the Ripening: Notes & Quotes: Endure by Cameron Hanes

The following are my favorite quotes from Cameron Hanes's Endure: How to Work Hard, Outlast, and Keep Hammering.

Some people live their whole lives never finding their true passion. I was twenty years old when I first tasted bowhunting success and that marked the time I discovered my purpose. Suddenly I had something in my life to focus my energy on. I quit college and quit about everything else just to be able to bowhunt more.
I don't tell people what to do, nor do I try to speak for others. I just share what I do and what I'm passionate about, because life without passion is simply existence in my opinion.
You just need to get out the door and worry about today only. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about a week from now. You worry about today. Win the day. Do something positive. Worry about tomorrow tomorrow.
Average effort yields average results.
We all have struggles, and those struggles can define who you are. It's all part of the journey.
Don't ever prejudge who can and cannot make an impact in your life. Even the most unlikely of people can turn out to be instrumental in your journey. Maybe the villain in your story is actually just an antihero in disguise.
There are so many crutches people want to use to justify themselves, but for me, you have to eliminate every single one of them. Get rid of all of them. Then tell yourself it's up to you. What you are you going to do now hat you've let go of those crutches?
We all have routines. They can be productive or they can be poisonous.
Mountains are the great equalizer in life. Roy and I believed this, so we sought out more rugged country than anybody else, knowing that would give us an advantage because in the regular world, the people with money or connections had an advantage over regular guys like us. But material success, money, and reputation don't mean anything in the mountains.
My success isn't all about what I do. It's also about what I don't do. I don't drink, fish, golf, play poker. We haven't taken any family vacations. Nothing distracts me from being disciplined. Most people won't give up all I will. It's as much about what I don't do as opposed to the daily work I put in.
Don't make excuses. Give it your all. Show up when you're supposed to show up. Speak your mind. Own up to your mistakes. Think with perspective. This is how you live a life worth remembering.
The truth is that I've always worked really hard because I've never really felt like I had a ton of natural skills or talent. It would feel unnatural to me not to have a regular job. I feel like such a life is reserved for someone who's a star, and I don't think I've got that, so I grind it out. I grind it out at training and I grind it out at work.
I've always been a hard worker, but that's just the start. You can't just have a work ethic; you have to earn it. Discipline and excellence aren't something you can just think about and achieve. Decide to do something every day for a year. Whether it's running a mile, reading a chapter, writing a paragraph, eating breakfast, or drinking a gallon of water: find something that will help you improve yourself and do it every day for a year.
Those who work that hardest are successful, period. Get to work.
Training hard is not easy. It'd be really easy not to run every day. It'd be really easy not to lift every day. It'd be really easy not to shoot my bow every day. Only problem: Easy sucks!
For those who says it's "too much" to hammer every day with all you have, I can't relate to that mindset. And I don't want to. Life ain't easy. Just gotta keep grinding.
The only way to make dreams possible is to sacrifice.
All I know is that you don't need anyone to believe in your dream. With tunnel-visioned focus, you can be whatever you want to be.
What brings you fulfillment and a sense of purpose? Focus on that and foster a life built around it. Study your craft and spend time excelling in it, whatever "it" might be. Find others who share your passion and follow their footsteps. Love the journey and ignore thoughts of the finish line, as this is a race that never ends.
Nobody really cares about your goals. Nobody cares about your excuses for not achieving what you said you would or what you thought you deserved. You want people to care? Then do something special. Do something that people can't ignore, easily dismiss, or one-up.
I'm not blessed with insane talent. My secret is time. And I've been grinding for years to get where I am at.
Easy seldom makes memories.
Your "bowhunting" is out there. I promise. It will open doors for you as well. But be warned: when you become obsessed, it takes over your life. This obsessive approach works for me. It has changed my life, impacted others positively, and most importantly has taught my kids that anything is possible.
"Mediocrity feels so fucking good!" [David] Goggins posted. "If you have to wake up and don't want to work out, all you have to say is 'Fuck it, I don't give a shit!' And if you're mediocre, you are probably handing around other mediocre people, so they are happy that you don't add pressure to their life! One big happy soft-ass family!!! People don't like hanging around that motherfucker who makes them feel uncomfortable or life an underachiever on a regular basis! We stay away from the fucking savage who wakes up at 0330 regardless the weather, if they got a good night's sleep, if their life sucks and times are hard. People stay clear of that cat! Those kind of people make you question yourself. They also let you know where your life ends and their life begins!"
"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." Socrates
Surround yourself with those who push you to be a better human. Strive to find people you can model yourself after and you can see qualities and characteristics that you want to possess yourself.
Doesn't is seem odd that "winners" seem to find a way to win at everything they do? They win at life. I think it's because they put the same amazing energy, effort, and focus into everything they touch...work, training, their craft, mental strength/growth, diet, etc. They never make excuses. Instead, they will push themselves to excel and win.
All I have...All I can bring to the table...All is can do is to outwork everybody.
If you're not the hardest-working person you know, you're not working hard enough. An outlier will never allow someone to outwork them.
I recently negotiated a new contract with one of my best sponsors, Hoyt, which is the brand of the bow I shoot. I was underpaid and knew it, but for years I wasn't worried about it because I'm not motivated by money. However, when the time came to sign a new contract, I decided to be more serious about my value, because if we aren't our own advocate, how can we expect someone else to be?
All I ever say to them is, "Do you love shooting your bow?" "Yeah," they might say. "Okay, then shoot your bow. A lot. Get good at shooting your bow. Worry about all the other stuff later." You can't design a hunting boot before you destroy your first few pairs.
I always say to make sure your journey is fueled by your passion. Don't set the goal to be a great marathon runner unless you really love to run. Unless your passion is there, it's just not going to work.
If you want to make it in any field, including the hunting industry, get to work. And do it with a smile, because every day is a gift. Honor that gift.
Know what your weaknesses are and don't play into them. Concentrate on your strengths. My strengths are: I'll put in the work every day and I won't quit. I do things that enhance my strengths. That's running. That's lifting. That's hunting.
Your body gives what you ask of it. Don't ask much and it won't give you much. Ask a lot and it will give you a lot. I haven't found my limit yet, but I am trying.
Maybe some people don't believe me when I say I'm not that talented. It's like, no, I'm just working harder than you. That's all there is to it. Maybe you're better than me, but you're not sacrificing. That's how I've always felt.
If you love animals like elk, moose, and deer, death by a hunter is about the best they are going to get. Man has compassion, animals don't.
Life is too short to be bitter, prideful, or vengeful. Tell them how you feel sooner rather than later as tomorrow isn't guaranteed.
My alarm is set for 4:55 a.m. because getting up "in the fours" sounds better in my head than getting up in the fives, more committed, but I never make it to the alarm. I turn it off before it goes off. I don't dread getting up; I love it. It's another chance to hammer.
The saying goes, the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward. Always has been true. Always will be true.
Tomorrow's never guaranteed. I could have big goals and dreams down the road, but I could be dead tomorrow. So I pretty much take one day at a time. I give the best I can every day.
Be obsessed or be average, I say. Sometimes it takes obsession to succeed at difficult tasks.
You have to work hard and sacrifice. You have to stand out to succeed. You have to pick and choose what you're going to be, what you're going to excel at. You can't excel at 100 different things, because you have to be obsessive to excel. So if you're obsessive about business, you're probably not going to have time to be obsessive about archery. Because that's what it takes. Obsession to be the best at one thing.
I live every day feeling like if you're not giving all you got, then you're not really honoring the gift of life.
No excuses, give your all, show up when you're supposed to, speak your mind, own your mistakes, think with perspective, and live a life worth remembering.