that's like making them smile and laugh and that's really important like leave an imprint and your dad left such an imprint on you and all these influences I I love the whole theme of your life it's I've always said that like I would look at an older person or in and those older people are the true influencers in this world not not just social media you know the older generation were the true influencers like I'm not trying to dog no sorry but that could be your podcast is like the true influencers you can like interview all these old people starting with Butch and Kent and hey I'm not calling them old because they're young at heart right so seriously yeah I did my bad don't get mad at me guys no no no yeah um butch Obert gave me probably the best um advice for the key to happiness in life and I'm like he goes you know what the key to happiness in life is I'm like no like you tell me he goes you gotta go find yourself a fiberglass boat okay and you gotta go find a good used school teacher and that's uh so I got both yeah right now that's the Butch Obert saying is your wife uh school teacher teacher yeah so and he had told you that before you met her yep 100% wow yep so you look I've known Butch for years and that's what he said he goes the key to happiness in life is a fiberglass boat and a good used school teacher it's the funniest thing I've ever heard and it does make sense. Okay all right so when your grandkids are your age what do you do right now that you hope that they don't do like what do you think they don't do oh gosh I hope they don't become consumed by society that's is that something you do right now though uh like you at times I feel I feel like you get like you get into the realm of you know this is what I have to do this is my hit list this is what I gotta do in like society like we all get trapped in it when society's like this river right so society like it's going one direction and then like because this is what everyone else is doing this is what I gotta do this is what everyone says this is the flow this is society okay but it's okay to swim the opposite direction and make your own path and get to your next stream and like yeah so I really sometimes is it an easy path no is it a different path yeah but like I would much rather uh I'd much rather see somebody uh go try something that um they didn't realize that they could do and succeed and like either win or lose with it.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:43

You know what I mean? I just I I want but you have to experience it. I went to college to experience it all right and that's what started my this whole journey on all of the paths that I took just uh like I was just trying to find happiness you know so not settling don't settle yeah like you know proof I'm a good sales guy you should meet my wife you know so like don't sell she settled I know she did but yeah but uh yeah we would uh I would definitely definitely say like if you I don't know like if the there were there was between the river and then the Cody Johnson song um um gosh what was the the Cody John uh take it take if you get a chance take it you know that song you guys have heard it that would that would have been my second choice but um it's like the only person that's keeping you from going down the path that you want is you um like it's like you might have other demons in your head or in your life that are telling you no you can't do that There's no way that you're going to be able to succeed with this. There's no way that you could be a fishing guide. I had peep plenty of people tell me, they're like, yeah, you're you're not going to be a fishing guide. You can't make it. You can't. And honestly, it's like, I love proving people wrong. And it's like, it is a if you get to be in a fishing guide, it's you're making a um choice of a lifestyle and not of per se uh um getting into it for the money. If you're getting into it for to be a if you're getting to be a fishing guide for the money, you're in it for the wrong reason. Because it is really you're paying for a lifestyle that you want to live and the adventure, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:45

We shouldn't listen to anybody who hasn't been where we want to go. So when they're saying you can't do this, like, okay, like you haven't tried. And the voice in our head that tells us we can't, like, that's not God. God would literally never tell us that we can't do something and that we're not worthy. So I'm pretty sure He's the only voice we should be listening to.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:06

Yeah. Everyone might think that there's this big booming voice. We're gonna hear God, you know, and it's that's not it. It's he's he's the one that's the thought in your head that's like, man, I really shouldn't do this, or man, I really want to go chase after this, you know, and listen, listen to the listen to that voice.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:29

Yeah, you need stillness, you need nature to be able to understand and decipher which is him and which isn't.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:37

Yep. Like I feel like God wants us to be happy. Like, and he gives us, I feel like there's a lot of people with a lot of stuff that thinks that that's gonna make them happy, material stuff. At the end of the day, the richest people in the world like would say, like, man, I just wish I had my wife back. The things that matter the most poor family.

Goodbye And Final Toast

SPEAKER_00 1:30:09

That's it. Yeah, people that are on their deathbed, you know. It's like, man, I just want a few more days. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:17

So speaking of time, 22 years since we graduated. Cheers to that.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:23

Right. Cheers.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:24

Thanks so much for coming on. This was the best catch up ever.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:28

That's uh yeah, that was it was a lot of fun. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:32

So yeah, for sure. Thanks, Sean.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:35

You bet.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:35

Bye.