October 13, 2025 • 31 mins
Right Thinking with Steve Coplon.
This week's show is called "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Tune in and hear Steve share valuable insights into one of the strongest core parts of his character and personality – Perseverance. Believing in yourself and knowing that you have reasons to not give up, will motivate you toward success. Stay tuned in till the end of this powerful show and learn what motivates Steve.
In this episode of Right Thinking, I delve into perseverance through personal stories, particularly my journey battling COPD and the lessons learned from cardio rehabilitation. Titled "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," I highlight the importance of steady progress and community support in overcoming challenges.
Drawing parallels between rowing and life, I discuss resilience and the significance of acceptance in the face of setbacks. Using quotes from influential figures, I encourage listeners to reflect on their own journeys and find motivation in family and community. The episode emphasizes that persistent effort and a positive mindset are essential for navigating life's obstacles.
https://www.talknetworkradio.com/hosts/right-thinking
This week's show is called "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Tune in and hear Steve share valuable insights into one of the strongest core parts of his character and personality – Perseverance. Believing in yourself and knowing that you have reasons to not give up, will motivate you toward success. Stay tuned in till the end of this powerful show and learn what motivates Steve.
In this episode of Right Thinking, I delve into perseverance through personal stories, particularly my journey battling COPD and the lessons learned from cardio rehabilitation. Titled "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," I highlight the importance of steady progress and community support in overcoming challenges.
Drawing parallels between rowing and life, I discuss resilience and the significance of acceptance in the face of setbacks. Using quotes from influential figures, I encourage listeners to reflect on their own journeys and find motivation in family and community. The episode emphasizes that persistent effort and a positive mindset are essential for navigating life's obstacles.
https://www.talknetworkradio.com/hosts/right-thinking
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
There must be lies burning brighter somewhere.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Got to be birds. Why I am high in the sky,
poor of blue.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Good morning, welcome to Right Thinking with Steve Copeland. I'm
your host, Steve Copeland, and thank you for tuning in.
Let's have a great day.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Good morning, everybody, glad to be with you. Well.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Today's episode number four and fifty two, Right Thinking with
Steve Copeland is very pleased to announce that this week's
show is called Row Row, Row your book. Tune in
and here Steve share valuable insights into one of the
strongest core parts of his character and personality. Perseverance. Believing
in yourself and knowing that you have reasons to not
(01:04):
give up will motivate you towards success. Stay tuned in
till the end of this powerful show and learn what
motivates Steve. A couple of months ago, I was at
my pulmonary doctor, doctor Silva's office, and the PA there, Sharpmayne.
(01:24):
She was giving me a pulmonary function test where you
blow into this machine and they give you all these
different readings of your capacity and your lungs.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
And over the years, my.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Breathing has steadily declined, but it's still in a in
a not a too bad place with the cancer that
I carry. I developed COPD twenty some years ago and
got to stage four COPD.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Well I was always able to test above the charts.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You know, you think that you take a test and
you get one hundred percent, Well, some of the some
of the readings that they get when they give me
the breath test, I was one hundred and two one
hundred and four percent. I'd say, how can you be
higher than the one hundred percent and they said, well,
you've gone beyond what you know we like to measure.
Is this top that gives you great, great health. So
that's where I came from, uh, you know, in my past.
(02:24):
But I took this breathing test a couple two months
ago and my results were not bad for what I've
been going through. They were better than they were months
ago when I was on a lot of a lot
of antibiotics that that makes sure you your breathing.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It impacts my breathing.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
But I asked Armaine, you know, is there any rehab
or therapy I can do for my lungs right now?
And she said, yeah, you know a Centaura Heart center.
They've got a cardio exercise rehab class that you would
probably get a lot out of it. But remember that
(03:01):
most of the people are there. You know, they're they're
coming out of surgery, they've already got emphysema or or
or they might have had a stroke or something, and
you know that they're there. Breathing levels are are very
you know a lot of more in oxtion, they're breathing
levels are are very low for a lot of people.
Why they go there, But Trumaine said it probably would
(03:23):
would would like it, So I said, let's do it.
So I've been there for about eight sessions. Now I
go twice a week for an hour, and I absolutely
love it. What I love about it is that the
attitude there of everybody there from from the staff, the nurses,
the the the physiologists, uh, the all the people there
(03:48):
and all of us that are the that are the patients.
The attitude is just so incredibly positive and encouraging for
each one of us. But what I really enjoy is
that when I'm on all these machines, I do a treadmill,
I do a stair climber, a tight machine, I do,
I do just elliptical, different things like that. They have
(04:11):
you monitored with they can monitor your heart and they've
got they've got one person that's just bind a desk
and it's got there's usually up to eight or nine
of us in there at the same time, and we
all have a heart monitor, and a person just sits
there and watches all of US's apart, so that nobody
in there would would go too far and perhaps have
(04:31):
a heart attack or something. And and while you're exercising,
they're they're they're taking your blood pressure and your heart rate.
And I just love being monitored like that. But the
secret for me is that I don't mind building up
and going slow. It's the it's the constant doing something
that's good for you at a pace that you don't
(04:53):
burn out on it or want to stop because it's
either too hard or too strenuous, but to do it
gradually and just increase over time. I've always told my
karate students and people that are asking me about how
you get in shape. You know you got to walk
before you run. Well, you actually have to crawl before
you walk, and walk before you run, and run before
(05:14):
you fly. You don't want to be out of shape
and go try to run a mile the first day,
because you used to run a mile at a time
twelve years ago, when you used to be in good shape.
Just take everything slow and be patient with yourself. But
as I go to the cardio exercise where you have,
it's gotten me more discipline. It's a schedule that I
(05:36):
keep that nothing will interrupt me. And so by doing that,
I've been gradually improving and my fitness level. And my
goals there were to put on weight and gain back
some muscle tone because the chemo that I'm on is
just destroyed my strength and my legs in particular.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
But so that's why I went there.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
But once I started going there, I've done more of
the same exercises that they give me on my own
at the Grammy Street YMCA, and you know, I've always
done my swimming instruction and so forth. But it's doing
really good for me. And once again, the staff there,
their goal is to have each one of us really
get into a better level of fitness and health. And
(06:21):
I can't thank all of them there enough for what
what a beautiful thing they're doing for me and all
all of all my buddies that I've made there that're
they're getting in shape now it's it's just a great atmosphere. Well,
I don't know how far I'm gonna regain what I
used to be like with any of my fitness levels,
but I know one thing, I will never stop trying
(06:45):
to find out because that's that's my discipline and that's
my that's my attitude. I know I'm in a decline,
but I'm going to just keep on trying and I
know it won't be the same as before. So one
of the machines that I use there is a rowing machine,
and that's just been wonderful for me, and it brings
(07:06):
back memories, just wonderful memories of when I was a teenager,
fifteen sixteen years old working at Harrison's Pier down at
Ocean View, and I was I was a beach before there.
They called us and so we we we're out on
the beach and we cleaned boats and it was a
fishing pier, but it also had boat rentals and the
(07:29):
clean boats while I was there, and it was it
was pretty hard work and it developed a lot of
lot of strength. And the good thing there was was
that I got out on that water all the time,
and I got it.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I had a title called the towboat Captain.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
And what that meant was is that we had this
We had all these rowboats, some were sixteen feet and
some were eighteen feet, and we had one of the
sixteen foot rowboats, and we put a motor on the back,
not a real powerful motor, but a motor. And what
what I would do was I would tow other boats
that didn't have motors out into the fishing ground and
(08:08):
the fishing pier would open up. There'd be lines that
from four o'clock in the morning or the boat house
is really you know what this was. There was a
boat house at the fishing Paer area on the beach
there and people would line up and we'd have as
many as one hundred, one hundred and twenty five one
hundred and fifty people with their fishing gear that didn't
have a boat, and they would rent a boat for
(08:29):
either a sixteen foot boat or an eighteen boat. And
I think they could rent a boat for three dollars
for the day for a sixteen footer, and I think
it might have been four fifty for an eighteen footery.
Either one it was in that category. And so they
would there would be assigned a boat, and there'd be
somebody out on the beach that would help them find
their boat number that they were going to be using
(08:50):
and put their gear in it. And then I would
be out in the water waiting, and as they would
get in the water, I would take the anchor off
of their boat, hook it behind the back seat of
the boat that I'm on, and then I could tow
up the six boats at a time daisy chain. Just
each one would hook on to the next one in
(09:11):
the next one, and then we would putter on out
to the fishing grounds, take fifteen to twenty minutes or longer,
sometimes maybe a half hour, and the one all the
way in the back, he would be dropped off first.
Just throw your anchor down, and so the people in
the fifth boat if there were six, would toss the
anchor of the last boat. So we would keep just
dropping off anchors and they'd be out there spreading the
(09:33):
fishing grounds. They couldn't be too close to each other.
And then I would go back to the beach and
I would look through this high powered up binoculars to
see if they wanted anything, and they could put an
ore in the gunnals that would be sticking up, and
that would be my signal to they need something. They
either need to come in or they want some more bait,
(09:55):
or they want some sandwiches, or they need some more
eyes or more hooks or whatever. And so I would
I would load up my boot and I would go
out there and sell to them and service them out
on the water to make sure they were taken care
of well. A lot of times though, I had some
free time while I was down there, and I would
go rowing, and I would rote miles in a row boot,
(10:18):
and there was just a wonderful opportunity for me to
be out on the water in row. And when I'm
on the rowing machine at the Centaur cardio class, when
I'm rowing, I just get so relaxed. I never lose
my breath. They have they have a scale that they
(10:39):
ask you when they're monitoring you. Zero was no effort
at all. There's no difficulty breathing, Shortness of breath, I
guess is what they're asking all the way up to,
you know, to attend. And when I'm on that rowing machine,
I just get into a meditative state of mind. I'm
just enjoying it because I'm just feeling that I'm out
there on the Chesapeake Bay, rowing out there, and I
(11:04):
could roll all day long, literally, because here's the reason.
If the winds come up and the storms come or
northeasterly is on its way or whatever, and you're out
there rowing and you've got half a mile maybe or
a mile to row back into shore, if you stop rowing,
(11:24):
well you might not ever get the shore. And so
I just love that thought, is that, no matter how
hard it is, you've got to get into a rhythm.
You've got to just get into where you're not going
to stop. And it's the same thing when I would
be picking up the people that had towed out there
to fish, not only want to come in sometimes because
(11:45):
they know they that's how they feed their families. I mean,
they weren't fishing like sport fishing. They were out there
to fill up their coolers with fish and feed their families.
And sometimes I'd be sent out there to bring them
in because a north easterly was coming and they a
lot of them didn't want to come in. I don't
want to go in now, And I said, I gotta
take you in. Come on, let's go. Would you get
(12:07):
me last? All right, I'll get you last. So but
I remember several times when I'd have six boats daisy
chain behind me, and it would take as much as
an hour and a half to two hours in a
storm to get in, and I would have to I
would have to angle toward the shore, maybe a quarter
of a mile or so because the winds were so
(12:29):
rough that when I would come in there and do
my drop off, who'd have to come in and make
kind of like a little circle so that the boats
would sort of follow me closer to the shore if
if I was too if I was too close to
the to the pier, the boats would could could hit
the pier. It could be very dangerous, and sometimes there
were big swells and waves and things. And so I learned,
(12:52):
I learned tremendous lessons in my life of perseverance way
back when you just got to keep right on going.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
You can't stop.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And the easiest way that I can explain this is
what I've already said. If you stop because you're too
tired or it's too hard, if you stop rowing or
or bringing them in with that towboat that I had,
you might not ever get to shore safely. And so
I just think that's the the I think that's the
(13:22):
I'll say. I'll say that the most interesting thing that
I can think of as an analogy for how we
persevere through life. And you know that's that's a that's
exactly what this shows about today. It's you know, perseverance.
By definition, perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty
(13:44):
or delay. In achieving success, you have to engage in
being steadfast and what you're committed to doing that you
know you've got you've got a purpose, just keep moving
toward that purpose. You got to have a tenacity. I
just remember that one of my employers way back when
(14:04):
they called me a pitbull because I had tenacity, And yeah,
you know that's just basically tenacity is just it's the
refusal to not give up. You got to just hold
on to your goals no matter how tough it gets. Persistence,
just keep right on try and just do whatever you
got to do repeatedly without interruption. Resilience that's the ability
(14:28):
to bounce back from setbacks, learn from your mistakes and
keep going. And determination it's the strong will and you're
resolved to overcome challenges and to achieve a goal. It's
a choice that you make to continue to continue putting
in all that effort even though it's hard.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
You have to be committed to the very end.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
And so I just love the fact that perseverance is
something that I've been just blessed with through my life,
through all the hard times and all the difficulties and
all the setbacks. That's just one thing that I that
I'm just blessed with is perseverance to never give up.
(15:15):
And I just really believe that it's shaped my personality,
it's my character, and I just would hope that everybody
listening today is going to start to be even better
at your own perseverance through your hardships in life. And
the good news about perseverances is that it can be learned.
(15:39):
Some people have it, you know, innate in their blood.
It could be a family bloodline that you've got that
it just gives you that trait of never giving up,
never quit working hard. But it's one of the most
wonderful character strengths that a person can have. And you're
going to find it and all real leaders that it's
in there, so just you can develop it. You can
(16:00):
develop perseverance now by run that rolling machine and coming
back with perseverance. I I'm just feeling better every day,
and I want to I want to tell you that.
In my in my nonprofit foundation Right Thinking, I have
(16:21):
in my teaching materials a page that I pass out
that pretty much explains a lot of it. But I
have four quotes that they're called perseverance quotes, and they're
they're a key part of my curriculum. The first one
is from Winston Churchill. If you are going through hell,
keep going. Second verse, most people I've never heard before,
(16:43):
is and you'll get through hell so fast the devil
won't even know you've been there. One of my all
time favorite quotes by Winston Churchill. Now, Maya Angelou, she's
got a quote here that really gets deeper, deeper into
how hard it's been for you. Maye here's her quote.
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.
(17:06):
In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats
so you can know who you are, what you can
rise from, how you can still come out of it. Well,
if you haven't ever read any of Maya Angelo's works
other than just for Palms her books, She's got a
six part autoby by, a biographical series, and I think
(17:27):
The very first one in there is titled Why the
Cage Bird Sings. The lyrics to Why the Cage Bird
Sings are just so incredible. You should look that up.
I use that at my curriculum. Also Mahama Gandhi, he's
got a little suggestion here, and this one, this one
isn't necessarily just on perseverance, but I use it. In perseverance,
(17:52):
the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself
in servers to others. I wanted to slip that in
because I do a lot of I do a lot
of speaking about thinking about others and not just being selfish,
and and it's a good place to put it in
with these quotes I've got And the last one is
from a person named Steve Copeland. Oh that's me, and
that is my potential is higher than my needs. And
(18:15):
so as we as we get into understanding what perseverance
is all about, it's it's something where you can get
more out of yourself. You can tap deeper into yourself
to do more. When I when I give out those
perseverance quotes and prisoner in my in my workbooks, I
talk if you want someone to believe in you and
(18:35):
give you that opportunity by hiring you for that job,
approve you for that credit request, cosign a consolidation one
with you. The single most important thing that you must
do is have them know that you believe in yourself.
You must know within yourself that you're going to make
it through whatever life throws at you, that you won't quit,
(18:57):
that you won't give up right there. Thinking provides tools
that help you get on top of the things that
you have control over, so that when those sudden, unexpected
things come at you that you have no control over,
you won't let something that is no more than a
temporary setback turn into a complete failure that you can't overcome.
(19:18):
By learning to look into the future and see things
that are getting ready to happen before they happen, you
can be better prepared for those things that come out
of nowhere and knock you off your feet. You can
face those situations with less distractions, be better focused to
deal with them. The more time you have to think
about it and plan for it, the better your chances
(19:39):
are in being able to work it out. My health
crisis the last couple of years, it seems like every
time I get through one of my one of my setbacks,
and I can smile and feel better like I'm getting
close to being normal. Another side effect kicks in. But
you know what, acceptance is one of the greatest things
(19:59):
we have to know that, and this two show pass
you just get the best you can. And as I
end the show, I'll give you a couple more thoughts
on that. But what I really really want to get
into now is the title of today's show, Row Row
Row your Boot. Well, as I'm doing much rowboat rowing machine,
(20:23):
I've just been putting all this thought into row row
row your boot and row Row Row your Boat is
an incredibly well known children's nursery rhyme song and it.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Goes us all the way back to eighteen fifty two,
the very first version.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Uh there's a version in eighteen eighty one which is
pretty much the version that we know. And they give
a gentleman name a Left Pilate or like he was
the first one that ever had it published in the
Franklin Square Song Collection, but it wasn't known whether he
composed it or just adapt it from someone else. We
don't really know, but row Row your Boot has so
(21:06):
many deeper metaphorical meanings you know it's it's just such
a beautiful nursery run. I won't give you the whole
tune because I just don't have the voice for it.
But it's if there's anybody listening that doesn't know it,
you better call me because I want to help you out.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
You need to know ro road your boot.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Go to my website right think dot orgon and say,
seeve guys listened to you, but I never learned it. Well,
row row row your boot, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Life is but a dream.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
You can just daydream on some just gentle waters there.
But row row row your boats. Like I was telling you,
it's an action that you just keep on doing, keep
on doing, keep on doing, otherwise you won't get to
the shore. And it's and it's a metaphor for life's journey.
And gently down the stream is such a beautiful, beautiful lyric.
(22:00):
They're beautiful set of words because gently down the stream
it brings you calmness and a gentle attitude. It's it's
not something forceful, it's something that can relax you and
bring you some peace. And it's the stream. The stream
represents the natural flow of life and all the circumstances
(22:21):
that along the way you're going to encounter and merely merrily, merrily, merrily,
this is just it's it's a happiness to it. It's
it's a positive outlook even when life difficult or hard
for us, and life is but a dream, you know,
there's there's nothing really permanent in life. One thing is
(22:42):
is that the Lord's never going to leave you. I'll
tell you that once you know the Lord. But that's
that's permanent. But it suggests that we should enjoy it
even though we're having a temporary time here in this life.
It's it's basically, let's get to understand what our truth
and what we can do to open up our full potential.
(23:06):
It's evolved to many many different people's interpretations that it's
basically reaching your goals and with consistent effort it works
in personal developer teamwork. As I was doing my research
for the show, I came across a very interesting story.
(23:26):
There's a football coach and he's an outstanding football coach,
retired football player himself, had a great career. His name
is PJ. Fleck, and he was at Minnesota and he
lost a child named Colt in twenty eleven while he
was coached, and it was an infant death. The child
(23:49):
died shortly after birth from a heart condition, and he
adopted the words row the boot and he used them
with the football team. It was a never give up
attitude for perseverance and a unity and it was just sad.
But it's a philosophy of hope, energy, purpose and service
(24:12):
and giving back to the community. Well, I just I
just think that coach Fleck there, you know, he really
went went deep and went through a lot when he
lost his son and all of us, all of his players,
they embraced it and that became the mantra for that
football team and he broke it down into the ore
(24:35):
in the road boat, it's the energy that you bring
your relationships and your work. The boat itself symbolizes sacrifices
you were willing to make to reach your goals. There's
a compass, but I didn't find that in the lyrics.
But it represents the direction of your life set by
your leader and the people you surround yourself with. It's
(24:56):
a way of life and it just encourages the service
to others into community to row your boot. And I
just adversity, whether it's personal, athletic or communal, it represents
not giving up and pushing through, and it basically has
(25:18):
points us to sort of deeper purpose and a sense
of hope, and it brings us inspiration. So i'd like
to I'd like to just continue with row over your
boat here, and I have a special treat for you.
About three weeks ago, my youngest grandson, Max, he was
six in July. He spent the night over. And Max
(25:41):
is real playful and he's just something else. I'm telling you.
Max is just adorable.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And so I was.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Putting him in bed and we were reading, and then
we were going to sing some songs and I was
trying to think of a song that Max would know,
and I sang Row Row Row your boot. That's really
what got me in this row boat kick. And it
was just before I started with the centaura cardiac exercise rehab.
(26:11):
But I sang it to him and then he as
soon as I stopped, he's sang it. And the version
that you're getting ready to listen to is Max version,
and it's going to answer a lot of questions for
you here about about my life. So let me get
you onto Max's version here.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Whoa wow wow y, Both jump me down us tree.
If you see a clock, die, don't fuck it to Sclean.
Whoa whoa wow Yo? Both gently down U s stree. If
you see a quota, die, don't fluck it to Sclean.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
I asked Max when he finished singing it. He did
it a couple of times, and he was glad to
let he recorded. And so I said, well, Max, where
have you heard that before? And he said nowhere? And
I said, you just started singing that just now and
he said yeah. And so he was so proud of himself.
(27:15):
And I've gotten him to singing in a couple different places.
And normally Max is a little bit reserved and doesn't
like doing things like singing other people. But he's been
really good about that song that might be his big
hit in life. Well, it answers the question that I
said in today's announcement, and it was tune in till
(27:35):
the end of this powerful show and learn what motivates Steve.
What motivates me is Max and Stella and Willie and
Noah and Emma. I love Eva, and I love Colen
and my brothers and my sisters and their parents or people.
(27:57):
I know how much I'm loved, and I know how
much I want to be there for all those that
love me, and I do want to watch my grandkids
grow up, enjoy the successes of my children, grow old
with my wife, do for others as much as I
can spread the love of Jesus.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Yeah, that's me and it's my life.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Is such a blessing to have the opportunity to do
what I do, and so I just want to I
just want to encourage each one of you to.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Just keep persevering through this life.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Just don't give up, no matter what you've done wrong,
no matter how hard it is. There's answers and solutions
that a wait you. But what I want to tell you,
and I've been trying to do this and every one
of my episodes, I think since the very beginning, because
this is who I am. I just want to encourage
you to know that there's a lot of things in
(28:55):
this life that are bigger than we are, and that
I've been through myself with my cancer almost twenty five
years ago. For about the first year I'm telling you,
I was just I was just struggling. I just was
having a hard time accepting this diagnosis, but I found
Proverbs three five six. Trust in the Lord with all
(29:19):
your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding
in all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will make
your path straight. I encourage you to know that the
Lord is there for you. And there's just so much
in this life that we have to go through that
we don't understand. It's just so much bigger than we are.
(29:42):
But the Lord is there for you, and we have
to put our complete faith, trust and confidence in our God,
not being conditional. Don't lean on your own self to
try to figure out things that are that are just
far beyond us. There's many things like that we need
to acknowledge God. We need to pray to Him for
(30:07):
decisions and ask for the Holy Spirit to help guide
us big things, small things. Everything. We need to be
obedient and he will make your path straight. Once we
do all that, the Lords is going to guide us
through this life that we've been given. And I'm here
to tell you it's true. It's what's gotten me through here,
(30:32):
and without the grace of God, I wouldn't be here
talking to you right now. I just want to thank
you again for tuning in today. I hope you get
something out of it. Reach out to me if you
want to, and just send an email. I'll get back
with you and then we'll end up talking to each
other because it's easier to talk to someone that's searching.
(30:52):
I'm searching, you're searching, so let's talk. Well, have a
great week. I'll look forward to next week and God
bless you.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Thanks for listening to Right Thinking with Steve Copeland. I'll
look forward to being with you again next week and
remember it, don't quit.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Plan ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
It will get better. God bless you, and have a
great week.
There must be lies burning brighter somewhere.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Got to be birds. Why I am high in the sky,
poor of blue.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Good morning, welcome to Right Thinking with Steve Copeland. I'm
your host, Steve Copeland, and thank you for tuning in.
Let's have a great day.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Good morning, everybody, glad to be with you. Well.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Today's episode number four and fifty two, Right Thinking with
Steve Copeland is very pleased to announce that this week's
show is called Row Row, Row your book. Tune in
and here Steve share valuable insights into one of the
strongest core parts of his character and personality. Perseverance. Believing
in yourself and knowing that you have reasons to not
(01:04):
give up will motivate you towards success. Stay tuned in
till the end of this powerful show and learn what
motivates Steve. A couple of months ago, I was at
my pulmonary doctor, doctor Silva's office, and the PA there, Sharpmayne.
(01:24):
She was giving me a pulmonary function test where you
blow into this machine and they give you all these
different readings of your capacity and your lungs.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
And over the years, my.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Breathing has steadily declined, but it's still in a in
a not a too bad place with the cancer that
I carry. I developed COPD twenty some years ago and
got to stage four COPD.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Well I was always able to test above the charts.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You know, you think that you take a test and
you get one hundred percent, Well, some of the some
of the readings that they get when they give me
the breath test, I was one hundred and two one
hundred and four percent. I'd say, how can you be
higher than the one hundred percent and they said, well,
you've gone beyond what you know we like to measure.
Is this top that gives you great, great health. So
that's where I came from, uh, you know, in my past.
(02:24):
But I took this breathing test a couple two months
ago and my results were not bad for what I've
been going through. They were better than they were months
ago when I was on a lot of a lot
of antibiotics that that makes sure you your breathing.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It impacts my breathing.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
But I asked Armaine, you know, is there any rehab
or therapy I can do for my lungs right now?
And she said, yeah, you know a Centaura Heart center.
They've got a cardio exercise rehab class that you would
probably get a lot out of it. But remember that
(03:01):
most of the people are there. You know, they're they're
coming out of surgery, they've already got emphysema or or
or they might have had a stroke or something, and
you know that they're there. Breathing levels are are very
you know a lot of more in oxtion, they're breathing
levels are are very low for a lot of people.
Why they go there, But Trumaine said it probably would
(03:23):
would would like it, So I said, let's do it.
So I've been there for about eight sessions. Now I
go twice a week for an hour, and I absolutely
love it. What I love about it is that the
attitude there of everybody there from from the staff, the nurses,
the the the physiologists, uh, the all the people there
(03:48):
and all of us that are the that are the patients.
The attitude is just so incredibly positive and encouraging for
each one of us. But what I really enjoy is
that when I'm on all these machines, I do a treadmill,
I do a stair climber, a tight machine, I do,
I do just elliptical, different things like that. They have
(04:11):
you monitored with they can monitor your heart and they've
got they've got one person that's just bind a desk
and it's got there's usually up to eight or nine
of us in there at the same time, and we
all have a heart monitor, and a person just sits
there and watches all of US's apart, so that nobody
in there would would go too far and perhaps have
(04:31):
a heart attack or something. And and while you're exercising,
they're they're they're taking your blood pressure and your heart rate.
And I just love being monitored like that. But the
secret for me is that I don't mind building up
and going slow. It's the it's the constant doing something
that's good for you at a pace that you don't
(04:53):
burn out on it or want to stop because it's
either too hard or too strenuous, but to do it
gradually and just increase over time. I've always told my
karate students and people that are asking me about how
you get in shape. You know you got to walk
before you run. Well, you actually have to crawl before
you walk, and walk before you run, and run before
(05:14):
you fly. You don't want to be out of shape
and go try to run a mile the first day,
because you used to run a mile at a time
twelve years ago, when you used to be in good shape.
Just take everything slow and be patient with yourself. But
as I go to the cardio exercise where you have,
it's gotten me more discipline. It's a schedule that I
(05:36):
keep that nothing will interrupt me. And so by doing that,
I've been gradually improving and my fitness level. And my
goals there were to put on weight and gain back
some muscle tone because the chemo that I'm on is
just destroyed my strength and my legs in particular.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
But so that's why I went there.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
But once I started going there, I've done more of
the same exercises that they give me on my own
at the Grammy Street YMCA, and you know, I've always
done my swimming instruction and so forth. But it's doing
really good for me. And once again, the staff there,
their goal is to have each one of us really
get into a better level of fitness and health. And
(06:21):
I can't thank all of them there enough for what
what a beautiful thing they're doing for me and all
all of all my buddies that I've made there that're
they're getting in shape now it's it's just a great atmosphere. Well,
I don't know how far I'm gonna regain what I
used to be like with any of my fitness levels,
but I know one thing, I will never stop trying
(06:45):
to find out because that's that's my discipline and that's
my that's my attitude. I know I'm in a decline,
but I'm going to just keep on trying and I
know it won't be the same as before. So one
of the machines that I use there is a rowing machine,
and that's just been wonderful for me, and it brings
(07:06):
back memories, just wonderful memories of when I was a teenager,
fifteen sixteen years old working at Harrison's Pier down at
Ocean View, and I was I was a beach before there.
They called us and so we we we're out on
the beach and we cleaned boats and it was a
fishing pier, but it also had boat rentals and the
(07:29):
clean boats while I was there, and it was it
was pretty hard work and it developed a lot of
lot of strength. And the good thing there was was
that I got out on that water all the time,
and I got it.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I had a title called the towboat Captain.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
And what that meant was is that we had this
We had all these rowboats, some were sixteen feet and
some were eighteen feet, and we had one of the
sixteen foot rowboats, and we put a motor on the back,
not a real powerful motor, but a motor. And what
what I would do was I would tow other boats
that didn't have motors out into the fishing ground and
(08:08):
the fishing pier would open up. There'd be lines that
from four o'clock in the morning or the boat house
is really you know what this was. There was a
boat house at the fishing Paer area on the beach
there and people would line up and we'd have as
many as one hundred, one hundred and twenty five one
hundred and fifty people with their fishing gear that didn't
have a boat, and they would rent a boat for
(08:29):
either a sixteen foot boat or an eighteen boat. And
I think they could rent a boat for three dollars
for the day for a sixteen footer, and I think
it might have been four fifty for an eighteen footery.
Either one it was in that category. And so they
would there would be assigned a boat, and there'd be
somebody out on the beach that would help them find
their boat number that they were going to be using
(08:50):
and put their gear in it. And then I would
be out in the water waiting, and as they would
get in the water, I would take the anchor off
of their boat, hook it behind the back seat of
the boat that I'm on, and then I could tow
up the six boats at a time daisy chain. Just
each one would hook on to the next one in
(09:11):
the next one, and then we would putter on out
to the fishing grounds, take fifteen to twenty minutes or longer,
sometimes maybe a half hour, and the one all the
way in the back, he would be dropped off first.
Just throw your anchor down, and so the people in
the fifth boat if there were six, would toss the
anchor of the last boat. So we would keep just
dropping off anchors and they'd be out there spreading the
(09:33):
fishing grounds. They couldn't be too close to each other.
And then I would go back to the beach and
I would look through this high powered up binoculars to
see if they wanted anything, and they could put an
ore in the gunnals that would be sticking up, and
that would be my signal to they need something. They
either need to come in or they want some more bait,
(09:55):
or they want some sandwiches, or they need some more
eyes or more hooks or whatever. And so I would
I would load up my boot and I would go
out there and sell to them and service them out
on the water to make sure they were taken care
of well. A lot of times though, I had some
free time while I was down there, and I would
go rowing, and I would rote miles in a row boot,
(10:18):
and there was just a wonderful opportunity for me to
be out on the water in row. And when I'm
on the rowing machine at the Centaur cardio class, when
I'm rowing, I just get so relaxed. I never lose
my breath. They have they have a scale that they
(10:39):
ask you when they're monitoring you. Zero was no effort
at all. There's no difficulty breathing, Shortness of breath, I
guess is what they're asking all the way up to,
you know, to attend. And when I'm on that rowing machine,
I just get into a meditative state of mind. I'm
just enjoying it because I'm just feeling that I'm out
there on the Chesapeake Bay, rowing out there, and I
(11:04):
could roll all day long, literally, because here's the reason.
If the winds come up and the storms come or
northeasterly is on its way or whatever, and you're out
there rowing and you've got half a mile maybe or
a mile to row back into shore, if you stop rowing,
(11:24):
well you might not ever get the shore. And so
I just love that thought, is that, no matter how
hard it is, you've got to get into a rhythm.
You've got to just get into where you're not going
to stop. And it's the same thing when I would
be picking up the people that had towed out there
to fish, not only want to come in sometimes because
(11:45):
they know they that's how they feed their families. I mean,
they weren't fishing like sport fishing. They were out there
to fill up their coolers with fish and feed their families.
And sometimes I'd be sent out there to bring them
in because a north easterly was coming and they a
lot of them didn't want to come in. I don't
want to go in now, And I said, I gotta
take you in. Come on, let's go. Would you get
(12:07):
me last? All right, I'll get you last. So but
I remember several times when I'd have six boats daisy
chain behind me, and it would take as much as
an hour and a half to two hours in a
storm to get in, and I would have to I
would have to angle toward the shore, maybe a quarter
of a mile or so because the winds were so
(12:29):
rough that when I would come in there and do
my drop off, who'd have to come in and make
kind of like a little circle so that the boats
would sort of follow me closer to the shore if
if I was too if I was too close to
the to the pier, the boats would could could hit
the pier. It could be very dangerous, and sometimes there
were big swells and waves and things. And so I learned,
(12:52):
I learned tremendous lessons in my life of perseverance way
back when you just got to keep right on going.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
You can't stop.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And the easiest way that I can explain this is
what I've already said. If you stop because you're too
tired or it's too hard, if you stop rowing or
or bringing them in with that towboat that I had,
you might not ever get to shore safely. And so
I just think that's the the I think that's the
(13:22):
I'll say. I'll say that the most interesting thing that
I can think of as an analogy for how we
persevere through life. And you know that's that's a that's
exactly what this shows about today. It's you know, perseverance.
By definition, perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty
(13:44):
or delay. In achieving success, you have to engage in
being steadfast and what you're committed to doing that you
know you've got you've got a purpose, just keep moving
toward that purpose. You got to have a tenacity. I
just remember that one of my employers way back when
(14:04):
they called me a pitbull because I had tenacity, And yeah,
you know that's just basically tenacity is just it's the
refusal to not give up. You got to just hold
on to your goals no matter how tough it gets. Persistence,
just keep right on try and just do whatever you
got to do repeatedly without interruption. Resilience that's the ability
(14:28):
to bounce back from setbacks, learn from your mistakes and
keep going. And determination it's the strong will and you're
resolved to overcome challenges and to achieve a goal. It's
a choice that you make to continue to continue putting
in all that effort even though it's hard.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
You have to be committed to the very end.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
And so I just love the fact that perseverance is
something that I've been just blessed with through my life,
through all the hard times and all the difficulties and
all the setbacks. That's just one thing that I that
I'm just blessed with is perseverance to never give up.
(15:15):
And I just really believe that it's shaped my personality,
it's my character, and I just would hope that everybody
listening today is going to start to be even better
at your own perseverance through your hardships in life. And
the good news about perseverances is that it can be learned.
(15:39):
Some people have it, you know, innate in their blood.
It could be a family bloodline that you've got that
it just gives you that trait of never giving up,
never quit working hard. But it's one of the most
wonderful character strengths that a person can have. And you're
going to find it and all real leaders that it's
in there, so just you can develop it. You can
(16:00):
develop perseverance now by run that rolling machine and coming
back with perseverance. I I'm just feeling better every day,
and I want to I want to tell you that.
In my in my nonprofit foundation Right Thinking, I have
(16:21):
in my teaching materials a page that I pass out
that pretty much explains a lot of it. But I
have four quotes that they're called perseverance quotes, and they're
they're a key part of my curriculum. The first one
is from Winston Churchill. If you are going through hell,
keep going. Second verse, most people I've never heard before,
(16:43):
is and you'll get through hell so fast the devil
won't even know you've been there. One of my all
time favorite quotes by Winston Churchill. Now, Maya Angelou, she's
got a quote here that really gets deeper, deeper into
how hard it's been for you. Maye here's her quote.
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.
(17:06):
In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats
so you can know who you are, what you can
rise from, how you can still come out of it. Well,
if you haven't ever read any of Maya Angelo's works
other than just for Palms her books, She's got a
six part autoby by, a biographical series, and I think
(17:27):
The very first one in there is titled Why the
Cage Bird Sings. The lyrics to Why the Cage Bird
Sings are just so incredible. You should look that up.
I use that at my curriculum. Also Mahama Gandhi, he's
got a little suggestion here, and this one, this one
isn't necessarily just on perseverance, but I use it. In perseverance,
(17:52):
the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself
in servers to others. I wanted to slip that in
because I do a lot of I do a lot
of speaking about thinking about others and not just being selfish,
and and it's a good place to put it in
with these quotes I've got And the last one is
from a person named Steve Copeland. Oh that's me, and
that is my potential is higher than my needs. And
(18:15):
so as we as we get into understanding what perseverance
is all about, it's it's something where you can get
more out of yourself. You can tap deeper into yourself
to do more. When I when I give out those
perseverance quotes and prisoner in my in my workbooks, I
talk if you want someone to believe in you and
(18:35):
give you that opportunity by hiring you for that job,
approve you for that credit request, cosign a consolidation one
with you. The single most important thing that you must
do is have them know that you believe in yourself.
You must know within yourself that you're going to make
it through whatever life throws at you, that you won't quit,
(18:57):
that you won't give up right there. Thinking provides tools
that help you get on top of the things that
you have control over, so that when those sudden, unexpected
things come at you that you have no control over,
you won't let something that is no more than a
temporary setback turn into a complete failure that you can't overcome.
(19:18):
By learning to look into the future and see things
that are getting ready to happen before they happen, you
can be better prepared for those things that come out
of nowhere and knock you off your feet. You can
face those situations with less distractions, be better focused to
deal with them. The more time you have to think
about it and plan for it, the better your chances
(19:39):
are in being able to work it out. My health
crisis the last couple of years, it seems like every
time I get through one of my one of my setbacks,
and I can smile and feel better like I'm getting
close to being normal. Another side effect kicks in. But
you know what, acceptance is one of the greatest things
(19:59):
we have to know that, and this two show pass
you just get the best you can. And as I
end the show, I'll give you a couple more thoughts
on that. But what I really really want to get
into now is the title of today's show, Row Row
Row your Boot. Well, as I'm doing much rowboat rowing machine,
(20:23):
I've just been putting all this thought into row row
row your boot and row Row Row your Boat is
an incredibly well known children's nursery rhyme song and it.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Goes us all the way back to eighteen fifty two,
the very first version.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Uh there's a version in eighteen eighty one which is
pretty much the version that we know. And they give
a gentleman name a Left Pilate or like he was
the first one that ever had it published in the
Franklin Square Song Collection, but it wasn't known whether he
composed it or just adapt it from someone else. We
don't really know, but row Row your Boot has so
(21:06):
many deeper metaphorical meanings you know it's it's just such
a beautiful nursery run. I won't give you the whole
tune because I just don't have the voice for it.
But it's if there's anybody listening that doesn't know it,
you better call me because I want to help you out.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
You need to know ro road your boot.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Go to my website right think dot orgon and say,
seeve guys listened to you, but I never learned it. Well,
row row row your boot, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Life is but a dream.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
You can just daydream on some just gentle waters there.
But row row row your boats. Like I was telling you,
it's an action that you just keep on doing, keep
on doing, keep on doing, otherwise you won't get to
the shore. And it's and it's a metaphor for life's journey.
And gently down the stream is such a beautiful, beautiful lyric.
(22:00):
They're beautiful set of words because gently down the stream
it brings you calmness and a gentle attitude. It's it's
not something forceful, it's something that can relax you and
bring you some peace. And it's the stream. The stream
represents the natural flow of life and all the circumstances
(22:21):
that along the way you're going to encounter and merely merrily, merrily, merrily,
this is just it's it's a happiness to it. It's
it's a positive outlook even when life difficult or hard
for us, and life is but a dream, you know,
there's there's nothing really permanent in life. One thing is
(22:42):
is that the Lord's never going to leave you. I'll
tell you that once you know the Lord. But that's
that's permanent. But it suggests that we should enjoy it
even though we're having a temporary time here in this life.
It's it's basically, let's get to understand what our truth
and what we can do to open up our full potential.
(23:06):
It's evolved to many many different people's interpretations that it's
basically reaching your goals and with consistent effort it works
in personal developer teamwork. As I was doing my research
for the show, I came across a very interesting story.
(23:26):
There's a football coach and he's an outstanding football coach,
retired football player himself, had a great career. His name
is PJ. Fleck, and he was at Minnesota and he
lost a child named Colt in twenty eleven while he
was coached, and it was an infant death. The child
(23:49):
died shortly after birth from a heart condition, and he
adopted the words row the boot and he used them
with the football team. It was a never give up
attitude for perseverance and a unity and it was just sad.
But it's a philosophy of hope, energy, purpose and service
(24:12):
and giving back to the community. Well, I just I
just think that coach Fleck there, you know, he really
went went deep and went through a lot when he
lost his son and all of us, all of his players,
they embraced it and that became the mantra for that
football team and he broke it down into the ore
(24:35):
in the road boat, it's the energy that you bring
your relationships and your work. The boat itself symbolizes sacrifices
you were willing to make to reach your goals. There's
a compass, but I didn't find that in the lyrics.
But it represents the direction of your life set by
your leader and the people you surround yourself with. It's
(24:56):
a way of life and it just encourages the service
to others into community to row your boot. And I
just adversity, whether it's personal, athletic or communal, it represents
not giving up and pushing through, and it basically has
(25:18):
points us to sort of deeper purpose and a sense
of hope, and it brings us inspiration. So i'd like
to I'd like to just continue with row over your
boat here, and I have a special treat for you.
About three weeks ago, my youngest grandson, Max, he was
six in July. He spent the night over. And Max
(25:41):
is real playful and he's just something else. I'm telling you.
Max is just adorable.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And so I was.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Putting him in bed and we were reading, and then
we were going to sing some songs and I was
trying to think of a song that Max would know,
and I sang Row Row Row your boot. That's really
what got me in this row boat kick. And it
was just before I started with the centaura cardiac exercise rehab.
(26:11):
But I sang it to him and then he as
soon as I stopped, he's sang it. And the version
that you're getting ready to listen to is Max version,
and it's going to answer a lot of questions for
you here about about my life. So let me get
you onto Max's version here.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Whoa wow wow y, Both jump me down us tree.
If you see a clock, die, don't fuck it to Sclean.
Whoa whoa wow Yo? Both gently down U s stree. If
you see a quota, die, don't fluck it to Sclean.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
I asked Max when he finished singing it. He did
it a couple of times, and he was glad to
let he recorded. And so I said, well, Max, where
have you heard that before? And he said nowhere? And
I said, you just started singing that just now and
he said yeah. And so he was so proud of himself.
(27:15):
And I've gotten him to singing in a couple different places.
And normally Max is a little bit reserved and doesn't
like doing things like singing other people. But he's been
really good about that song that might be his big
hit in life. Well, it answers the question that I
said in today's announcement, and it was tune in till
(27:35):
the end of this powerful show and learn what motivates Steve.
What motivates me is Max and Stella and Willie and
Noah and Emma. I love Eva, and I love Colen
and my brothers and my sisters and their parents or people.
(27:57):
I know how much I'm loved, and I know how
much I want to be there for all those that
love me, and I do want to watch my grandkids
grow up, enjoy the successes of my children, grow old
with my wife, do for others as much as I
can spread the love of Jesus.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Yeah, that's me and it's my life.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Is such a blessing to have the opportunity to do
what I do, and so I just want to I
just want to encourage each one of you to.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Just keep persevering through this life.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Just don't give up, no matter what you've done wrong,
no matter how hard it is. There's answers and solutions
that a wait you. But what I want to tell you,
and I've been trying to do this and every one
of my episodes, I think since the very beginning, because
this is who I am. I just want to encourage
you to know that there's a lot of things in
(28:55):
this life that are bigger than we are, and that
I've been through myself with my cancer almost twenty five
years ago. For about the first year I'm telling you,
I was just I was just struggling. I just was
having a hard time accepting this diagnosis, but I found
Proverbs three five six. Trust in the Lord with all
(29:19):
your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding
in all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will make
your path straight. I encourage you to know that the
Lord is there for you. And there's just so much
in this life that we have to go through that
we don't understand. It's just so much bigger than we are.
(29:42):
But the Lord is there for you, and we have
to put our complete faith, trust and confidence in our God,
not being conditional. Don't lean on your own self to
try to figure out things that are that are just
far beyond us. There's many things like that we need
to acknowledge God. We need to pray to Him for
(30:07):
decisions and ask for the Holy Spirit to help guide
us big things, small things. Everything. We need to be
obedient and he will make your path straight. Once we
do all that, the Lords is going to guide us
through this life that we've been given. And I'm here
to tell you it's true. It's what's gotten me through here,
(30:32):
and without the grace of God, I wouldn't be here
talking to you right now. I just want to thank
you again for tuning in today. I hope you get
something out of it. Reach out to me if you
want to, and just send an email. I'll get back
with you and then we'll end up talking to each
other because it's easier to talk to someone that's searching.
(30:52):
I'm searching, you're searching, so let's talk. Well, have a
great week. I'll look forward to next week and God
bless you.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Thanks for listening to Right Thinking with Steve Copeland. I'll
look forward to being with you again next week and
remember it, don't quit.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Plan ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
It will get better. God bless you, and have a
great week.
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