| Tiny Hooks = Big Fish
My wife has a friend at work that was talking the other day about a lake near his mothers house. He said she told him there were a lot of fish there and he should go by and check it out sometime. The problem was, he didn't have any equipment to go fishing. When I heard the story I realized it was on opportunity to share one of my real passions in life. I have been fishing, and thus collecting fishing gear all of my life. Some of my earliest memories were of sitting on the bank of a pond with my Grandfather. All we had were two bamboo poles, a couple of small hooks and a cup of worms we dug out of the flower garden behind his house. Even so, we caught enough fish to feed the entire family in only a few hours. In fact, we pulled in fish at a rate of about one per every two minutes or so. I am convinced the feeling of accomplishment in being successful, and pride from actually providing food for our meal that night, was a lesson that continues to be reinforced in me even to this day.
While sorting through my tackle looking for pieces I could share with my wife's friend, I decide to start him out small, like I was. I am sure there are some big fish in the lake he was talking about, but those can wait for another day. I found two rods with small close faced reels that are very simple to operate. If I had cane poles I may have even suggested them, but alas I have fallen prey to the technology of the day. In looking through some other gear I began to realize the importance of this "Learn to walk before you run" fishing philosophy. Like life, fishing is best learned in small pieces and from the ground up. If you can have some success in learning how to catch small fish, those same principles can be applied to and improved upon when it becomes time to seek the bigger fish.
Too many people these days assume that success is somehow owed to them and they want immediate large results. Professional fishermen roar around the lakes in $100,000 boats using electronics that cost as much as some peoples daily driven cars. They have ten specialized rods on the boat, with highly tuned open faced reels that take thousands of casts to perfect. Each rod and reel rig may approach $500 and the tackle in their multiple soft sided bags are equal to the worth of another small family car. Their goal for each day on the lake is to catch five large fish, have them weighed, and hopefully stack up against the competition. Then release the fish back into the lake. How many of our daily pursuits begin to look like this by comparison? How often do you invest large sums of money to engage in high stress competitive events (school, work, etc.) only to end up walking away with nothing after it is all over with?
I am not trying to say we shouldn't participate in the world around us. I am just saying that I bet if you asked those professional fishermen what their favorite memories of fishing were, they would probably talk about fishing on the bank with their granddad, or teaching their kids how to bait a hook and then watching the delight shine on their smiling faces as they enjoyed the "little things" in life. Every day we have the opportunity to learn something new in life. I just want to encourage you to slow down, start small, and appreciate the beginnings of what may someday be your passion. Don't go casting around with impossibly large lures expecting that trophy to jump on your hook with very little effort. Even if it did, the reward would not be appreciated and would soon give way to the reality of life. Every small action leads to a small reward. Small rewards accumulate into successful life habits, and those habits bring lasting fulfillment from a job well planned, acted upon and confidently accomplished. This happens when you build your life through appreciating the small gifts we are given every day.
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