Recharging your batteries.

It was an interesting summer. As many of you that read my blog are aware, it’s been a while since I posted. This summer, work slowed down. As an independent businessman, this year was much different than last. I have heard from several in different parts of the industry (and other industries) saying they were extremely quiet. Right down the line…printers, staffing companies, photographers, etc. That ugly "recession" word is being thrown around. Many (including myself) spent the summer hustling to bring in some new work or to find the next gig. I have always compared this to going fishing. It doesn’t matter if you are looking to break into this industry or looking for that next great project - it’s all the same. You have to keep casting out lines. Right now, you may have 10 lines in the water and a few fish following. But they may not be biting. Maybe one will bite, hopefully all 10, all you can do is keep throwing out more lines and hope for a strike. Nothing beats 10 lines getting hit at once, but as this year moves along, the fish seem to be in a holding pattern. They are all waiting. Some fishermen will give up, others will probably starve. It’s stressful to be in this type of situation. You can make phone calls, you can try as hard as you like, pitch as hard as you can, in the end, there’s only so much you can do. As the summer went on, my stress started to grow. Then it hit me. I walked away from a lucrative position because I hated the stress that went with it. Thankfully, I’m paying my bills. I have food on the table and a roof over my head. Why am I trying so hard when summer quickly comes and goes? Many aren’t even at their desks anyway. These are the months when people take vacation. I switched my thinking. I’m not making progress. I’m simply wasting time. There’s way more to life than the work that you do. There’s more to life that trying to win all the awards in the world. There’s more to life than waiting by the phone or watching your email. In the end, did I want the summer of 2008 to fly by, and I missed it because I was worried about socking more money into a retirement plan so I can hopefully live long enough to use it? Screw that! I have learned once again this summer to simply go with the flow. You make hay when the sun shines. When it’s slow, you recharge your batteries. I spent the entire month of August deep in the woods, far away from work. I hardly watched TV, I made very few telephone calls, I didn’t even shave. Now I’m home. Alive and stress free. I’m going to start casting. I hope you had a great summer. Tight lines everyone. Until next time, keep dreaming.