Winston Churchill once wrote, “The price of greatness is responsibility” I have based a lot of actions in life to his quote.  The same goes in tournament fishing at all levels from local, state, national and pro competition.  You must take on all responsibilities to achieve any price of success.  This article will refer to life and you can refer it to your fishing success.

A great majority of anglers grossly underestimate their capacity to think, act, determine and shape their own futures.  Unfortunately, most people still believe their lives are determined by chance, fate and circumstances.  They have not learned that everything in our lives is governed by law and not by LUCK.  We reap the harvest that we ourselves have sown.  As a tournament angler you must accept 100% responsibility for your life, your success, your mediocrity, or your failure.  We make our own choices. We are free to choose our own direction.  We must believe that our future is solely and completely within our own hands.  Our success in life and in fishing is determined by our choices, our dedication, our determination, our will, and our persistence and not by accidents of fate or luck.

As a professional angler you must take responsibility for your awareness, attitude, creativity, values, goals, focus, time, sense of humor, commitment, persistence, preparation, determination, honesty, loyalty, knowledge and service before you will ever reap the rewards.  Are you still with me?

Once you accept absolute responsibility for your actions, those circumstances begin to improve.  Eliminate Excuses.  You will find yourself becoming more persistent, more courageous and more determined to win in life and in fishing.  Ultimately, you are the one who is responsible for you.  Everything you are or ever will be is up to you.  You are the master of your own fate.

People place responsibility for the events in their lives either within themselves, internally, or outside of them, externally.  Losers tend to be external, placing responsibility on someone else.  Sadly, they actually believe someone else is responsible for their fate.  On the other hand, Winners tend to be highly internal.  They have an almost irrational belief in their own ability to control events, to make things happen.  And because they believe that, they actively make things happen because they know they are in control of their own destiny.

Winners discipline themselves to keep their minds calm, clear and balanced.  They do not blame others.  Losers never accept responsibility: Winners always do.  When things go well for losers, they attribute it to luck.  When things go poorly, they blame it on the system, lake, fish or the weather.  Winners take both the credit and the blame for what happens to them.  They are always making progress.  Winners look to the future and Losers look to the past.

We all have problems, but happy, successful people have a positive attitude toward their problems as opportunities for challenge, growth and development.  When things go wrong, they do not complain about the way the world is or the bite is.  They seize a learning opportunity.  They ask themselves “What can I do? What have I overlooked? Where have I miscalculated?  What can I do to correct and improve my catch?  Successful people and fisherman do not waste time sulking over their fate.  They do not wait for someone else (or GOD!) to solve their problems.  They aggressively look for solutions, options and actions that can take immediately.

Successful anglers place no limits on their capacities for living, for fishing, for contributing and for enjoying their own career and life.  You are all responsible for what you are and what you will become.  To many people, that’s threatening.  But the truth is, we’re all self-made, even though only the successful will admit it.  Everyone, not just a chosen few, can reach the highest levels in life and in fishing if they make the choice to Locate, Catch and Win.

Best Fishes

Brent “Brody” Broderick