How To Think Like a Farmer To Be Successful in Life
Here are the top 5 ways to learn life, leadership, & strategy lessons from farmers!
I have a strong relationship with clay as a kid. I grew up in a small remote village where 99% of people were farmers. I moved to the concrete jungle to get higher education, but sometimes, I still miss the smell of green fields.
My dad is a farmer; I am the first in our extended family and the entire neighborhood who went to university to get higher education. My friends and neighbors are still farming back home.
Here are the 5 ways to learn from a farmer and be successful in your life.
Don’t blame the crop for not growing fast enough
Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow. — Plato
Slow progress is the best progress. We all know that great things take time to grow. You should keep in mind that you are way ahead of someone who quit or not even trying.
Farmers understand that the forecast can be wrong. However, they don’t give up when a disaster happens. They always learn from their mistakes and use them as knowledge to be more prepared for the future.
If something did not go well according to your plan, I highly suggest that instead of quitting, take a pause and review what went wrong. Then next time simply do not repeat the same mistake. By thinking like a farmer, you will learn from your mistakes and harvest a great career in the long run.
Choose the best plants for the soil
A farmer would never try to cultivate crops in an unfavorable environment and would always put in the effort to prepare nutrient-rich soil.
You can’t advance your career — or the careers of those you lead — if your workplace is uninspired, stagnant, or hostile. As a leader, you must make a concerted effort to provide an environment in which people may thrive.
Keep learning!
You can build trust by modeling vulnerability, leading with empathy, actively listening, and promoting open communication. I am a huge fan of open communications, especially when the leader is reachable and up for listening to new recommendations.
In the end, to nurture our own careers, we must adopt a growth mindset that allows our curiosity to fuel lifelong learning.
Farmers do not micromanage plants
Plants do not respond well to micromanagement. When you hover, you block their precious sunshine, and if you overwater them, they drown.
People react in a similar manner. Leaders should avoid getting bogged down in the details of each activity once they’ve helped sow the seeds. You can give your employees the authority to make their own judgments, even if they disagree.
Always trust the people who work under your supervision.
Remove weeds
Farmers are well aware of the need to keep their fields free of weeds.
When you’re in charge of a team, one toxic person may easily demolish the morale of even the most productive group. If you’re an entrepreneur/solopreneur, untrustworthy partners or overly demanding clientele might be draining.
And sometimes, the “weeds” you encounter aren’t individuals, but rather out-of-date procedures, services, or activities that drain your valuable resources and hinder you from focusing on what actually counts.
Simply say no (move on) to people and things that do not support your objectives in the long run. It is up to you to proactively examine your tasks and take action before it’s too late. In this case, before weeds destroy the plants.
Crop strategy
A farmer never ever plants without a strategy that includes an explicit knowledge of what they want to achieve in the five months or years.
Clarity about what you want in your work is critical to reaching your goals. Maintaining long concentration will enable you to complete the tasks required to broaden your skill set.
When you can identify your goals, it will be simpler to synchronize your focus and purpose to sow the seeds of future progress.
The same strategy may be used to help your team grow. When you ask each member what they want to achieve, you will have a deeper understanding of their goals and be able to design a strategy to attain them.
The bottom line
As a farmer, you learn quick: You don’t get anything that you don’t work hard for. — Evan Thomas
Farmers do not work until the sun sets. They work till the job is completed. My dad is a farmer; he used to say, you don’t get anything you don’t work hard for, especially farming. You are not allowed to procrastinate or waste your time.
You have to be proactive if the forecast does not work in your favor. I will leave you with the following quote by Thomas Edison.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work. — Thomas Edison
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