Blackboard Friday: My Fish! Get your own!

So have you heard the old saying “Give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life”? As I get closer to my first year here at Webguerrilla/3 Dog Media I realize how untrue this statement is in this industry.

A while ago I read on Shoemoney.com where Andy Beal posted a comment saying “You (referring to Shoemoney) once said that ‘if you teach a man to fish, he’ll steal all your fish’”. And at that point that statement put into words what I had been experiencing while rolling with Greg and Dax. Writing tons of code and criss crossing America attending conferences has given me a unique perspective on the ins and outs of this industry.

Now before you start thinking that this is a negative post it is actually a post about how I have learned more this last year from Greg, Dax, Shoemoney, Brent, Neil and many others about getting my own fish than I have working for corporate America most of my professional life.

If we take the analogy of that old saying, picture two people on a frozen lake. One has a pole with a hole in the ground and a pile of fish sitting next to him along with a nice little fire with a big fish roasting for all to see. The other is hungry, has no pole and has to make a decision.

Does he:

a) Ask the man for a fish since he has so much even though he already knows that nobody gives up any fish?

b) Realize that he is only going to get hungrier and his best bet is to observe, learn and replicate?

c) Give up, go home, convince himself there are no more fish in the lake and eat saltine crackers.

The correct answer in my opinion is (b), but I will write about that in a bit. Lets now explore why (a) and (c) are going to lead down a path with no results.

If the hungry man chose to go down path (a) the man with plenty of fish would likely not give up much if any. In fact the man with fish worked long hours to perfect his skills in order to be able to catch as many fish as he could with as little effort possible. Plus even though it may be in his nature to help others the man with fish knows that if he gives to this hungry man many more will come to ask for free fish and soon all his fish will be gone.

If the hungry man chose to go down path (c) he would have to give up his dream of eating a good meal day after day and most importantly convince himself that there is no better life available for him other than the one he has set before him. The man with tons of fish to him is lucky like people who win the lottery. He fails to see the opportunity to observe and learn. He believes nobody wants to help him and has fallen defeated destined to eat saltine crackers all his life.

Now lets say that the hungry man has gone down path (b). The hungry man quickly sees the obvious (Hole In The Ground + Fishing Pole = Fish). Oh but if things were only that easy right? The hungry man introduces himself and mentions that he too will be fishing at which point the man with fish introduces himself and wishes the other luck realizing that it was only a matter of time before people would try to fish. After this the hungry man promptly finds himself a good stick for a pole at no cost and starts to dig a hole. Although it is hard work to create a hole in the ice it is somehow gratifying and again cost nothing more than his time and energy.

After some time he has caught no fish and getting frustrated he remembers to observe. At this point the hungry man realizes another missing element to his approach. He sees the man with fish put bait on his line before placing the hook in the water. “Does baiting really work?” the hungry man asks himself and gives it a try. Soon he has his first fish and proudly holds it up for all to see. After some time he learns much more than he could have imagined from the man with fish from observing his methods and quirks for fishing. And after a while the hungry man earns respect from the man with fish and eventually starts exchanging ideas from time to time about how to more efficiently capture fish.

And everyone lived happily ever after. The End.

So the moral of this story is ‘just start fishing’. Like Neil Patel’s earlier post about Walking or Running I believe that if you start fishing sooner rather than later you will find yourself surrounded by others doing the same and be in the best position to exchange ideas and learn as much as possible through close observation.

Personally I have learned that nobody was given anything in this industry. Unlike corporate America MBA’s and PhD’s don’t really amount to much and give you no extra advantage over anyone else. At least everyone that I have met has created there own pile of fish. Lastly there are so many opportunities available to me and everyone else. The difference is now I can see them.

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