It has been a long time since I have shared my views with all of you.
It has been hectic!!
What has been on my mind of late is the word ” FOCUS”.
The South African Oxford dictionary gives the first definition of the word “focus” as “the centre of interest or activity”.
The best example of what the state of focus is is when driving in the busy traffic of Johannesburg during peak period. You need absolute focus to survive in this traffic. Any slight distraction would result in an accident and one would not reach his or her destination. The accident could be fatal or cause injuries or damage to the vehicle. It just takes a slight seconds to loose focus!
Business is like driving in the heavy Johannesburg traffic, particularly the Agricultural business.
One needs to focus on his or her goals, whether short term or long term! Focus on the road ahead!!!
There are many distraction on the way that could make one loose focus. This is particularly so in agriculture as it is a 24/7 business. There is no time to take a breather or brake. You go on and on and on ……
One needs to focus as you do not know what is in the next curve ahead. It could be the cattle falling sick, it could be that you are running short of feed for the animals, you could experience theft of equipment, animals or crop by external people or employees. You could experience work stoppages by employees, etc.
The list of things to distract and discourage are too many.
It is therefore important to focus on your business and your enterprise. Do not be discouraged!!
If you are 100% focused, then nothing will surprise you. You will anticipate things and plan ahead!
Remember, no challenge in your farm is unique or new. Somebody else has experienced the problem before and has dealt with it before you!!
Focus on what you want to achieve! Be careful not to focus on too many things. Otherwise, you loose focus!
Choose one or two things that you want to achieve and definitely not more than four things that you should achieve. Two could be short term and the other two cold be long term!
If you have many things you want to focus on, then put them in writing and start scratching those that are not necessary! The fewer, the better!!
” Less is more”!!!
Happy farming with good focus!
Velaphi Ratshefola