This is one of my favorite pictures of my son, Jon, at 9 years old (He is in his 30s now). We won a night bass fishing tournament together at Lay Lake, Alabama.
Most people who know my brother Jim and me think of us in our business attire, doing work for Sain Associates. We love this work, but one of the things we do to get our minds off work is to go to the lake or go fishing.
No matter how much you love your job, I think it’s important to have something that gets you away to relax and refresh. If you work all the time, you’ll burn out, but getting away helps you stay excited and prepared for your work.
For me, getting away means fishing. It’s something I’ve done since I was a child. Jim and I had a difficult childhood, but our release was when we fished with our uncle every Saturday. My aunt always said she was a widow on Saturdays.
As I got older and started a family of my own, I kept the tradition alive with my son. I started taking him bass fishing with me and the Hunter Street Baptist Church Master’s Bass Club when he was nine years old. Even though most of the time he’d be sleeping in the bottom of the boat while I was fishing, it was still fun because we were spending time together.
I don’t think about anything else when I’m fishing. As much as I love work, I don’t think about it. That balance really helps me. It also teaches me patience since as any fisherman knows, the fish don’t come when you call them. But I don’t have to catch any fish to have fun. It’s about just being out there and enjoying God’s creation.
I also find it’s a great way to get to know friends or clients better. There are a lot of similarities between fishing and golf. If you get somebody on the golf course or in the boat, you can spend time with them and get to know them without worrying or talking about business. The time together helps build deeper relationships that are very important.