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July 2004 Issue
Family still matters
by Jennifer Shike
Take a look at your calendar. What takes up your time? Is it your job? Your hobby? Your family?
At the 2004 NJSA National Youth Leadership Conference, Mike Nygren of
You walk into a room that has two groups of balloons. On your right is a group of ten balloons – one big red balloon, one small blue balloon, one medium-sized yellow balloon and seven deflated balloons of various colors. On your left, you notice another group of ten brightly colored balloons, but this group is different because each balloon is inflated and about the same size.
Each balloon represents one of the following aspects of our lives: career, money, hobby, family, primary relationship, friends, mental, physical, adventure and academic.
Some of our lives look like the group of various-sized balloons. When we focus our lives around a few balloons – for example, our careers and our hobbies – the other balloons get less “air” and begin to deflate until there’s not much left of them anymore.
Nygren reminded us that many people do a great job in one, two or even three areas of their life, but only 3 percent of the world sets goals in each of these areas of their life.
As I reflected on my life and priorities, I couldn’t help but recognize a few balloons in my life that weren’t getting much air anymore. This encouraged me to step back and see where I needed to set goals. It’s amazing how quickly we can “lose balance.”
This message hit home for many conference participants. And many shared examples about the balloons in their lives.
Each story had one thing in common – family. Their stories showed the power of family working together to achieve a balanced life. Here are just a few examples.
Katey Brattain. After completing her freshman year at Purdue, Katey returned home for the summer and now spends her days and nights working with their pigs.
Every day she walks pigs for hours with her sister, Kallie. Katey said these walks are fun because Katey misses spending time with her younger sister. Not only is Katey developing her family balloon, but she is also achieving a deep friendship in a hobby she loves that helps create money for college (not to mention the physical aspect and the “work” involved in her summer job with the family showpig operation). This time together, centered around showpigs, is creating an opportunity for Katey and Kallie to grow in many areas of their lives.
Aaron Cobb. It’s obvious why Aaron Cobb plans to stay involved in the swine industry – his love for the family side of the business is so great that he can’t imagine life any other way. To hear his story and listen to the impact his parents, especially his father, have had on his life is a great example of the deep family relationships that can develop around pigs. Career, money, hobbies, friends, mental, physical, adventure and family are all being cultivated at the same time.
Dick and Shirley Baker. Tour hosts Dick and Shirley Baker of Top Cut Show Pig Sires have been married 52 years. Their mutual love for the industry has created a unique opportunity for them to grow their primary relationship, career, money and hobbies all at the same time while cultivating friends and adventure, too! As I watched them during our tour, I saw a great example of the power of a healthy primary relationship. They’ve been through many highs and lows in their life, but they’ve experienced greater power through those times because they never lost sight of the importance of a balanced life.
Suzen Barthold. Suzen admits that showing pigs isn’t a cheap hobby, but she confided that there is no greater thing than traveling to the shows with her daughter and husband. Their conversations in the pickup have provided a great opportunity for their family to learn more about each other while inflating their hobby, friends, adventure, mental and money balloons!
The balloon analogy is just one way of evaluating where you are in life.
Nygren, born in New York and now living in Ohio, has worn many hats in his life and has a number of experiences to draw from as he coaches and develops young leaders today.
While his swine industry experience is limited, it didn’t take him long to learn one thing about our industry. Family is important and the bonds shared between the families in our organization are hard to find.
Unlike many of the things we do in life, raising and showing hogs provide ample opportunities for families to grow and work together to develop a balanced life. Maybe that can be one of the defining points of the NJSA – an organization that is “different” because family still matters and is at the heart of what we do.
