What’s it like to be pulled from your home at just seven years old and set adrift on the open ocean? How do you survive ten years of brutal storms, danger, and isolation on a small yacht with your family?

In this episode, Suzanne Heywood shares the chaos of her childhood spent sailing around the world—constant physical and emotional storms, tight living spaces, and the fight to hold onto hope. She reveals how those raw, unpredictable years forged a resilience that she carried into her career, pushing boundaries and thriving in the corporate world.

KEY TOPICS

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro: Defeating Bad Decision-Making in Life and

00:50 When Sanger Lived on Ramen 

03:13 Introducing Suzanne Heywood 

04:21 Suzanne’s Family’s Decision to Sail Around the

06:37 Early Childhood Questions About the Voyage 

09:00 Suzanne’s Father’s Motivation for the Voyage 

11:25 Questionable Parental Decisions

13:41 Dangers and Limited Food on the Boat 

16:04 Life at Sea: Loneliness, Limited Friendships, and

18:28 Food Shortages

20:46 Stuck on the Boat

23:10 A Manipulated “Vote” to Keep Sailing

32:55 Education as Suzanne’s Escape from the Boat 

40:01 Limited Communication and Correspondence

47:08 Sacrifices Made to Pursue Education 

49:33 Struggles of University Life and Financial Hardships 

51:56 Suzanne’s Reflections on Parental Choices and

57:26 Suzanne Heywood’s Decision-Making Tip for Business Owners 

57:48 Key Takeaways 

59:47 Message from the Producer

CONNECT WITH US

⁠www.decidedlypodcast.com⁠

Watch this episode on YouTube

Subscribe on ⁠YouTube

Join us on ⁠Instagram⁠: @decidedlypodcast

Join us on ⁠Facebook⁠

Shawn’s ⁠Instagram⁠: @shawn_d_smith

Sanger’s Instagram⁠: @sangersmith

Thank you to Shelby Peterson of Transcend Media for editing and post-production of the Decidedly podcast.

SANGER’S BOOK: ⁠A Life Rich with Significance: Transforming Your Wealth to Meaningful Impact⁠

SHAWN’S BOOK: ⁠Plateau Jumping: What to Change When Change Is What You Want⁠

MAKING A FINANCIAL DECISION?

At ⁠Decidedly Wealth Management⁠, we focus on decision-making as the foundational element of success, in our effort to empower families to purposefully apply their wealth to fulfill their values and build a thriving legacy. 

LEARN MORE: ⁠www.decidedlywealth.com⁠

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:⁠ https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001aeU_pPBHJPNJWJBdVbaci6bjGIuEJurH12xHBWDEVT_NxyCadMd7wLSZjcEZglkSjDjehuIbTHD8nABOIdV69ctfYpSzg24RCIytetBUrlIPPKgaGzjGZ8DkM0Wp1LMjbErcYUur7PbZGjeVo4gyXlz821AoJGZR⁠   

CONNECT WITH SUZANNE HEYWOOD

Website: www.suzanneheywood.com

LinkedIn:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/suzanne.heywood

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzanneheywood1

Suzanne Heywood’s story is anything but typical. At just seven years old, she was pulled from her home and set adrift on a small yacht with her family, facing ten years of brutal storms, danger, and isolation on the world’s most unforgiving oceans. It’s a tale of grit and survival that shaped her into the powerhouse she is today. Now a respected business leader, Suzanne is here to share her wild, unfiltered journey, captured in her memoir, Wavewalker.