Year: 2014

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M for Motivation

We’ve reached the M in my D.R.E.A.M. acronym. The M stands for Motivation. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What is the focus of your life? Why do you work or go to school?

In two short weeks is the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro in Birmingham, Ala. It’s the crown jewel of fishing tournaments. I bet many of you would say that qualifying for the Classic is your Motivation. For a lot of you — and me — the Bassmaster Classic is a lifelong dream.

But competing in the Bassmaster Classic is really not the end-all-be-all of what motivates you. The Classic is an accomplishment — a goal. We have to determine what our Motivation is and keep that in mind to give every day our best. Knowing our Motivation is especially important because we will hit snags. Motivation helps us be Determined, to use our Resources, exert Effort and keep a positive Attitude. Then we are living our D.R.E.A.M.

You can set daily, weekly and annual goals to help you do your best, but successful people have an overarching goal in mind. That’s your Motivation. I like what coach Pat Riley said: “There’s always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning.”

As a man of Faith, my Motivation is to serve God and help other people become their best. Making the Classic is just a part of that Motivation. If I am supposed to make the Classic, it will happen. I would dare say we might be able to influence a few new people with a Classic appearance!

Take some time to reflect on what your life is about and then write down your Motivation. If it is to make the Bassmaster Classic, then you have to do everything with the most effort you can muster. You’ve got to put the time in on the water. You’ve got to step out there and fish with and against anglers that may be better than you. You have to have the best equipment and know how to use it. I feel so blessed to have the sponsors behind me that I do: ORCA Coolers, Ranger Boats, Mercury, Strike King, Lucas Marine, Castaway Rods, Berkley Trilene, Optima Batteries, Power Pole, Abu Garcia, Flambeau Outdoors and Keelshield allow me to be my best on the water.

Next week 55 anglers will compete in the Bassmaster Classic. If you ask any of them how they got there, you will quickly find out that they have Motivation. They are all living their dreams … and you can too!

So now you know my D.R.E.A.M. acronym.

Remember: If I can, you can. God bless.

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Attitude

Life is tough. Life throws adversity at you. You face adversity in your job, with your family, with your health and everywhere else you look. Adversity in life is a test and is given to you to make you stronger. You can’t control what life throws at you but you can control your attitude.

A good friend who had not seen me at a fishing tournament before came to the first day of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open last year on Douglas Lake. He found me parked in one of the marina boat slips. I had a big smile on my face and was joking around with the other competitors including my buddy Gerald Swindle. We were all glad to be back at the dock swapping stories. My friend saw me grinning and said “You must have really caught them today!”

I held my arm up in the air – which is kind of a little joke. My arm is good for a lot of things, and I am beyond thankful to have it but it is not good for counting very high. He laughed and said “You caught one?”

“Goose egg,” I said. He shook his head in disbelief.

The fact that I zeroed didn’t surprise him – it happens. The fact that he couldn’t tell if I was the hero or the zero was what impacted him. That day was one of the top 3 most brutal days on the water in my life. Ask anyone else that fished it. It was forecasted to be a fairly cool, overcast, and drizzly spring day. Instead, it was cold, rainy and windy all day – the whole day. It never let up. We were all caught by surprise, and it got the best of the field. Lots of guys even came in early.

I call that an attitude day. In the long run, the man or woman who stays positive is going to be a champion. Thomas Jefferson said “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” He was right about that.

Now, back to my buddy Swindle. When you see Swindle on stage and he starts going on and on about how tough the fishing was, all the lures he threw in vain, and all the ways he wanted to inflict pain on himself, you might think he has a bad attitude. That’s simply not the case. Gerald goes on his rants because the fans like them. My wife, Kim, thinks it is hilarious. Because of this humor, Swindle is the best on stage at a fishing weigh-in, hands down. Fishermen can relate to what he’s saying and he’s extremely quick-witted. He’s a champion because he controls his attitude. (Check out this video of Swindle and I fishing together.)

So, with no keepers and freezing cold all day, you would have thought it was a miserable day. It really wasn’t. I had a strategy in mind to catch some good fish but wasn’t able to adjust to the right pattern. I never let negative thoughts enter my mind that day or any day. In the end I was a champion that day because of my attitude.

It helps if you surround yourself with other positive people, too. At best, half the people you meet in life are positive. Choose who you keep close to you wisely.

Your mind is your most powerful tool and you have the God-given ability to control it – every day. It is your choice. As Chuck Swindoll said, “The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”

Choose a positive attitude today!

Next month, we will talk about the M in D.R.E.A.M.

Remember – If I can, you can. God bless.