There’s a tension between writing about Return to Real and living Return to Real.
Â
This is one of those weeks where living it took priority. So today is going to be a “Contrarian Quickie”.
Â
We’re at an incredibly busy point in the season here on the farm. To give you a sense:
Â
Tylene and I will generally wake up at dawn…
And then go straight to morning chores…
Â
Feeding and watering the pigs, the turkeys, the chicks, the laying hens, and watering the cows and moving them onto new pasture each day…
Then there’s all the garden work. Everything is in high growth mode right now.
Â
And by the way, this is just our tiny kitchen garden (the BIG garden where most of stuff grows is about 50x larger than this…)
But the thing I want to focus on today is the berries.
Three years ago, we planted two hundred feet of raspberries, a mix of red and black.
Â
In our first year, we barely got any fruit. In fact, I remember when we got our very first red raspberry. We sliced it into four pieces and split it four ways with the kids.
Â
Last year, we began seeing a hint of the fruits of our labor and got a few quarts of berries.
Â
But THIS year is when things have finally taken off. This week alone, I’ve picked anywhere from eight to twelve quarts a day. By the time the season is over, we’ll have well over 100-120 quarts of raspberries. In addition to more fresh berries than we can eat, we’ll have a year’s worth of frozen berries for winter smoothies, bags and bags of freeze dried berries for snacks and long-term storage, and the rest will be made into jams and jellies.
What’s the business lesson in all this??
Â
There’s an interesting analog between a berry ecosystem and a content ecosystem:
Â
Most people tend to vastly over-estimate the results they expect to see within one year, but vastly under-estimate what they can expect to see in three.
Â
Three years in, I’m amazed at what we’ve been able to accomplish with both our berry ecosystem here on our farm, and in the content system in our business.
Â
And yet on the content side of things, I see most people give up way too soon. They expect to see the equivalent of year-three results within three months, and when they don’t see it, they give up.
Â
Case in point:
Most people aren’t wired (or willing) to stick with something long enough to see results.
Â
You’re probably familiar with the Marshmallow Experiment, right?
Â
Starting in the late 1960s, a Stanford psychologist named Walter Mischel sat preschoolers down at a table, one at a time, with a marshmallow in front of them. He told each child he was stepping out for fifteen minutes, and that if the treat was still there when he got back, they’d get two.
Then he left the room and filmed what happened.
Â
Some kids ate it the second the door closed. Others covered their eyes, sang to themselves, kicked the desk, took tiny nibbles around the edges. Only about one in three made it the full fifteen minutes.
Â
Years later, Mischel tracked those kids down and found the ones who waited had higher SAT scores and were rated as more socially competent by their peers.
Â
If you look at what it takes to be successful, whether it’s in farming or in business, you could argue that delaying gratification is the single most important skill (or personality trait) there is. Putting the work in today without the expectation of an immediate return tomorrow.
Â
Most people expect to see berries in year one.
Â
Additionally, there’s another element to this:
Â
Raspberries are perennial, meaning once you’ve established them, they continue to produce for you year after year, for years into the future.
Â
The same thing is true when you invest in a Strategic Content Ecosystem.
Â
When you’re willing to be patient, delay your gratification, and make the investment necessary, the fruits of your labor will show up.
Â
But most people are too impatient.
Â
Too unrealistic with their expectations.
Â
They eat that first marshmallow.
Â
And frankly, that may be the single biggest difference between those who build real financial success and those who can’t seem to ever get there.
Â
Me?
Â
I’m happy picking raspberries.
Â
And saving my marshmallows for a rainy day.
* * *
Okay, I’ll leave you with that for now.
Â
Have a great rest of your weekend.
Â
Remember to hug the ones you love.
Â
And until next week,
Â
Ryan :-)
