Fishing Lessons

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Fishing Lessons

posted this on Friday, November 1, 2013 at about 8am.
Corey Smith - Brown Trout

This week I had the opportunity to take a morning to do some fly-fishing with a good friend, Jordan Allen. This was only my second time and, last year, the same good friend took me for my first fishing trip.

Since I was no longer in my rookie, year, I performed much better. What I noticed, more than anything, was the fact that it didn't wear me out like last year. I found that I didn't have to work as hard to get the fly to go where I wanted. I think that I did so well I figure I'm pretty close to being promoted to amateur.

When I have experiences like this, I tend to think a bit about business and life and start to see patterns in how my experiences apply. I find that when I remember to apply these simple lessons in my daily life, I not only perform better but I enjoy what I do that much more.

Experience Matters

I gained a lot of experience last year on my first trip. I was able to use that experience this year to improve. I remember struggling a bit with some of the most basic of techniques last year. Because of that experience, I only needed subtle reminders on those basic techniques so I was able to practice a bit on refining those techniques.

You Need a Great Mentor

Jordan is a highly experienced and accomplished fisherman. He has spent years refining his craft. He is a true teacher and is incredibly patient. He takes time to observe what I would do and give feedback. That feedback allowed me to be far more successful than I would have been otherwise. I am sure that I would have done okay had I gone on my own or with someone else that was not experience, but I am very confident that the greatest impact on my success was a great mentor.

Don't be Afraid to Fail

As I became more comfortable with what I was doing, Jordan spent more time fishing on his own. He was constantly checking on me from a distance. I found that many times I made big mistakes that prevented my success. I didn't set the line when I should have. I didn't cast right. I know, however, that the time failing allowed me to understand why the techniques he taught me were so important.

Quit While You Are Ahead

Last year we fished too long. I was very tired and made sloppy mistakes at the end. As a result, by the end, I was a bit frustrated by it. This year, we ended early, partly because we had seen so much success and partly because it was just time to go. We left on a high note and, for me, I found that this experience was much more enjoyable. We ended our trip on a very high note.

In The End...

I know there are many other ways I can apply what I learned but I'll not bore you with the revelations. These were the most important lessons I took away from my experience on the water.

Corey Smith and his wife are the proud parents of five wonderful children and live in Meridian, Idaho. He is the president of Tribute Media, a Meridian based Web Design & Marketing Agency.

He is the author of two books, "Do It Right: A CEO's Guide to Web Strategy" and "Tweet It Right: A CEO's Guide to Twitter." You can learn more about his books here.

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