Why Do You Fish? Finding Your Purpose and Fishing For Happiness
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
Do you know why you get up in the morning?
Do you have a purpose? A mission? Something that is fulfilling?
Finding my purpose, my mission, the thing that fulfilled me was something I struggled with for many years.
It left me unhappy and longing for more. It wasn’t until I made some major life changes and put thought into what I wanted in life that I realized what that thing was that gives me passion and fulfillment.
In this special podcast episode, I go over my transformation and how following my passion led to the birth of Salt Strong. I want to share this with you in hopes of this story doing the same for you.
Please remember, I’m here to help and would love to hear any questions or comments you have about this episode.
Don’t forget to check out the Salt Strong Insider Fishing Club.
Note: Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the Fish Strong podcast on iTunes or Google Play.
The Fish Strong Podcast: Fishing for Happiness
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Note: Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the Fish Strong podcast on iTunes or Google Play.
My Story: Finding My Mission
For most of my life, I followed the path that everyone around me expected me to.
I got good grades growing up and went to Georgia Tech to get my college degree. I realized that although it brought me happiness, getting my degree didn’t leave me fulfilled. There was something missing.
After college, I got a good job and started making good money. Although I was financially secure, I wasn’t fulfilled. There was something missing.
After working a little while, I married the girl of my dreams. We bought a house and even had kids.
I had the American dream. A good job, a loving spouse and beautiful children. Still, something was missing.
I loved being a father and a husband, but I still wasn’t fulfilled on a daily basis. Waking up with a purpose was something I was missing. I dreaded Mondays, having to go to work and I lived for the weekends.
I knew that this path was not a sustainable one for me and that I needed to make a change or else accept that I’ll never be truly happy.
Learn more about the Insider Fishing Club
Change the World With Fishing
While I was a new dad, I had a lot of time at home with the baby. I also had a lot of time to myself while the baby napped.
With this sudden free time at home, I decided to read some self-help books to try and better myself. I wanted to be happier and a be a better person, husband and father.
I was reading a lot during this time and was averaging about one book per week. One book that had a huge effect on me during this time was Phil Knight’s Autobiography.
Phil Knight was the man who started Nike. He always believed, through the thick and thin, that Nike could make the country a better place if they got everyone in America to own a pair of running shoes. It was his purpose and his mission.
I was still trying to find my mission during this time and answer these questions about my own life. Being like Phil Knight was a goal of mine and I started to think how I could wake up every day with the same mentality as him.
“That Could Be Us in the Fishing World”
We always grew up fishing as kids. We were fortunate enough to have a grandfather and dad who loved to fish and passed that passion onto us.
We’d spend all of our summers as kids at our grandparents’ condo near Ponce Inlet. Our grandfather and dad taught us how to tie knots and catch whiting and pompano right off the beach. In the afternoons, we’d go to the Ponce Inlet marina to see the giant offshore fish the charter boats brought back. We loved it there and fell in love with fishing because of it.
Fishing became a life-long passion for Luke and I.
While trying to answer the question on what I could do to fill that missing thing in my life, my mind always came back to fishing and how much I loved it.
I always thought about how fortunate we were to grow up with a family who passed a love of fishing down to us and have the experiences we’ve had because of fishing.
I had a thought to myself: wouldn’t it be great for everyone to have that opportunity to learn how to fish?
Phil Knight woke up every morning believing he could make the world a better place with Nike and his running shoes. What If I could do the same thing with fishing?
For some reason, I knew that could be my mission. Bring people who otherwise would never get the opportunity to go fishing a chance to do that.
In this digital age, it’s so critical to find time to get outdoors and disconnect from our phones and technology. Fishing provides that therapeutic natural experience we all so desperately need.
I talked with Luke, who was experiencing some of the same challenges I was at the time. I told him about Phil Knight’s book and finding my purpose. How I thought we could literally make the world a better place through fishing and make a career we love out it.
I looked at Nike and told him “This could be us in the fishing world.”
He was on board with what I was saying and we decided we wanted to make this our mission, our purpose together.
Long story short, this is how Salt Strong was born. We created this company because we truly and genuinely want to bring fishing to as many people as possible in hopes of making the world a better place.
Learn more about the Insider Fishing Club
Our Goal: The Salt Strong Foundation
Our mission of getting more people the opportunity to fish comes with many goals we want to accomplish as well.
One of those goals is to pass on a love of fishing to the next generation. Instilling a passion for fishing in kids is critical to ensure our sport lives on and that we have people ready to fight to preserve our natural resources in the future.
We truly believe the impact you make on kids by teaching them to fish is exponential and can spark a lifelong passion in them.
This is one of the reasons we’ve worked so hard to create the community from the Salt Strong Insider Fishing Club.
We’re extremely blessed and grateful that this club has grown to over 5,000 members and provides an outstanding community where anglers lift each other up, form new relationships and learn new fishing tips. It is truly an anglers-helping-anglers community and having the support that it does has allowed us to realize our dreams at Salt Strong.
We want to say thank you to everyone who helped us get to this point. We’re profitable for the first time as a company and want to find a way to give back to the world.
Get Kids Fishing
Since forming this company, Luke and I always wanted to be able to help kids and families get out and fish for the first time. We always thought it would be awesome to be able to help kids with disabilities get out and fish.
Our younger brother Daniel was born with cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair his whole life. Some of Daniel’s favorite memories are when he’s gone out fishing with us and it always made us so happy to see how much Daniel loved to be out fishing with us.
We wanted to bring that joy to others who may have disabilities similar to Daniel’s.
That’s why we’re happy to announce that we have future plans to create a foundation that does just that and gives children and families with medical disabilities the chance to get out and go fishing for the first time.
How do we plan to do this? Our preliminary plan is to take a portion of every new membership sale and put it towards this future Salt Strong foundation. This way, every Salt Strong Insider member helps get more people fishing and bring a little joy to their lives.
We hope to one day give every kid in America the opportunity to go fishing in hopes of spreading joy to their lives.
Look out for this foundation in the future. We’re still in the planning stages now, so if you have any suggestions or experience with creating a 501-C3 nonprofit, please let us know!
Learn more about the Insider Fishing Club
Conclusion
If you’re trying to find your mission, I highly encourage you to put some time and thought into it.
Read some books and really think about what you’re passionate about.
Some great books for me were Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight and Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team by Simon Sinek.
If there is any way I can help you, please feel free to email me at Joe@SaltStrong.com and I will do my best to help you however I can.
If you liked this podcast format, please let us know in the comments below!
Tight lines and take a kid fishing!
Related Posts:
1. The Top 5 Fishing Lures Of All Time (Inshore Edition)
2. How to Cook Fish Like a 5-Star Chef [With Chef Ryan of K Restaurant]
3. How to Catch Giant Snook on Jigs and Topwater Lures [With Jupiter Snooker]
Related:
Learn more about the Insider Fishing Club
Then you’ve got to see this private fishing club! Here’s what you’ll receive today:Do You Want To Quickly Find New Fishing Spots In Your Area?
Click here to join today.
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Bruce that is now my background
Hey Joe,
I am actually a CPA at a firm in South Georgia. We do a lot of work for non-profits and foundations. I will say to be sure that once the 501(c) 3 gets up and running to be sure you guys always file a form 990 annually so you do not lose the eligibility in the future. Fairly simple form/return but seems to be over looked by many non profit organizations. If you guys need any help or have further questions, please let me know.
Thanks,
Ryan
Joe
Great pod cast. When we are not in Punta Gorda we are on our farm in Virginia. Consequently, our television here is by satellite. Twenty plus years ago I was watching a satellite channel called “Free Speech TV”; the TV channel of the counter culture. They were doing a show ripping the marketing profession for selling people material goods to create happiness. Then they interviewed a behavioral psychologist at Penn State who spent his career studying true happiness and what created it. He listed 4 things:
The quality of our relationships
Good health
Finding a role in life that was a calling that spoke to your soul
A storehouse of great memories
Changed my perspective on everything. Keep up the great work.
Man, those 4 things really do cut to the core of it. Thanks for taking the time to listen and post this, Carter. Tight lines!
Joe what you and Luke have done with your lives , and continue to do through the Salt Strong family has truly inspiring . I have often thought about starting a project as well , but Life and obligations seems to get in the way. Not sure what all would be required . But I was just wondering if either Quartly , Biannually or Yearly , Salt Strong members could join togeather for these events to donate there time and boats.for this cause ? Keep us informed and GOD Bless you guys and your Families in your efforts ,
Love that idea, James. And YES, we will certainly need a lot of help from the tribe to help see these goals through. Stay tuned and thank you for the continued support.
We formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit last year. Check us out at http://www.boys2fishers.com. We may be able to give “give back” together as partners.
Oscar Adams CEO
Just checked out the site, Oscar. Love it. Boys To Men To Fishers Of Men. I’ll connect with you in the near future about ways we can collaborate to help impact kids.
Thanks for the insight. I’m so glad that you took the chance to step out into the unknown and are happy. The reason why I fish is because of my heritage of hunter/gathers. My parents were raise during the great depression with their parents providing for them by fishing and hunting. Even though I was raised in the desert I was with my parents when they would fish every puddle they could find. An example is setting trot lines in the Big Lake at Big Lake, Texas (google it and it will make you smile) catching small catfish. Vacations or down time would be spent at the grandparents house in southeastern Oklahoma again fishing and hunting. My grandfather on my Dad’s side, for most of my life, lived in a tent on the banks of the Red River on the Oklahoma side so he could fish daily without encumbrances. Now that I’m retired I finally have the time to go fishing and fish as much as I can. Right now due to my wife’s health I’m stuck in the desert again and it hasn’t rained so no puddles to fish in. Keep up the good work and tight lines
Good stuff, David. Reminds me of the Bocephus song, “we can skin a buck, we can run a trot line… and the country boy can survive” – thank you for taking the time to share this. Tight lines (when you get some opportunities away from the desert)
Inspiring, Joe! Another good story is the “Life is Good” book. Two other brothers who built a company on a dream and are giving back to children through their foundation. Keep up the good work. You’re not only getting kids out fishing more but at least one old guy as well ????
Love that book! I had a lot of inspiration from those two bros and we still make our kids tell us “something awesome that happened today” at the dinner table every night (borrowed that idea from the book). Thanks for taking the time to share, John.
Joe, awesome podcast. I can relate! We started Fillets of Soul 4 years ago when a pastor told us to find your passion and do it for Jesus……we loved to fish and boat, but what was the passion? Giving our caught fish to someone who would enjoy a fish dinner…..share the love. Yes, we LOVE fishing and doing it together. But when we catch clean, and cook a meal for a family brings it full circle. Salt Strong has helped us catch more fish….my 35 year old son loves to fish, it has brought our family together as wife and I do it together!
Thanks to you and Luke for your passion. Fillets of Soul is also about sharing the love of Christ with others who would like to go fishing, kids and adults. Our 4 year old granddaughter is loving to fish now!
Tight lines.
Love the Filets of Soul mission…….fishers of men! Where do you live? Interested in finding out more about the ministry.
Be blessed everyone.
Hi Wayne, this has been my wife’s and my personal mission and now has reached out to our Life Group at the Crossing Church, where we partner with Meet me on the Streets Ministry that feeds the homeless and less fortunate in Ruskin, Fl. We live in Riverview. Cindy my wife and I fish weekly, and prepare the fish to cook for this organization periodically. We just prepared 80 fish sandwiches for the homeless a week ago, and are stocking up once again. Also, we will look to take those less fortunate, out on a fishing trip to experience the thrill of fishing! Thanks for your inquiry. We attend the Crossing, Tampa Campus on Causway in Brandon.
Wow Greg. I love it. What an idea to bring people closer together (and make a MASSIVE impact) by serving other people through fishing. I’m down in the Keys now but I’d love to speak with you about this and see how we can get possibly get involved.
For me Fishing is for a group to meet up and destress and catch-up time to fish together.
Amen. Thanks for taking the time to share, Andrew
Fishing for me is very personal. Really, my passion is being on the water. I don’t have to be fishing although I do love to fish. Most of my time on the water is with a pole of some sort in my hands. I like to be in a boat but I like a kayak a lot better. I can paddle or pedal or just float back under a tree and relax. I can explore and I can get lots of exercise. I have some high end under water imaging and love seeing what is under the water. When I am floating I am smiling. I like to share these times with others but don’t have your mission to influence others. Glad you have it though. Really like the club and spend my share to time on the courses and articles. Plenty for me to learn yet. Love you guys.
Good stuff, Curtis. I love the quote, “When I am floating I am smiling.” Thanks for taking the time to share. Tight lines!