GFP088: My Background

No matter what you've done before you got into farming, it applies. It all applies!!! Granted some of us are going to get into farming full time and run our own farms and others are going to be happy with a backyard garden. The important thing here is that we're all willing to get our hands dirty.

I take a small amount of pride in that I've worked hard over the years to make my life interesting. It sounds a little egotistical perhaps, but I'm alright with that, because it's been fun.

In past years I've biked across the country, worked with Howard Stern, put on plays, worked as a food photographer, web designer and programmer, and so many other odd things. Through it all I have finally learned one important lesson.

That lesson: enjoy the process! Nothing is going to go according to plan and it is certainly not going to happen as quickly as you want it to. And that's OK. If you learn to love the day to day tomorrow will eventually come. Find something you love to do, pursue it, and enjoy "getting there".

That was a major hurdle for me to overcome. I still get stressed. I still get down sometimes. But the majority of my time is spent appreciating what I have and wondering how I can make it even better. If I work to make it better, it usually happens, and guess what? It's even better!!! It all sounds so silly to put into words, and a few years I might have even made fun of the guy I've become. But on the other side of my freak out, I feel good, and I'm ready to get my season really moving.