Anna McLean, 3-Time World Record Ocean Rower & International Keynote Speaker, Joins the Zeigler University Guest Speaker Series
Anna McLean, 3-Time World Record Ocean Rower
& International Keynote Speaker, Joins the Zeigler University Guest Speaker Series
Zeigler Auto Group was proud to host 3-time world record ocean rower and international keynote speaker, Anna McLean last Thursday, March 19, 2026 as part of the auto group's highly-successful Zeigler University Guest Speaker Series.
KALAMAZOO, MICH (March 25, 2026) Anna McLean, 3-time world-record ocean rower and international keynote speaker, was the latest celebrity guest to join Zeigler's highly successful Zeigler University Guest Speaker Series.
Drawing from her experiences as world-record-breaking ocean rower, McLean shared the powerful mindset shifts and team dynamics that carried her across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Her passionate interactive presentation: "Take the Stroke" was a masterclass on the power of leaning into opportunity and believing in yourself.
Charting the Course: The Power of Decisions & Believing In Yourself
In her session, McLean discussed the power of decision-making from the belief that you can reach your goal. You ultimately have the power to choose whether to "drift" or "lean in" to life experiences; and although not every decision carries the same weight-with the average person making about 35,000 decisions a day-we can still choose to stay proactive and work towards our big goals in small steps.
Knowing that you have the power to shape your future is crucial and it's why believing in yourself is so important. It is estimated that 65 percent of US citizens believe in aliens, and only 25 percent of people believe in their goals. That means that by simply believing in yourself, you are already ahead of the curve in anything you do.
Even if some of these life-defining decisions are impacted by how we feel, when we have a larger vision we can take the small steps that are necessary, intentional, and consistent in order to reach success.
Navigating the "Capability Curve": Riding The Wave
When she first decided to take on the challenge of rowing across the ocean with her brother, McLean realized that there were so many steps needed to make this happen. They first needed to raise $200,000 through sponsorship, and to do that she needed to learn how to make a website, offer packages, write contracts, and a series of other things just to ensure the trip was funded.
This is where the idea of the "capability curve" is important. This concept can be described in various stages including uninformed optimism, a reality check, doubt, and finally the shift when seen on a graph with the y-axis denoting emotional experience and the x-axis representing physical experience, so that the more practice you have at something the less uncomfortable you feel.
Whenever you begin something new, you will often experience the excitement of the possibilities ahead as you work towards the goal, just to quickly have a reality check, on what was needed to complete said goal. This is when so many people decide to give up rather than face the obstacles.
However, for those who persist success is almost guaranteed. She encouraged everyone to think of their to-do list as a to-learn list, reframing obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than barriers to progress.
"I loved her example of rowing the boat. The lead rower could not see what the team was doing
but trusted they were doing the work. And the other rowers kept in time with the lead. Very cool analogy!"
Chris Diggs, Office Manager, Zeigler Auto Group
The Mindset Shift: From Challenge to Opportunity
This mindset shift was also crucial to getting through her college years. Although she was captain of her rowing team in high school, and was given a scholarship to Clemson for the sport, she faced obstacles once she arrived at the university. The very first day of practice she passed out, the next day she sprained her ankle; and with every passing day she found herself at the bottom of her team ranking.
During these challenging moments, her mother offered her a way to reframe her situation by helping her see the girls as opportunities to make herself stronger and faster. By refocusing herself back to herself, or her own boat, she was able to move to the top of the list by her senior year. This only happened because she made the decision to keep going.
McLean emphasized that while the external situation remained the same, changing the lens through which she viewed it allowed her to successfully move forward in life.
Naming Your Brain: Externalizing The Doubt & Reclaiming Your Focus
However, shifts aren't always easy. Doubt is where so many dreams go to die. In order to combat this, McLean shared the "renaming the brain" technique.
This is where you give your "doubtful, negative self" a name so that it's easier to pinpoint the resistance to what you really want to accomplish. By building awareness of what it is that is stopping you, you are more likely to be able to overcome it and move through difficulties in actionable steps. After all, staying focused and intentional, even in challenging moments, is what sets winners apart.
"Anna was phenomenal! Her energy completely transformed the room,
and her message on togetherness is one that everyone should hear!"
Avery Zeigler
Leaning Into Success: Using What You Can Control
Now that the decision has been made to believe in yourself and lean into success, rather than drift, being aware of what is and isn't within your control is important.
Although we cannot predict everything that comes our way, we can control so many things including our attitude, our effort, and our timing.
By maintaining a positive attitude, you can also help impact the entire team's environment. Also by controlling your effort level, such as putting in extra hours when needed, you can also keep yourself and your team moving forward. Finally, knowing when to show up and really lean in with a positive attitude is what truly makes the magic really happen.
The Drive: Radical Alignment and Collective Effort
Using a live rowing demonstration, McLean illustrated that a group only becomes a high-performing team through alignment, trust, and a shared vision.
"In rowing, you can't always see the person behind you, you only see the finish line. So therefore you really need to trust that everyone is pulling their weight, and that you are making strides, even on those days where it feels tough and grimy, you are making strides and stepping stones towards that vision."
individual efforts must be synchronized into a single rhythm to propel the vessel forward effectively.
This principle applies directly to the business environment. When departments-such as sales, service, and finance-row in their own directions, the organization appears disorganized to the customer. However, when aligned, handovers are smooth and the team becomes "unstoppable" letting them move towards their vision together.
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together!"
Nancy Meade, Client Advisor, Zeigler Auto Group
The Result: Going Further Together
In the end, McLean and her brother rowed across the Atlantic earning two world-records and the moniker "the Seablings," as the first brother and sister duo to row across an ocean. The 3,000 mile trip took 43 days, 15 hours and 22 minutes.
During the first three hours of the trip she became violently ill, and then within the first 6 hours the team's autosteer stopped working. This meant that they were forced to steer manually with their feet for the rest of the trip, losing 50% efficiency on every stroke they took.
The trip required the duo to alternate two-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, which left only about 90 minutes for actual sleep. Later they implemented what they called Ferrari pitstops where they started rowing in twelve hour intervals, giving themselves just as few minutes to grab a snack and take care of any necessities.
She burned approximately 10,000 calories a day and continually suffered from blisters and salt sores, all while battling 60-ft waves and 27-knot winds sometimes in the pitch black.
Then 32 days into the voyage, her brother Cameron developed a life-threatening blood infection from a small cut resulting in 104-degree fever. This meant McLean really had to push through her self-doubt, lean in and row for 36 hours straight to keep the boat moving toward safety.
In that moment she made that decision to take the stroke and do what in the past would have felt like the impossible to carry on her team's vision.
Later in 2024, McLean and her friend Jenny D'Anthon rowed across the Pacific becoming the youngest females to row the Pacific and achieving another world record. The 2,800 trip was from California to Kauai Hawaii in 47 days, 17 hours 37 minutes.
The ultimate lesson of McLean's journeys is the power of collective vision and stepping in when your team needs you most. "If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go really, really, really far, then go together". At the end of the day, true momentum is achieved only when every member of the "boat" is aligned, trusting one another, and rowing in the same direction toward a shared goal.
"Anna McLean is one of a kind! Her unbelievable story is one we can learn so many things from and apply both personally and professionally. I had so many compliments about her presentation. She has a magnetic personality and can genuinely connect with her audience and inspire them. We are fortunate to have had Anna speak to us and wish her the best on her next BIG ADVENTURE!"
Mike Van Ryn, VP of Talent Development
After the presentation, McLean joined Zeigler's Driving Vision podcast Backstage segment to continue the conversation with Mike Van Ryn. The Zeigler team also presented 3-time world champ with a commemorative oar featuring the autogroup's branding.
Besides holding world-records as renowned, world-class rower, McLean has applied her extensive consulting and speaking experience to work with top organizations including Microsoft, LuluLemon, ESPN, Sertoma and more,
About Zeigler University
Zeigler University is an internal leadership and development program within the Zeigler Automotive Group organization dedicated to attracting, training, and retaining the best talent in the industry.
The program includes one-on-one mentoring, strategic recruiting; and programs such as the Zeigler University Speaker Series which focuses on bringing in entrepreneurs, athletes, innovators, and leaders across different industries, to share their stories and points of view with the Zeigler team. Past celebrity guest speaker appearances include Grant Cardone, Bill Rancic, PJ Fleck, and more.
About Zeigler Auto Group
Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 88 franchises across 41 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.
Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company.
The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns and operates Zeigler Pre-Owned of Chicago, three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.
Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,500 people, ranking among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2025.
The family-owned and operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. Besides these prestigious accolades, Zeigler is also one of Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work in the U.S. for 2024, and among Glassdoor's top 10 U.S. companies for work-life balance.