In Fishing & Life

Trust Your Instincts

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

The Advice is True even if the story is not!

I have received this in an e-mail on more then one occasion. I have always thought that it rings true for today's world and just want to share it in hopes that someone may actually learn from it!

"Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you agree, pass it on.If you can read this - Thank a teacher!

If you are reading it in English -Thank a soldier!!

Friday, February 09, 2007

To Pay or Not To Pay?

Friends, this blog is going to be more of a question seeking comments and answers from you then my normal writings. It is a subject that keeps popping up over and over and I have been asked by a very good friend of mine to see what everyone thinks about this. I hope that you will take the time to comment directly on the blog. If you do not want to do this you can always shoot me an e-mail with your comments, just put comments in the subject line. bill@billbrendle.com I will then post your comments for you but not your name if this is what you request.

The question is; should co-anglers, non boaters, in tournaments pay the boater for gas? If so how much should they pay them. On average a person on the Pro side of a tournament spends well over $300 in fuel locating fish and putting together a pattern. He has insurance, over $40 K in a boat, truck, etc.

I have heard everything from "you are going to be here anyway" to "wow this is a good way to get a cheap guide and learn the lake so I can fish it next time". While we are on the subject how about the person who when you are on a off shore hump that took you years to find pulls out his handheld GPS and punches it in?

Are the large tournament organizations creating this type of environment by telling the co-anglers that these things are "not in the rules" as they are struggling more and more to fill the field on the non-boater side. Throwing ethics out the window?

Please, we need your comments, the only way these things will ever change is education on both sides and in order for this to happen both sides need to talk!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Are you the Log?

Well I have just finished with the annual fishing and boat show in Raleigh, NC and I have a question. What has happened? Over several years now I have seen these shows grow smaller and smaller to the point were they have started to become a joke among sportsman. People that I know and others I hear talking complain about such things as no vendors, no deals , nothing to buy, no seminars etc. the list goes on.

Why is this? I think I know part of the reason, it's you the sportsman. You do not come out and support these shows and those that do complain to the wrong people. You need to tell the stores your buying from that you want to see them. Tell the show promoters that you want more seminars and speakers. They will only do this if you attend. Is everyone becoming so busy they have no time to attend these shows? I think not!

It cost the good people selling their products at these shows a lot of money just to rent the space, the Harrisburg show for example is over $2,000 for a booth, not to mention the other associated cost. Just imagine if you will how much one boat dealer has spent in fuel just to haul all of those boats to the show floor.

The problems with the sportsman and boat shows is you! It is like anything else if you do not attend it will die away. So here is your job, attend at least one sportsman show this season and take 2 friends or relatives with you. Have them take 2 friends and so on. If we can keep this trend up then it will not be very long before we are all getting the shows we want! Remember it is up to you. I know that I still enjoy both attending and working these shows. I get the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people from both sides of the venue and all walks of life. Remember, the one on one attention you get at these shows is not something you can buy on-line or from a catalog!

I heard this little saying in my Lodge one day several years ago and it has stuck with me and has so much truth in it that I want to pass it along for you think about. It relates to so many parts of our lives that it should be a lesson we never forget. It does not matter if it is a Lodge, Church or boat show.

There is a Brother that has strayed from the Lodge and has not been attending. The Master goes to his home for a visit and knocks on the door. The man answers the door and welcomes him in. The Master says nothing and just takes a seat in front of the fireplace. After a short bit of time he gets up, walks to the fireplace and removes one burning log and sets it to the side. The log's fire diminishes until it burns out. The Master gets up again, picks the log back up and lays it back in the fire. It lights back up. The Master never speaks and shakes the mans hand and leaves and the brother knows he does not want to be the log.