For the last five years, except for the second half of 2019, the dairy industry has been a very difficult place in which to operate. Despite feed costs dropping considerably during this same time, the decrease in this expense area pales in comparison to the precipitous drop we have seen in milk prices from 2015 to mid-2019 and now again in early 2020.
Believe me: I do understand how difficult it has been for all producers. We are in a very scary time, financially speaking. There is a great deal of uncertainty in both exports and in our domestic markets.
I recently re-read a great article by New York Times best selling author Brendon Burchard (visit www.brendon.com). Whenever I get worn down by events, I love to read some of his work or listen to one of his presentations. In this particular article, he discussed how we can deal with adversity when it strikes and he outlined five major points:
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- “Keep perspective.” – Regardless of how difficult things may seem, it is quite likely someone in the past, probably even you, has faced the same problem. If others have overcome this, you can too. He also reminds us that each of us has survived hardship before, and we can do it again.
- “Schedule Action.” – A far superior course to waiting to see what happens would be to make certain that you schedule specific actions to deal with your problem. Set action steps you can take each and every day to handle this. Do not, under any circumstances, delay action. Avoiding actions will only make things worse. This is an ideal time to “step up” your action levels on cow comfort, breeding, feeding and overall financial management. Do not “cut corners” in these areas. It will hurt you down the road.
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- “Honor the struggle.” – Brendon explains that this represents a crucial element to having success in life. Sometimes we have to face adversity because we simply cannot control everything. Just accept that, control what you can, and guard your attitude.
I hope you find Brendon’s thoughts and my application of them to our industry helpful.
“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”
~ Napoleon Hill
The related YouTube video can be viewed below:
John Ellsworth of Success Strategies can be reached at john@success-strategies.com and by phone 209.988.8960
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