Mike Hewett's Farm....

Check out my gardening/farming mentor’s website for some great ideas and upcoming markets he’ll be attending:

http://www.mikehewettsfarm.com/

Harvest Pic, Weekend Work, Learning and Friends.....

Shelled a lot of peas/beans and created a fair amount of compost to boot.…

I also met with some buddies to game-plan a community garden for a local food-bank, knocked out my yard work, did my Saturday morning long distance Bible study, knocked out two workouts, and burnt a lot of fallen wood created by Irma…..

In line with my goal of learning something new every week at work and play, we discovered a flaw in a formula at my main job I will be correcting tomorrow.

Additionally, I studied YouTube and tuned up my lawnmower myself and got it running after two weeks of watching my grass grow, a move that saved me upwards of $100.00.

Finally, but most importantly, thanks to several friends (and more I’ll sadly leave out due to a rapidly deteriorating memory…) in no particular order (except the first one J):

• ·       Carey (the wifey and boss): Thanks for always being my primary source of motivation to make a better life for something bigger and better than myself….
• ·       My children: My reason for legacy in all areas.
• ·       Kadar: You getting up at 4:00 AM your time (Arizona) every Saturday to do long-distance Bible study and always calling me out on my excuses keeps me constantly seeking to be a better Christian, husband, father, friend and citizen….
• ·       Ricky: Your messages every Sunday morning both inspire and challenge me. Thank you.
• ·       Andy: Thank you for always motivating me.  You have no idea how valuable your friendship is to me….
• ·       Corey: I know your struggles, brother, despite you never calling them by name. You are a constant source of inspiration. We will be successful. Bank on that….
• ·       Lenny: My biggest reset button and future successful business partner.
• ·       Joe C: Thank you for being a father-figure and constantly reminding me that you both love me and expect my best in life.
• ·       Regan: Thanks for being a humble/servant leader I can aspire to be like.
• ·       Capo: You know who you are. Thanks for always having my back.
• ·       Devin: Your future as a leader is beyond your wildest imagination.
• ·       Darryl: My newest friend.
• ·       Mike H: My gardening mentor and all-around citizenship example. 

Excellence is Boring....

Check this guy out…he makes a lot of valid points….

Excellence is Boring Recently I had lunch with a client. She made a small comment that hit me big, like a right hook to my mind. She said, “Excellence is boring.” She went on: “I just read an article that said people who do great things keep a singular focus. They stick with one idea, building a deep expertise. They get up every day, always searching for a small advancement, an incremental improvement. In that way, excellence is boring.” This stuck with me. It’s a powerful way to look at excellence. While I had never thought of excellence as being boring, I had noticed I admired people for focusing on one thing, once they found their one thing. I thought of Stan Musial, playing every year for the St. Louis Cardinals, and being named to a record twenty-four All-Star games. Same team, same approach. Excellence is boring.  Then I thought of Amy Eubanks, my daughter’s high school cross country coach. In twenty-six years of coaching, she’s won the state championship twenty-one times. She uses the same workouts on the same days, every single year. She has a system. Excellence is boring. Then I thought of my Grandfather, Ralph Goodrich, a long-time staple of Stuben County, Indiana. He graduated high school with no assets to speak of, worked hard as a laborer to save money, and bought a farm with my Grandmother in 1943. Only five years later they were showcased as one of the most efficient farms in Indiana. Excellence is boring. Ralph raised the same trustworthy crops on his 140 acres every season, always learning, always looking to tweak his mix. He created sophisticated models of prices and yield, and kept records of every crop. He analyzed them annually, always looking to improve.  Excellence is boring. Ralph invested in the best breeds, paying more in the beginning, but getting a better return in the end. Buying Guernsey cows, White Rock chickens and Chester White pigs was expensive but wise. His farm produced far more than his peers. Excellence is boring. Ralph invested in machines, which blows me away. Unheard of at the time, he used more than twelve electrical motors to automate his work. His milk cooler, cream separator, and welder were among the first in the county. He was always looking for efficiencies and included the value of his own time in his calculations. Excellence is boring. Their results were exceptional. Ralph and Lois bought the farm with their own savings, barely enough to make the deal work, and they paid off the debt in less than five years. Ralph continued to buy land until he died, ever expanding the operation, ever increasing his efficiency. He was always changing, always improving. Excellence is boring. Maybe showing up every day, working on the same things is boring. Maybe excellence is boring. Maybe. Or maybe it just appears boring from the outside. From the inside, constantly improving a singular focus makes the smallest things important, even exciting. Every improvement, worth celebration. Every advancement, worth reflection. Every tweak, worth monitoring. Every day is a chance to improve. From the outside, watching people pursue excellence might appear boring. But from the inside, it’s different. Excellence is thrilling.

Weekly Retrospective....

What I’m reading:  The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley

What I’m listening to:  The Rolling Stones J  - “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is  just genius on so many different levels…..and don’t tell me Santana DIDN’T influence the tune…the guitar lead in and solos are SICK….

Where I’m failing:  Morning routine (still)….No more excuses….

Where I’m succeeding:  Getting things done….When you set goals and then REALLY plan to achieve them, it’s amazing how much you can accomplish.

What I’m excited about:  Bible Study tomorrow morning with Kadar.  Dude gets up every Saturday at 4:00 his time and we study/talk/pray together. Currently walking through the Book of Acts together.

Quote that has me thinking:  There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. – Colin Powell

What I need to work on: Know thy enemy – Sun Tzu ….being too trusting has its drawbacks…

What I’ve been pondering: My future….

Night Creatures....

My wife and I spent a relaxing evening by the pool tonight enjoying the oncoming fall weather. As an insomniac, I have a great appreciation for the nighttime animals which occupy the same space we do….

Braves Game....

Great seats and even better view….thanks, Andrea!

Learning....

As I said in my weekly retrospective, I’m trying to learn something every week from now on at both work and play….this week’s play:

Old School Pic....

I’d rather die like a man, than live like a coward – Tupac Shakur 

So ahead of his time…..Nothing close since his death….

Great Life Quote/Weekend Projects....

"Life is beautiful, as long as it consumes you. When it is rushing through you, destroying you, life is gorgeous, glorious. It’s when you burn a slow fire and save fuel, that life’s not worth having." – D.H. Lawrence

After meeting with my friend, Corey, to look at our upcoming community garden project, I did some fence mending and tree removal, along with cleaning out my backyard spring gardens to prepare for October fall plantings….before/after pics:

Weekly Retrospective....

What I’m reading:     Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

What I’m listening to:    Dave Ramsey personal finance podcasts

Where I’m failing:  Morning routine (still)….

Where I’m succeeding:   Learning….I’ve been focusing more and more on learning something new each week at both work and in my personal life. This week I put together a nice PDF file with some new PowerPoint skills I picked up and yesterday I changed the oil in my truck for the first time in probably 20 years (thanks, Jeff!).

What I’m excited about:  My family in South Georgia and Florida all made it through the hurricane safe and unharmed.

Quote that has me thinking:  Life is beautiful, as long as it consumes you. When it is rushing through you, destroying you, life is gorgeous, glorious. It’s when you burn a slow fire and save fuel, that life’s not worth having. – D.H. Lawrence

What I need to work on: Planning for the community garden we got approval to install for Helping Hands food bank….

What I’ve been pondering: Fall cleaning tasks needing to be started….

Tecumseh Quote For The Ages....

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. – Tecumseh, Chief – Shawnee Nation

Mandela Quote/Community Feeding

Action without vision is only passing time; vision without action is merely day dreaming; but vision with action can change the world – Nelson Mandela

Weekly Retrospective....

What I’m reading:   Retire Inspired by Chris Hogan and The Love Dare by Stephen & Alex Kendrick

What I’m listening to: Bigger Pockets real estate podcasts

Where I’m failing:  Morning routine….

What I’m excited about:  Sunday’s community feeding at Helping Hands food bank.

Quote that has me thinking:  But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed, but not defeated. – Ernest Hemingway

What I need to work on: Prioritizing….

What I’ve been pondering: Money decisions at the end of this year….but in a good way.

Plato Quote....

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. - Plato

Short and Long-Term Work....

Yesterday, I put together a desk for my wife to work on her dollhouses....

I also got to enjoy my mailbox plants I put in the ground 2 years ago….

Weekly Retrospective....

What I’m reading:   Retire Inspired by Chris Hogan

What I’m listening to: Dave Ramsey personal finance podcasts

Where I’m failing:  Procrastinating….time to get back to my daily checklists….

What I’m excited about:  Lunch with my mom for her birthday today and traveling to Louisville to see my Grandmother tomorrow….and my cousin Gabriel passing his real estate exam and starting a new career this week…

Quote that has me thinking:  The difference between winning and losing is most often, not quitting. – Walt Disney – Way to go Gabriel Wolney!

What I need to work on: Emotional maturity and planning….

What I’ve been pondering: Life….it’s not getting any longer….time to get busy….