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Gold Prospecting Philosophy
Here is my gold prospecting philosophy.
For one I never follow others. I firmly believe that you cannot succeed gold prospecting by worrying about what other gold prospectors are doing and where they are doing it. I like to find my own spots and of course new spots are hard to find and you need the mental attitude that you can succeed. Part of this success is having hunting partners who believe the same things you do. Your drive and attitude feed each other and when gold shows in areas never prospected by you and your partners before you know you have accomplished what most only dream of. I have been lucky over the years to have enjoyed the company of several great hunting partners and my current hunting partners are top notch in the field.
I rarely attend what I consider commercial outings, here in Arizona these are held by various organizations. I just don't care to be lectured by people who main goals are sales and spend 1/20th of the time I do in the field. It is just is bad time management.
I also firmly believe in reading as much as possible about prospecting and geology. Now I'm not referring to the GPAA magazine or the ICMJ magazine, I have read and do read these but not for core knowledge, it's just not there. These magazines are great to learn about new products, technologies, friendship and humor. I like to read old geologic repots, maps, books and older publications for core knowledge. The one thing that no book can give you is field experience. I firmly believe time in the field is the best teacher. The old timers had no books or geologic knowledge and the vast majority of the areas they found are now considered classic. The old timers learned to read the ground and in time you can too.
I am a member of several clubs but never attend outings or meetings. I truly do enjoy meeting other prospectors and making friends but after attending many club meeting and outings I know for a fact these are just social gatherings. There is nothing wrong with social gatherings but it's not my cup of tea. I'm a hunter and adventurer. If there is any kind of outing I do like it's the non-profits the 5 or 10 guys who just make a public offer (I have made many of these public offers) and I have made some great friends doing so.
You will always hear "Go where gold has been found before". That is great advice and I have found a lot of gold by doing so. But the adventurer in me makes me research new areas and want to find new gold. It's a passion, a conquest. Call it what you will. Once you have located dozens of new spots or even one you'll know the fact that the feeling cannot be matched.
You'll always hear "Those guys are crazy" when it comes to people who think outside the box. But in every field of endeavor those are always the most successful people. You can't care what others think of your plans. They are your plans, and when you succeed you have no one to bow to and only the hands of your hunting partners to shake and know that you have succeeded together through research, planning, teamwork and actions.
This is a subject I could expand on much further but I think you get the point.