Life Before and After the Row - Thomas Cremona - Chief Endurance Officer with Greg McDonough - Episode #179
How does a childhood battle with leukemia transform an individual into a world-record-holding ocean rower and successful serial entrepreneur? Today’s guest is an inspiring ocean rower, world record holder, and serial entrepreneur. Introducing Thomas Cremona, multiple world record holder, chartered accountant, founder of Casa Rooms, and Director at Malta Business Network. Thomas joins host Gregory McDonough to share his life-altering journey of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, setting a world record that stood for seven years, and scaling a premier property management business in Malta. He also explores how pushing through extreme physical limits translates directly to navigating business challenges, fundraising, and team leadership.
Takeaways:
- Life "Pre-Row" vs. "Post-Row": Taking on extreme ultra-endurance challenges, like a 30+ day Atlantic ocean row, fundamentally shifts your confidence, mindset, and perspective on what is possible in life and business.
- Persisting Through the "Nos": Achieving ambitious goals requires enduring countless rejections, whether securing sponsors for a record-breaking row or pitching investors.
- Overlapping Mindsets of Business and Endurance: Both scaling a business and ocean rowing demand waking up every day, managing team motivation, maintaining a positive attitude through bad days, and pushing toward a long-term goal.
- Overcoming Childhood Cancer as Inspiration: Surviving childhood leukemia inspired Thomas to undertake his Atlantic row to demonstrate life beyond cancer and raise vital funds for Putinu Cares.
- The "Easy Wins" Productivity Hack: When feeling unmotivated or overwhelmed, breaking down massive daily goals by starting with small, easy-to-accomplish tasks builds momentum to tackle tough challenges.
Quote of the Show:
"You get a lot of no’s and people say you're crazy... You just have to keep on persisting. You see your goal out there, and every day you wake up and push, push, push." - Thomas Cremona
Links:
- Thomas’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-j-cremona-b100b265/
- Malta Business Network’s Website: http://www.maltabusinessnetwork.com
- Email: thomas@cremona.mt
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- Check out our Website: http://enduranceofficer.com/
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Chief Endurance Officer is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/
Creators and Guests
Host
Gregory McDonough
Greg McDonough is a seasoned executive who has owned and operated businesses in the professional services sector, navigating them through both good and tough times. He brings his personal experience of knowing what it’s like to be ‘in the owner’s seat’ when working with clients, taking time to ask the questions others may not.
