CommunicationsSeedstock EDGE | “For the Record” | “The Pinnacle” | |
| Seedstock EDGE Seedstock EDGE main | Seedstock EDGE archives Advertising rates/deadlines | Mail dates Subscribe today! | Seedstock EDGE staff |
January 2007 Issue
Seize new opportunities
by Darrell Anderson
I trust all of you were able to enjoy a time of peace, relaxation, family bonding and reflection on the blessings of this past year during the recent holiday season.
It was a good year here at NSR, and I want to express our appreciation to all of you who have supported our efforts and have continued to show your commitment to the pedigreed livestock business.
We truly are a big family, and we are so grateful for the wonderful relationship we have with so many of you. You have allowed us to share in your successes, and we’ve also been there to feel your pain when times have been rough.
As we turn the page on our calendar to the first month of a new year, I also hope you’ve been able to spend a few minutes contemplating with great anticipation what lies ahead in the coming year. This is always an exciting time as we put the old year behind and collectively share in the enthusiasm of the unknown opportunities that await in the next 12 months.
This also marks the beginning of my 21st year at this desk. As I’ve mentioned before, there are times that the topic for this column comes easily, and then there are times when I feel like I’ve already written about everything there is for me to share with you.
This month is one of those, so I’m going to borrow some thoughts from a sermon I heard on TV last week from my favorite TV pastor – John Hagee of San Antonio, Texas.
As we enter into a new year in our industry, consider this advice:
If you want to be distressed – look within. We can all find areas of our lives and personal issues that we aren’t happy with, and constant introspection and personal criticism will get us nowhere. It’s important to recognize our shortcomings so we can deal with them, but it is of little value to sulk over them.
Maybe you didn’t react in the proper manner when your prized boar got beat at the last type conference. Simply go and ask forgiveness and learn from your experience, so it won’t happen again.
If you want to be defeated – look back. If you’ve had any experience with a basketball team – either as a player or a coach – you know that if you’ve just experienced a tough loss, you simply must move on. Don’t dwell on the past defeats.
Maybe your breeding program has taken a step backward, and you’re disappointed with that new herd boar. That’s part of our business, and you must simply put that choice behind you and move on to the next step.
If you want to be distracted – look around. You are the only person on this earth who can use your ability. Once you have set your goals and have determined your path, don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.
We are blessed in the purebred swine industry to have some of the greatest independent thinkers who believe in the type of hogs they are raising and remain committed to that type, regardless of the skeptics. You can’t base your life on other people’s expectations.
If you want to be dismayed – look ahead. We have plenty of challenges ahead of us in the swine industry. While it’s important to identify the ones that will have a direct impact on your operation, there is no need to spend much time worrying about them.
Mark the ones that you can have an impact on and work toward those, but don’t spend any energy worrying about the ones that are completely out of your control. One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.
If you want to be delivered – look up. I’ll try to resist preaching to you, but suffice it to say, in my opinion, faith in a Heavenly Father is an essential part of successfully maneuvering through the maze that lies ahead. This also implies that you must keep your chin up and fight through the adversities that we all know lie ahead.
As I’ve often told judges at our type conference shows, “If it was easy, anybody could do it.”
Is there guaranteed success for all purebred breeders in 2007? No, probably not.
But there are some incredible opportunities for those who are in a position to take advantage of them.
If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a new door! Discover all that awaits.
