Ep #117 “How Elk Hunting Translates to Work, Family, and Life” with Mike Merrill
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Meet Mike
Mike Merrill grew up in a very large family as one of 13 children. When Mike's father passed away from a heart attack at the age of 45 when he was only 13 years old it forced him and his other 8 siblings that were still at home to really step up and do extra things to help their mother keep things afloat at the Merrill household. This helped the family hold onto their faith and values and also develop strength and character that can only come through hardship and struggle. These and other challenging experiences would shape what would become most important to Mike and how he would work to overcome any obstacle that came his way. Mike used these life lessons to inspire him to take control of his own life and become a young entrepreneur and business leader in his early twenties and he has continued in that path through different business ventures into today. Mike has always had a great passion for living an active lifestyle and enjoying hunting, fishing, hiking, and anything else that is outdoors. Mike has a special love for bow hunting and archery and enjoys pursuing big game animals wherever he can throughout the Mountain West. He has been married to his high-school sweetheart, Jennifer for 28 years and has four children and one grandson with another grand-baby on the way! Mike loves spending time with his family and traveling to new places together to experience and learn new things about other people and places!
Connect with Mike
Youtube Channel / LinkedIn / Instagram
Quotes
“I'll often say if I don't really want to do something for five years, I try not to do it for five minutes.”
“I just get a different level of fulfillment and kind of like your earlier question, that is actually what drives and prepares me for that hunting in the fall and being a better elk, so being a better elk Hunter helps me provide for my family"
“I love this whole process. Everything I do is bullet 1.1 of 1000 to get to the goal that I'm you know, I want to put an elk in the freezer.
“And now you're leaning into it. You're craving it, you're looking for it. I think that analogy for life; they say ‘life is what happens when you're making other plans,’ that's the secret. That's what we're here for. We're here to learn and grow.”
Takeaways from the interview
How are your values reflected in your activity?
How are you leaning into “the resistance” in your life?
What gives you fulfillment? What do you need to sacrifice to find it?
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Transcript of Episode #117
All right, welcome in the mirror forge podcast. So New Year kind of new focus on how is men can we encourage one another to embrace discomfort in life and what that leads to? And I thought this was a great guest guy found on Instagram. Mike Merrill from Utah Mike, it's great to have you in here, man.
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate the opportunity and great to finally meet you. More virtually, but kind of in person cart, right?
Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of these days right in the virtual is in person.
Oh, it is. Yeah. Love, love, love meeting people virtually because, yeah, it's a it's a great way to get to know a community that you otherwise never would have connected with.
Yeah, it absolutely just shrinks the world. It really does. So my you know, because I found you on Instagram. I'm kind of curious. It's kind of Andy love to get excited to get on our discussion because of what you you know, as a family man, a man of values. An entrepreneur, a business owner, looking forward to kind of hearing more of your career and what you've shared decisions, but I know you're an L Connor. But elk hunting isn't into the fall. So you know, how do you how do you an elk hunting as I've this little study I've done? You know, it's prep. You know, you got to be ready for it. You can't disrespect that what is the campaign said you can't disrespect the animal. That's so yeah. How do you what do you do in the offseason to prepare for the fall?
Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that. Shout out. I do love elk hunting a lot. It's become a I like all types of hunting, especially big game, but really drawn to archery and bow hunting. And yeah, there's just something about the majesty and how incredible elk are as creatures. Just fascinating. So yeah, it's definitely a passion. And it has become a year round pursuit for me. And just like you said, the training and the prep and the being in shape and taking, you know, e courses and E scouting and listening to podcasts while I run while I work out. So that I'm working on my, you know, the muscles between my ears at the same time as I'm working on the muscles on my body to help me have greater endurance and tenacity and grit for those high mountains. Right.
Yeah, gosh, and Utah. What beautiful country? Oh, man. Do you do most of your hunting actually in Utah?
I wouldn't say most No, it's, I mean, probably actually, not most, because I'm gonna try and hunt somewhere out of state or a couple of States every year. Also, when I can draw the tags or have opportunities, just depending on the schedule, I have a I'm a part owner of a software and technology company for construction. So we have a trade show. Season. And then we also have trade shows sprinkled throughout the year. So obviously the, the busyness of my schedule at work can sometimes impact my ability to get out into the Elk woods and chasing other things like mule deer bears and whatever else. So yeah, but I like to get out whenever I can.
And that's what I was going to ask you is are you so what other big game is? So are you black bears?
Yeah, I've got a black bear with my bow this last year here in Utah, that was awesome. And also antelope, mule deer. Other Other big game of all sorts and I should draw moose tag here in Utah here shortly but it's unique and different experience no matter what you're chasing, but similar in a preparation standpoint, and you know, being familiar with your equipment and accurate with with my bow and I do rifle hunt a little bit but, but I try an archery hunt whenever ever the opportunity.
Yeah. You know, I'm, I'm kind of geeking out a little bit of this, Mike, because I just think it's fascinating as a bow hunter, because it's like most people don't know, the difference is you have to be close, so much closer to the animal. But also you have to be good at the skill. You know, and learning how to you know, yeah, I mean, so I just think that's just a fascinating like, I mean, without calling them in, you know, they're just being in in their space. You know, I just think that's such a such a fascinating world to be in beyond because as an Alabama guy, you know, I grew up just hunting with the sitting in a tree stand and shooting them with a gun. So sure, yeah,
yeah, they it's funny because they talk about like, without, they'll say, you know, your you got to get in their bedroom, you know, their bedding area where they sleep. And that's, you know, that's that or transition to or from is is mostly where a lot of people have opportunities on animals. First Light and last light of the day, maybe when they get up to move around a little bit and get a new bed in the middle of the day. So yeah, getting your it's a lot like life and business. I mean, getting yourself in position and preparing and, you know, in hunting, it's the wind you've got to watch, you know, first and foremost and then you know, they say you know if they See you? Or they hear you, you might be able to get away with a little bit of it. But if they smell you, then you're you're done. It's over. Right. So kind of like competition.
Oh, yeah. Oh, that's interesting. I think I want to say I watched an episode of meat eater on Netflix, and I'm saying you can fool them with their eyes, their ears, but you can't follow them with, with the nose. Yeah. That's for sure. Um, well, Mike, I love just to dive into you know, how you got into business. I know, you got into entrepreneurship at a young age, I think you started a construction company. And I just would love to what about your upbringing? That encouraged that thought process? Go for it.
Yeah, sure. So, my, my father, from the time I was little only ever owned his own business. I mean, he sold life insurance and was in investments and things like that, but and he actually he passed away from a heart attack when I was only 13. And so he was pretty young, he was only 45. And, you know, I'm 50 Well, I'll be 50 this year, so I've outlived what he did, but, but what I even as a young man, he would always use phrases like, you know, mind over matter, or he would do different things to to motivate us and give us a reward for doing something difficult, like, you know, doing 100 Push ups or, you know, we he'd get us up as young kids in front of his whole sales team, sometimes over 100, you know, grown men or and women that we would go up and get in front of and do Do you know, 100 sit ups in a minute, or just something to show, you know, if we got a soda pop for a reward, or $1 I mean, just something maybe really small and miniscule that that was still motivating. And despite your size, or, or you know, maybe maybe you're you're more street smart than book smart, whatever your skill really is, with with hard work and grit and determination, you can overcome obstacles that would be seemingly insurmountable. So I learned that at a very young age, even though he died when I was very young. So that's just been something that stuck with me and helped lead me down a path that made me want to take control of my own life, and not necessarily have to depend on everybody else to provide for me and for my family, man.
That's great. So what were some of your early businesses that really got going? And what were some of the struggles that you had going through?
Yeah, it's actually pretty interesting, because, you know, I always had a goal to build my own home. I didn't know how was I was going to be able to do that. I'm gonna have uncles, my mom's brothers, that were pretty handy when I was a contractor. I mean, I was around it a little bit, just enough to see it. But I really didn't. I didn't know anything about, you know, swinging a hammer or nail guns or a compressor. I mean, I just had no knowledge of that. But when I was in high school, the girl that I was dating, who is now my wife, Oh, wow. Actually, my high school sweetheart, her father was a contractor, and he used to, you know, bug me every time I'd come. Oh, hey, why don't you come work on one of my framing crews? And yeah, eventually I did. And, man, I just fell in love with that. I fell in love with the hard work and feeling like you really accomplished something at the end of the day. And just the process. It just, it just spoke to me. And I realized then like, oh, okay, I could actually learn how to do this, even though I have had no background in it whatsoever. And I love playing baseball, and golf and sports and was more into that scene, baseball cards and things that were completely different than, you know, even love technology and computers, but completely the opposite of manual labor construction.
Right? Yeah, that is interesting. I think as somebody who you know, my job as a coach is, so I don't necessarily see the fruits of my labor. But sometimes it's like, in my mind, going doing hard labor seeing the work. And for you just yeah, like getting into construction. How much was the joy connected to the hard part?
Yeah, that's, that's a great observation. Man, it's you gets woven into that same fabric. I mean, you can't separate it at all without picking out one thread at a time. And I think that is that has become true, too. And synonymous with the rest of my life also, I mean, I feel like, you know, I'll often say if I don't really want to do something for five years, I try not to do it for five minutes. And so I just don't, you know, I'm almost 50 I mean, I've just learned and I wish I would have learned younger, you know, things like you know, I love golfing. I absolutely love it. And every time I go, I'm like, gosh, I got to do this more. Why am I not right? And I literally haven't been in like three years. I have a new driver that I got five years ago for Christmas. I've used like five times, man, but it's just because I have other passions that if I'm being completely honest, eight out of 10 times, I would rather go for a beautiful trail run up on a high mountain trail, and go golf. And not that even one cost money or not, or I just get a different level of fulfillment and kind of like your earlier question, that is actually what drives and prepares me for that hunting in the fall and being a better elk, Connor and so being a better elk Hunter helps me provide for my family and not just you know, yeah, I can go to Walmart, like anybody and go buy a steak or roast or ground beef or whatever. But man, if you have the opportunity to go from the sweat of your brow and on your back, you know, pack out the you know, the the nutritious, lean pure protein from an animal that you pursued. And hopefully with your bow and you got very close and personal and really an almost a spiritual experience. It's something just so different than going down, you know, the meat section at Walmart. So yeah, so that fulfillment is is so enriching. And it really brings more of a joy and a passion than just happiness, like hitting a golf shot. It's just completely different.
Yeah, because how much work you had to put into it. I mean, lessons golf, we just kind of pop out of the golf, you know, the card on slap one on the green, right? Yeah. And
I years ago, gosh, when I was when I was a contractor, I'm not a general contractor anymore. You know, I run a software company that does software for construction, which is also kind of an interesting backstory,
I was going to get there. Okay, but
But anyway, there was one season where, you know, I was golfing, and often like, I just thought I'd buy a season pass. So I did. And we would knock off about three or four o'clock every afternoon and go hit nine holes, at least. And then I got really, you know, a lot better at golf. And he was pretty cool. And for, you know, a few weeks, it was awesome. But after about a month of doing that, honestly, it was more like a hassle like, man, you know, I felt like I was missing out on other things I needed to do. I had other priorities. It just, it just didn't, it didn't align for me that I need to call this much. And so I understand what people say, you know, like that aren't professional sports or other other things where their passion and their hobby becomes their job. And then it becomes something different. So not that golf was nobody was paying me to golf, I just felt the pressure because I had a pass and just kind of was in the habit. So it felt like it was something that I needed to try and do to get my value of money out of the out of the ass. But I learned after that, and I haven't bought a season pass since then. Because I thought well, I'll just pay when I really want to go if I want to go.
Yeah, that's good. So, Mike, I'd love to get just your insight on being a young entrepreneur, being a young guy in business, you know, in your 20s How hard was it? I know, there's just a lot of young guys that, you know, they're they feel the tension of being consistent with their values in the midst of pursuit and making money and even providing for their family? How, yeah, how did you hold on to your values, the midst of trying to be more successful and make more money? And, and all that?
Yeah, that was tough. And it's a balance, too. I mean, you hear people say, Oh, that's just business or, you know, or they have two sets of ethics and values and, and that just doesn't fly. I mean, you know, if you're doing it in business, then that's who you are. You don't get to choose, oh, I'm gonna throw this hat on today and this hat on tomorrow. You're the same person, it's the same soul. It's the same, you know, same name, that's your family name. And yeah, so how you act or react to situations sometimes out of your control, that are unfortunate. Or maybe they're in your control, but you're young, and you're and you're prone to making mistakes, because you just don't know any better. And so, having grace with yourself and realizing that, you know, it's not how you it's not necessarily how you perform or whether you win or you lose, or you fail or you succeed. It's more back to you know, getting up and dusting yourself off when you get knocked off that horse and, and recognizing those lessons that you can learn from them, and then moving on better so that you're not that people say, you know, you you, you win or you lose or you win or you fail or you succeed, you fail. And I think and you hear this phrase thrown around, sometimes even loosely, but it's like we either win or we learn Yeah, you don't fail. It's not over. Right, right. You might have to stick another quarter in the machine but I'm aging myself there with the old
I got the reference Mike.
Yeah. So you may have to you may have To throw some more money in and to keep the thing rolling, but but at the same time, you know, hopefully you can actually learn from your successes, and figure out why it went, right. Why it went well. And that's the same in hunting. I mean, yeah, you learn way more from your mistakes, but man, if you really put all that your own work and effort into it, and, and you're really passionate about it, you're just not willing to make those same mistakes twice as much you can help it and so that you gotta, you know, pound that in your head and realize that, you know, I'm going to take the, not the path of least resistance, I'm going to take the better path and a lot of times that that lonely path is where, you know, there's a book called The dip. This is a fantastic book, and it basically talks about that dip that you all have to go through to get to something better. Yeah. And as you get through that dip, and start to get up into the steep, you recognize that, oh, wow, there's a lot less people here because they've all quit and decided to do something else because it got too hard for him. So if you can grip through that depth, man, you can get to the sunny side of the hill, where very few people actually make it.
Yeah. And I mean, what what would you say that allowed you to stay in that upswing? What mindset what part of your life that really kind of grain where it man, it's going to, like, I gotta keep keep going the same way I'm going?
Well, I mean, you know, back to another analogy, I mean, I started running, and gosh, I was I was 42. I think when I really, I mean, I've always been into fitness and working out in the gym, but But you know, I hated running couldn't stand it. And my wife has been a lifelong runner, almost 30 years, she's run very consistently and, and, you know, if I was chasing a ball, or a guy with a ball, or if I was had a guy chasing me, you know, with a ball, I was really pretty good at that stuff. But that was my competitive drive. But I hated running for the sake of running. And so but it was, it was through hunting, and you know, getting tired at chasing a buck or going through that experience that I finally realize, my fitness level is, is now at a place where I'm not enjoying this fulfillment like I normally would. And, and, and even though I love doing this, right now, this freakin sucks. And so, you know, I can't go, I can't put myself through this again, another season. And so I started running, set a real, you know, I felt like it was an attainable, but a stretch goal. You know, hey, this net, you know, by what I said, as the first year, I'm going to start running in 2015, and I'm gonna hit 250 miles by Easter, that was my goal. So basically, you know, it was the beginning of April, so three months, and I hit that I hit like, 256 miles or something, I scaled it properly. And, and, you know, just decided, you know, even if I have to slow down a walk sometimes up a hill, or, like, I got to be okay with that. And so that's another thing that your listeners can take away is, give yourself grace to you're not being lazy, but you're allowing yourself to really commit to the goal and to what it is you're trying to accomplish. And you're looking more long term. I mean, this is a marathon, it's not a sprint. And so you've got to, you know, give yourself enough grace to not, again, not cop out and not not just walk when you don't need to walk. But allow yourself to get up to speed, allow yourself to build up that resistance, allow yourself to have that mental fortitude, before you fully commit. Because if you keep stretching these goals too high, and you just can't reach them, then you're going to just feel like a failure all the time. And you'll actually probably have a tendency to just quit starting, quit trying, quit reaching. And so that 250 Let me get to where I was like, oh, man, okay, now I'm, I've become this runner through this process, where before I hated it, and now I actually love it. And I look forward to and I can't wait to do it. And so then I extended that goal and said, Well, you know, a quarter of the year 250 miles, well, I'm gonna have a goal to hit 1000 By the end of the year. And so I ended up doing that. And, and it was, again, because I allowed myself enough latitude and grace to get there, not just physically, my body could certainly do it, it was it was my mind. And that's usually the case with us as our mind is the problem. That's the weak spot. Our body can do so much more, that David Goggins says you're only even when you think you're ready to quit, and you can't go another step, you're really only 40% of your physical capacity. So,
so true. I mean, I think that anybody should have an experience physically, where they're exhausted and have to keep going. I mean, I did an adventure run where we were mountain biking, running and canoeing, and it was just like, you got the end and I was exhausted. I was like, I had so much more capacity than I thought I could. And it just like forcing yourself to do stuff like that. It then takes in the Nether. Next thing it's like what's what's what's blocked. tear, because clearly it's not here.
Yeah, there. It's like you're hiking and I had an experience like this. My father in law had a mountain goat tag quite a few years ago. True. The State gives away what's called a sportsman's permit. They only give one a year, and you'd have like four months to hunt. And any goat in the state any anywhere, any unit. And seven, you really could take a mature animal and you're hunting when nobody else is hunting, and you can use any weapon you want. And just a really cool opportunity. And so he was, I think there were 11 105 people or something that put in for this. And he drew up. So we went these different places and mountain goats. They don't live in flat ground. I mean, they're not in a cornfield. The steepest, nastiest, craziest country that you know where it's like 200 300 400 foot cliffs and ice everywhere you look pretty crazy. So we were we were looking for this mountain goat herd on this unit. It's called the beaver unit and beaver mountain. So we hiking and hiking, and we left before the sun came up. And we weren't to the highest peak of the highest peak until about 1pm. And we hiked it was, you know, it was probably eight, nine hours of of actual hiking to get to where we were, where the goats were. And so, but every time we got over that, I'm like, Oh, I think this this next mountain is before on x and, and all these mapping software's where you write a paper map. So we had no idea. We just kept going, going going and figured we get to the top, that's where the goals will be. And sure enough, we got to the top and, and there they were, and it was worth every step to get there. It was incredible, unique experience, you know, 1520 years ago, and I still remember like it was yesterday. So it's, it's like that in life where until you get to that next peak, you don't realize that there's another peak. And once you get there, and you're more than halfway, you're like, Okay, well, I got this far I can I can keep going the rest and find the motivation in the tank to get there. So
yeah, that's awesome, man. I mean, hunting stories in itself, right. They just, I love it, man. So yeah, Mike, I'd love to get to the part where okay, you're in construction, I think even did some real estate. And what got you into software? Well, I'd love to hear that transition.
Yeah. So this is this is also super interesting. So I had a very young age, you know, as running as a fairly successful construction company, we're growing. Pretty soon I got realtor's and model homes and got to a point where I was building 30 to 40 homes at a time. Wow, almost 100 And a year. And it was it was crazy. I didn't have any partners didn't have any it was just me. And, and they were selling homes super fast. And, and we got to a point where there was actually was in Oh, one, we had the Iraq war going on. And we had the United States was helping rebuild Iraq. And so we were sending a lot of our materials and resources over there to rebuild. Well, that spike the cost of our materials here. I mean, immensely in about a three month period, like a sheet of plywood. Well, I was paying about $5.50 for and they went to $32 in about 90 days. And so the challenge and the problem was I had all these pre sold homes, I'd like 38 contracts that I had to honor the price of and so even though I was running a you know, I think we did about 24 million in revenue that that last year, but the the spike in that and try to provide all those things and eat and absorb all those costs. Because I didn't have I didn't have contracts that allowed me to force people to sign a change order for material increases. I just didn't again, this is you know, I was young, I was like, you know, late 20s, early 30s. I didn't know any different I got realtors that are professionals that are helping me, you know. And they were just using the contracts that the state had for this, you know, they came out with a new new construction contract for realtors to use but it just didn't have all the provisions that we have today for protection of those types of things. So yeah, my business became a victim of that and I lost about 300,000 bucks in cash and about 90 days I just was really a rough go and finally I end up having to shut the company down I just could not keep absorbing those costs and going through that so I so I transitioned from that to I knew construction building real estate business I'm gonna have all of those things you know, in my in all those arrows in my quiver, so I transitioned to that and, and then it was in that process that a good friend of mine who had worked for me and we'd done projects together And he's our CEO of, of the company that my partner in. His name's Ryan Rimkus. And he had this idea, because we had framers and crews and our guys were, you know, turning in time cards were on paper. And, you know, he kept saying, There's got to be a better way to track this stuff. So his best friend since kindergarten was a programmer. And so they got talking, you know, could we build something that's like a little time clock. And so we started talking about that, and thinking, man, if he had something that was mobile and remote, and could go out to the job sites, you know, not like the punch clock at the factory, but but actually mobile and remote. And so, you know, they found another guy that was really good at mobile development, and which he could even imagine was on the old Nokia flip phones back then, because that's all they had. And we wrote software for a palm pilot. So the Palm Pilot became a mobile clock. And then we partnered with OtterBox, who at the time was a teeny little company out of Colorado, and we were their largest client for years. And we would put an Otterbox on every Palm Pilot and, and then sell that with our software to contractors to have a mobile time tracking system. So we started that it's called About Time technologies. We started that in 2003. And we've been going almost 20 years now. And now we have a cloud product called work, Max. And that's the mobile workforce podcast sign and my background. That's a podcast that I host for our business to talk about entrepreneurship and businesses being better and culture and how to recruit and retain talent and just things that challenges that contractors face. And how to overcome those is something that we talked about every week on our show, so long story to get to hear but essentially, learn construction, learned that world learned the problems, the challenges, experienced those very firsthand and then reinvented my knowledge and reapplied it to something completely different on the other side of the same spectrum of construction to say how do I help other contractors be better, and not have these pitfalls and challenges and surprises financially that are that are catastrophic for their business?
Yeah. I just love that, Mike, because I mean, I love the quote, you're your best position to serve the person you used to be. What you just did, man, you just started that guy that used to be so I mean, you I appreciate you giving a plug for your podcast, the mobile workforce podcast. I love that man. And and you're Yeah, it's just business in all areas. That's really good. So yeah, Mike, I loved kind of asked, and you've kind of hit on this already. But what you know, what would you tell your 25 year old self? If you could sit him down right now?
Well, you know, it's funny because I have a son, that's 25. And, and he you know, he I took him trail running with me one time and he's way into, I mean, he's, he's in better shape than I am. He's super, he's ripped and fit and, you know, still young and spunky, and all the things. But, you know, you want to make a 25 year old, young man cry, you take him up on a mountain trail, and, you know, have him try and keep up with you if you've been doing it a while. And so just he's like, why are you doing this? The only ones up? Why are you running up this? Why are you hiking? Why are you why are you? Why are you doing this? And so I got to explain that to him. And I just told him, you know, my younger self, that was the other thing I was so I was so just just super, super analytical, and, and very good at avoiding the suck, avoiding pain in our business today, it helps companies avoid that pain. But on the opposite side of that I have learned that if I can lean into the heart, if it's raining and snowing, that's, it's honestly this isn't cliche, this isn't made up. That's when I want to run outside. Yeah, I threw up the opposite. I was the kid that would figure out 15 ways to get out of the work before I would put the work in. And so I just had to use that same brain and flip it on its head and say, what if I did do that hard thing? What if I What if I actually learn to enjoy it? Yeah, and the reason is, and I mean, it's so true. If if my most difficult challenging times are when I'm choosing to do it when I when in my free time. Like when when you know I had to a buddy reposted a post I did the other day I was running on this snowy trail. And he posted something And unsaid. You know, this guy's out here doing this, while so many others are like, Oh, it's snowing like crazy outside, I don't, I can't make it to the gym today, right? It's like the mountains, my gym and I'm driving through snow that I'm almost getting stuck and just to get there so that I can go run in the same thing that my truck couldn't get through and right. But in doing that I've unlocked new levels, you know, if we're talking a good analogy, it's like, I found that secret turtle shell. The extra extra lives. Yeah, power. And so when you're hunting, and it does suck, because a lot of times, it gets that bad weather. It's difficult, it's challenging, you mess up, or maybe the wind shifts and the elk blow out of there. And you work three days to get on this herd. And this is all you've been watching all summer and all the things that just, you know, really build up that did that that huge climax opportunity you've been waiting for. And then and then it falls apart. It's like, oh, my gosh, you know, I've been training all year for this moment. And, but then you learn like, okay, it's not just about getting the oil, you can hang on your wall, you can put your freezer in that you can enjoy the on the trigger. It's the experience you're having in that journey and finding joy in that journey. So that's what I told my son is, dude, actually, it's not just, it's like this whole process that I love. And this doesn't end here, when I go back home and shower up or go sit in the hot tub or what or try and relax. Like this is just, you know, bullet 1.1 of like, 1000 to get to the goal that I'm you know, I want to put an elk in the freezer. And then when you put the elk in the freezer, every single one of those moments that sucked is like, oh, yeah, baby, bring it on. And so now you're leaning into it. And again, you're craving it, you're looking for it. And so I think that analogy for life is that, you know, life is, it's like you They say life is what happens when you're making other plans. It's like, that's the secret. That's like, that's what we're here for. We're here to learn and grow. And if I can accelerate that, like lifting heavier weights, if I can lean into that resistance and that difficulty and actually overcome it, I'm going to get so much stronger. And I'm going to get I don't need to take three months to get in shape. I could do what most people take three months or a year in a month. Yes, that value stack that where can I get to? And so I think it's it ties in a hunting life, being a dad, being a father being a provider, like just leaning into all those things and figuring out what, how many, how many uncomfortable conversations Am I willing to have to get to that great place where Okay, now I'm, I'm just I'm in, I'm on the sunny side of the hill and enjoy those warm rays.
Yeah. And there's something that you really hit on there is kind of something I've been thinking through the comfort, discomfort paradox, like, more discomfort, the more hard the work, it's making the elk tastes better. It's making that hot tub more relaxing. You know, it's like all the things that we lean into your comfort. It's the discomfort that makes this much better.
Yeah, I agree. And that's the other thing too. I think in the end, once you've done that, it's like, okay, and there are people that I mean, I've been on hunts where, you know, my wife's uncle one time was on this, we're on this hunt out of town and camping and spotting trips, and you know, like months of prep, and he he killed this nice deer and it was an and he stood over after and he's like, he just he looked like he didn't know quite what to do. And like, I'm like, This is awesome. And he's like, yeah, and he just kind of, and I'm like, what, what's wrong? And he's like, this, I he thought it was gonna be better than this for him. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I learned something. And I thought that's really interesting. You know, I would loved I'm, I mean, I can't even imagine having gotten a buck like this. You know, this quality and, you know, old old deer and a great deer and awesome and, but for him, I just don't think he enjoyed the journey. Yeah. And so the trophy was kind of empty. It was cool for a minute. Yeah, but once the adrenaline wears off, it's like, Okay, now what you know, yeah, we're I'm value stacking and I'm, and again, the hierarchy point I had hoped to make is that I mean, hunting is just in my bones. It just speaks to me. It's something I've always wanted to do. And my dad did it a little bit was a weekend guy wasn't ever any good at it didn't prepare, didn't, didn't any of the things that I try and do now. Right I found those because I found that passion. But it's not. It's not just, you know, I run to be healthy, I run to be in shape, I run to feel better I run because I can listen to podcasts and learn while I'm running and working on my body and doing things that, you know, not just use it. I mean, I liked that too. But, but 90% of everything I listened to is something I can learn from, and be better. And so, so that's just what I choose. But, but that process is actually making me a better person and fulfilling me in other ways. So the hunting, and the outdoor experience, getting an LP comes the maybe the reason that I pursue so hard, and I put this work in, at the joy comes in putting the work in. And so I'm being healthy, of body, mind and spirit and, and I'm happy and I'm excited, and I have something to look forward to. And so it's not just you know, like, as a little kid, you're like, Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Just can't wait to get the, you know, I'm kind of that way with this lifestyle where, you know, there's no finish line. The journey is the destination. Yeah, it's not a place.
Yeah, and something about, I guess, our first world lifestyle, it's like, you know, I can't wait to graduate college, can't wait to get out of college, you know, or can't wait to make this mount at this job and get here have this house. And it's just all we're all, like you said, and we're continually putting finish lines, and then we're missing the entire journey. And the joy because we're trying to move past the discomfort of the in between of the journey. Yeah, so
that's true, man. I was just gonna say actually, I have like 78 credit hours in college, and I was getting a business degree with an emphasis in construction management. And I have like, one semester left, if I go take the right like, but I was running my business on the side, I was building a family, I built a new home when I was 23. I did all the work on it. Like I was just so busy, like I couldn't and something had to give and I was like, That degree would be awesome. As a goal. I still have a goal to get one. I don't need it. i i I'd like to do it because I said I was going to do it. My I started on it. So I want to finish it. But you know, here I'm almost 50 And I haven't gone back for that last semester yet. You know, so maybe one day I'll pull Shaquille O'Neal, and you don't get the degree later after. Anyway, this kind of funny. So yeah, I think it's good not to put ourselves in that cookie cutter that society tells us like find your path, and your passion and where you feel like you're home. And the thing that speaks to you. And you'll find the life lessons and the experience and the success that you deserve. And that you that you need to fill that fulfillment. It's great.
Well, Mike, I appreciate you coming on. Where can my listeners find you?
Yeah, you could just find me on Instagram. It's just at Michael T Merrill all all straight through just my full name. And I'm on Twitter and Facebook and all that to us post a lot on Instagram. And then our our podcast is called the mobile workforce podcast is on all the platforms. Our company social stuff is at work Max underscore on Instagram and, you know, we'd like to help companies and contractors and and, you know, businesses that have a need to, to track their production and the things that they're doing. So I love that fulfilling side of of my life too. And, and that's, that's where you'll find me.
Great. Well, Mike, I appreciate you coming on, man. It's been a blast talking to you.
All right. All right. Thanks again. Appreciate it and I look forward to catching up down th
