Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Waking up at 5 AM is never easy. It is the winter, so the warm blankets feel good, and another couple of hours of sleep is tempting. You went to bed around midnight hanging out with some good friends, and it had been a long week. Nevertheless, you roll out of bed, put on your longjohns, jeans, boots, sweater and a warm coat and head outside. It is about 28 degrees and the windchill makes it feel colder. It is pitch black. You can hear the coyotes. You get in your Jeep and your buddy drops you off at your deer stand. You wait. You wait. You wait. The sun slowly rises. “What was that?” you say to yourself. Is that a buck? The sun rises a little more. No that was just a tree that looked like a buck. Crap! Around 7 A.M. you hear something. You have been still for 2 hours and your fingers are numb, but you are filled with excitement. Your heart races, your palms get sweaty. Then it happens. A buck deer emerges from the woods.
What you have just experienced is what Texans call “Buck Fever”. Waking up early was awful. Waiting was worse. Being cold in the darkness was miserable. What was great though, and made everything worth it, was watching the beautiful sunrise and seeing that buck. This buck was old and mature and had 18 points! Everything you have been looking for is staring you right in the face! You have been looking for this buck for 10 years.10 years! You have been doing this same ritual every winter, just waiting for this one minute in time!
Life is a lot like this isn’t it? Sometimes the things you really want in life don’t come the first time you seek them. They don’t come without disapointment and frustration. They take patience. They often come with a lot of heartache before you achieve them.
Careers are like this. There are some days when we all ask ourselves “Why are we doing this again?”. Then you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go after it again. One of my favorite quotes of all times is from Thomas Edison. He said: “Anything you want o’ discontented man, step up, pay the price and take it”. If you want something bad enough, you will work to achieve it.
It doesn’t matter which career you choose. You could be in sales and get that client that you have been chasing for 5 years. You could be an engineer and break that code that allows you to complete a software project. You could be a doctor and find a cure to cancer. You could be a recruiter and hire the candidate you have been trying to convince to leave his current job and go to another opportunity. Whatever your career, however, we all get that “Buck fever”. We all have something we desire. Sometimes we don’t get what we are after the first time, but with hard work and dedication we will get what we are after. When it stares us in the face, all of our emotions come together at once. How do you think Olympians feel when they finally make the Olympics? A lot of hard work and dedication right?
What are you after? When was the last time you had the fever? Have you worked hard enough to get that prize or are you still waiting for it? Be patient. It will come and it will be worth it.