Endure: How to Work Hard, Outlast, and Keep Hammering

by Cameron R. Hanes

I’VE BECOME GOOD FRIENDS WITH PAIN OVER THE YEARS AS HE’S WITH ME ON ALL MY MOST MEMORABLE AND REWARDING CHALLENGES.

I’VE BECOME GOOD FRIENDS WITH PAIN OVER THE YEARS AS HE’S WITH ME ON ALL MY MOST MEMORABLE AND REWARDING CHALLENGES.

I ran like Steve Prefontaine, going out hard and refusing to let go of the lead.

I ran like Steve Prefontaine, going out hard and refusing to let go of the lead.

This was my normal. I just didn’t have it. That’s what I grew up with. Life has always been a grind.

This was my normal. I just didn’t have it. That’s what I grew up with. Life has always been a grind.

“‘Why run?’ is a question often asked,” Steve Prefontaine once penned in a high school essay. “Why go out there every afternoon and beat out your brains?… What is the logic of punishing yourself each day, of striving to become better, more efficient, tougher?”

“‘Why run?’ is a question often asked,” Steve Prefontaine once penned in a high school essay. “Why go out there every afternoon and beat out your brains?… What is the logic of punishing yourself each day, of striving to become better, more efficient, tougher?”

“The value in it is what you learn about yourself. In this sort of situation all kinds of qualities come out—things that you may not have seen in yourself before.”

“The value in it is what you learn about yourself. In this sort of situation all kinds of qualities come out—things that you may not have seen in yourself before.”

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.

What are you passionate about? What is the one thing you could never give up? How much would you endure to never let it go? All you need to have is a passion and a will to sacrifice greatly. That’s enough. That’s all I’ve ever had.

It’s easy to use your childhood as a crutch instead of seeing it as a chisel.

Suffering grants power.

I want to sweat and be miserable. That is always my goal. Train for misery and embrace the pain. This is my approach, because you know you’ll experience it in the mountains.

Either you quit or you push through the aches. I push. I ignore it. I’m pretty sure no one has ever died from a blister.

When my shoulders ache, my back tightens, and my quads engage, I feel the hunt has finally given the one thing I long for. Obviously, the suffering endured while packing meat out means success, but it represents more than that. The dripping sweat and fight for solid footing gives me what I need. I’ve come to long for and embrace the struggle. Without it, I am not me.

There has been a target on my back, being judged by everything I say and do or maybe it’s just been my own doubt that magnifies the negative energy others put out there? Confidence is so tough to earn and so easy to lose.

Are you good enough? This is the question every sport asks. As players go from high school to college to professional athletics, the answer most eventually come to is that dreaded two-letter word: No.

A job a monkey might very well be able to do.

You are the only person to push yourself.

for a young man, having confidence and getting positive reinforcement in anything was a powerful spark for change in my life.

Here’s the truth: I’m an average guy who has experienced above-average bowhunting success over the past three decades. One thing is for sure—if I can do it, anyone can.

I’m flawed in many ways; blessed more than I deserve and yes still have that chip on my shoulder. A dichotomy? Affirmative.

The rare people who do become truly exceptional at something do so not because they believe they’re exceptional. On the contrary, they become amazing because they’re obsessed with improvement. And that obsession with improvement stems from an unerring belief that they are, in fact, not that great at all. It’s anti-entitlement. People who become great at something become great because they understand that they’re not already great—they are mediocre, they are average—and that they could be so much better.

Two of the most haunting words in life come in a question. What if?

My friends and I came up to the swimming hole to drink and accomplish nothing. That was my life.

We all have routines. They can be productive or they can be poisonous.

I had found my passion and purpose. I just had to find the strength and persistence to pursue it.

The easiest thing to do in life is to give up on a goal and to stop pursuing a passion. I get it.

Here’s one reason why bowhunting is both exciting and excruciating: It’s difficult and frustrating as hell.

It might sound like awful, manual labor for little money, but the funny thing is I remember loving it. We worked hard and it felt fun most days. The motto of this story: A good work ethic can only get you so far. I needed to want more out of my life.

What if I would have died that night? A wannabe athlete, young and dumb, putting alcohol over life would have meant giving up bringing three amazing souls into this world. It would have discarded a wonderful wife and deep brotherhoods and incredible memories and amazing experiences. There would have never been a Keep Hammering lifestyle, because I would have died as a result of being hammered. I would have never endured the devastating loss of my dad and my best friend which, through heartache, has made clear my own existence and purpose.

My first taste of hater envy.

Weak people hate success.

I was short on writing talent but long on desire, the story of my life.

Being a loser isn’t cool. But you know what’s worse than that? Being a loser dad.

Suddenly I wasn’t just on my own. Now I was affecting other people’s lives. I gotta be an example.

It’s one thing to find your true passion in life, but what about your poison?

Recognize this in your life and you’re in control regardless of what others might lead you to believe. Remove the obstacles and distractions and watch your dreams become reality.

Alcohol wasn’t going to help me in any area of my life, especially with my hunting. I’m not judging anybody else, but for me, I had to quit drinking.

You have to know what your strengths and weaknesses are. You have to be honest with yourself, sometimes brutally honest. Then you have to put in the work.

Becoming a dad changed my life. Was I going to be a “loser dad,” or was I going to show my kids how to pave a path to success? I made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve tried to show them that through hard work, you can achieve some pretty crazy goals. It worked. They are more successful than I ever was.

What if we threw out what people think about hunters? What if we tossed away the stereotypes and semantics about them? What if we invented the ultimate predator? What would that look like?

To me it resembled a professional athlete, someone who focused on nutrition and who trained hard. Someone who wanted to break down their mental barriers so they could be stronger than they’ve ever been.

I’m grateful every day for my children—Tanner, Truett, and Taryn. I believe they will make a positive impact on the world.

After my stepdad took me and my brother to our first “deer camp,” I killed a spike buck at about 150 yards with a .300 savage mag. It didn’t matter how unimpressive the antlers were; I was very proud. This experience ignited a passion for the mountains and the challenge of the hunt. I got positive attention for killing that very small buck. For a fifteen-year-old with braces and acne, that was empowering. That experience in the clean mountain air inspired me to write a story for English class in school. My teacher, Mr. Haller, said I was a great writer. He may have been lying, but I believed him and built on that one random comment.

You don’t need a big break to “make it.” You need to just take one small step. Then another. And another.

A successful journey might start with a simple compliment, a pat on the back, or sharing a hunting camp with a kid. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting from.

Here’s all I need to be happy: wild mountains, a good bow, a sharp knife, sturdy boots, a strong spirit, and the