Success
“It’s not man that disappoints me, but it’s the lack of man in man.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
It’s natural that we compete against each other for life’s resources; food, water, shelter, fire, mates, position, etc. How well we compete determines, in our mind and others, what we call success. The measuring board of life can determine if you are successful, a keeper. Unfortunately, we put so much of the materialistic part of life on the scales of success. We forget to weigh how we treat our fellow humans in the process.
My experience in fishing is a microcosm of the two sides of success. The early tournament formats of drawing a different competitor on the tournament days was a crash course on human behavior. You had to be part psychologist and part mind reader. You had to determine whose boat you would use, often determined by the flip of a coin. You had to determine how to efficiently allow both anglers half of the day fishing on their water. It did NOT always turn out well. Sharing the boat with thousands of other anglers you had never met before was a true test. The successful anglers had different theories on what was the best approach.
At one of the early B.A.S.S. tournaments I observed, at the second day weigh-in, this conversation between a young angler ( who was currently leading the event) and his Mentor, a Legend in the Sport. After the young angler and his partner for that day walked back to their boat ,the partner reached out and shook the young angler’s hand and thanked him for a great day on the water. When the young angler’s partner walked away, the Mentor walked over and stated to the young angler, “If your partner tells you he had a great day, you f#@&ed up”.
I will never forget that day. The Mentor was truly a very successful pro, but I did not want to believe that treating your partner poorly was the only way to be successful. That day motivated me to become successful but never at the expense of another human being.
A few years later I was at another B.A.S.S. event at Kentucky Lake and Forrest Wood walked up to me and said, “I want you to know, that as long as I am in the business, you will never be without a boat.” I thanked him but walked away confused. I was currently with the largest boat manufacture in the world at that time, Glastron Boat Co. Several months later the Oil Embargo of the late 70’s put Glastron out of business. I lost them as a sponsor. A couple years later I went with Skeeter Boats. I went to Forrest to apologize for not accepting his previous offer. He was so kind and didn’t hold a grudge for my new boat sponsorship choice. He kindly conversed with me and I asked if he was worried about the state of the economy. I will never forget what he said. He stated, “No I am not. As long as I treat people right and make a quality product, there will always be 3000 people who will buy a Ranger Boat.” He was right. Forrest Wood’s success was never at the expense of those around him. He always had my respect.
I continue to observe the two faces of SUCCESS through out my career at all social levels. There will always be those whose success is at the expense of others and those who success elevates those around them. I truly believe that the quality of your life will be a direct reflection of this choice.
My middle child, Sage, asked me the other day what I was most proud of in my fishing career. I hope its been having a positive effect on those around me.
