When I first joined a bass club in 1995, I was in awe of my new friend Lee Byrd. He’d won the Wrangler Angler title (now the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship) to qualify for the 1990 Bassmaster Classic and had also competed in the Red Man All-American.

I’ve never been big on motivational speakers and literature. While I’m sure some of them are very valuable and insightful, for each useful example I’m sure there are tanks full of snake oil. Whenever I see someone post something on social media like a meme about “the hustle,” I assume they’re either trying to signal some sort of virtue or convince themselves of their own work ethic.