“People often ask how we do it,” said Darrin. “And the truth is, we have our good days and our bad days. But we figured out pretty early on that managing your mental state is 90 percent of the battle.
BY BOBBY COMMAND
WEST HAWAII TODAY
bcommand@westhawaiitoday.com
Darrin and Darien Gee have more in common than their very similar names.
They both have birthdays in September, they’re married and they are co-founders of a golf school in Hawaii, and they both had books printed by major New York publishing houses.
“We’re the epitome of a couple that works and plays together, stays together,” said Darrin, 39. His book, “The Seven Principles of Golf: Mastering the Mental Game on and off the Course,” was released April 1 and is already back at the presses for a second printing.
Darien, 38, agrees. “It’s not always easy, but it has been immensely rewarding,” she said. “It forces us to work things out, and we’re better individuals and partners because of it.”
Darien writes women’s fiction under the pen name Mia King to help avoid confusion with her husband’s name. He book, “Good Things,” was published in February and has hit best-seller lists. It is currently in its third run.
The Gees were expecting their first child when they decided to move from California to Hawaii in 2000. Both were management consultants and Darrin who also holds an master of business administration degree from Northwestern University, was working 80-plus hour weeks traveling coast to coast at least twice a month.
“It was exhausting,” said Darrin. “Physically and mentally. There was one day in New York where I woke up in my hotel room and couldn’t move.”
Darien said the couple could not see beyond getting out of the rat race when they decided to move to Hawaii. She was five months pregnant when they first visited the Big Island and two months later they sold everything and made the move.
“We were blissfully naive,” Darien said. “We had an idea for a golf school, using a teaching method developed by Darrin. “The idea of owning and running our own business, plus raising a family in paradise was incredibly romantic,” she said.
Not to mention an incredible amount of work. Their golf school, Darrin Gee’s Spirit of Golf Academy, focuses on peak performance and mental mastery on the golf course and has received national recognition as one of the top mental golf schools in the country.
“Being an entrepreneur is tough,” said Gee. “We work seven days a week, 365 days a year. “The reality of our dream forced us to make choices we wouldn’t have otherwise considered.”
The fact that their books are being published within weeks of each other is a coincidence. “We wrote our books when we first moved to Hawaii, before our business took off,” said Darrin. “A couple of years later we decided to get agents and see if we could get published.”
The couple will be sent on a book tour to promote their books, which will also be available at amazon.com, Borders and Barnes and Noble. Darrin also will be a guest instructor at several golf courses and resorts.
As you might expect, the family will be traveling together.
“People often ask how we do it,” said Darrin. “And the truth is, we have our good days and our bad days. But we figured out pretty early on that managing your mental state is 90 percent of the battle. Integrating that concept into our daily lives has helped us achieve a lot, plus enjoy a more rewarding lifestyle.”
