It’s Labor Day.
I shouldn’t be working right now.
I don’t want to be working right now.
I want to be in bed. Sawing logs. Dreaming about babes. Fishing babes. No… fishing babes that don’t talk. They just fish – not for compliments – but for actual fish. Then they get selfies. Fishing babes holding fish up for pictures – fish that they definitely caught themselves!
Right???
Can you see it??
Just look at all the… hang on… the winds have shifted… hear that? Feel that? A great disturbance in the force…
Look over there! In the waves – it’s my wife! But… is it really her!? No… it’s Amphitrite, the goddess of the sea, wife of the god Poseidon. All the giggling and jiggling stops, and Mrs. Poseidon hurls a fish with malicious intent!
“EAT IT!“, she bellows, as the heavens shake and lightning rips the sky asunder!
“Away with you, fishing wench!!!”
The violence is unsettling, but the fish… they were biting…
I turn back towards the water, and suddenly we’re standing on a green grassy bank. The sun is out. It’s gently kissing my wife’s alabaster cheeks.
My wife! She looks like my wife again!
With eyes the size of dinner plates, I sputter “You seriously just clocked that chick!!“
The response is a sideways, “not-amused” glance… but then, we’re consumed by uncontrollable laughter.
She picks up a pole. Grabs a stickbait. Still laughing, we embrace. We fish.
Me and her. Her and me. No Instagram thots. She’s my one and only. She knows it. My fishing babe.
Also, in this dream I’m a T-Rex.
Dude it’s my dream. Don’t judge.
Benadryl-induced hallucinations aside, I don’t want to work today.
But it doesn’t matter what I want, what matters is what needs to be done.
I’m not feeling motivated.
Fine.
That’s why drive is more important than motivation, anyway.
Drive engaged. Coffee consumed. I’m working on this website after I work on this article. I’ll play with colors, styling, adjust pop-up messages and try to get a few more people to subscribe. Try to get a few more people to share. To laugh. Try to get a few more guys to email this silly story about my wife blasting thots in the face with fish to their buddies.
Why?
Because I’m working towards something.
What?
I don’t know exactly.
Huh?
As I’ve told Mrs. Poseidon many times, all I know is that I am preparing for an opportunity. I write so I can improve. I edit video so I can improve. I fish so I can improve. At some point, one of these things is going to lead me to some sort of opportunity… and I plan to be ready. To pounce on it. To beat it into submission. To dominate it.
This is my aim. What’s yours?
It’s a serious question – what are you working towards at this point in your life?
Where are you headed?
Who do you listen to or read for inspiration?
Tell me.
Jordan Peterson is someone that I look to for guidance. I have a quote saved that automatically gets emailed to me at the start of every week:
Aiming at something is the opposite of "just existing".
The opposite of coming home after work, plopping down on the couch, cracking a beer or 12, wolfing down a few bags of Doritos while watching reality shows, woke sports and 24-hour "news" channels.
"But AJ - that's not very body positive!"
Spare me.
There is nothing wrong with beer, TV, chips or silly wastes of time in moderation, but if you have an aim - if you're working with your sights set on a target - you'll notice the waste... and it will bother you. You will grab some beef jerky for protein instead of empty carbs, you'll curb the beer consumption so that spare tire shrinks a bit - you'll even turn off the TV so you can work on something that matters.
Break apart the word aimlessly:
Aim: Target
Less: Without
So we're pushing ahead, day to day, moving through life... without a target?
... are we really moving, then?
No.
We tend to imagine we're at least treading water - but that's not true. If we're not gaining ground, we're losing it.
Talk about depressing.
It's the same in fishing.
Aimlessly casting. Wandering. Floating. Selecting baits without thinking.
These lead to inferior results, which can be discouraging.
We're better served by seeking out cover, structure, areas with fish-holding power, especially those that other anglers can't see with the naked eye. The areas that aren't hammered by the weekend warriors. The guys that want to do things "the easy way".
Identify targets. Look for patterns.
At times this can be hard, even intimidating, especially if we don't have much experience.
Doesn't matter; the truth is that we need to do it. We need to be willing to fail if we intend to master a skill, and we need to be able to ask the hard questions, even if it's going to make us look foolish.
If we get an answer, we only have to look foolish once.
That's a price we must be willing to pay for knowledge.
So nut-up and go for it.
Don't just exist. Aim. Ask dumb questions. Improve. Fail. Try again. Fail better. Repeat. Engage your drive. Don't rely on motivation. Aim at something, because working towards your target and making progress is where the true payoff lies - in terms of fishing, and in life.
So let's not waste the day. It's time to work... and brothers... enjoy the grind.
Happy Labor Day.
Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.
Thank you Readers!
Thanks for visiting! I’m going to keep doing everything possible to keep the helpful content coming, and FREE FOR EVERYONE… but I need your help. Please chip in by making a small monthly contribution to keep this site alive & growing. $4.96 will buy a sweet Pack ‘o Dingers, and with it, I promise to catch many bass in your honor. Thanks. You are a gentleman & a scholar! -AJ
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