Storms, Distractions, and Progress - and Our Kickstarter
Major storms went through the Midwest about the same time as the election. We found roof leaks in our main farm house roof. And our Kickstarter has an ask for you.
Hi,
Thanks again for being here and opening this. For being part of this community.
Too long for email - just click on the link to open it up in full.
You won’t want to miss the bonus at the end…
Farming News - Cows are doing fine, despite storms. The old home place is getting a new roof, shortly. Distractions abound, importances shift.
Writing News - 7 days to go on the Kickstarter. You can help. The new course takes shape.
Fiction News - The Hooman Saga continues.
Expectancy Factor - The course I’m building has forced a reexamination of basics - why people look for models.
Farming News
Now we’re mixed with black-white-faces in among our various belted cattle.
Black is a dominant color in genetics. And so you can tell by marketings what breed a cow comes from. Except when they are all black. (Or pretty much any solid color.) So a lot of cattle are sold as “Black Angus” when they have all sorts of genetics upstream from their birth. Yes, there are Red Angus. And both black and red Herefords.
When we had a registered Belted Galloway all those years, I was pretty much putting some sort of white stripe or marking on all my calves. A few of these cows had white faces - which traces back to the Hereford line. And one of the ideals I looked for in a cow was to have a white face and white stripe on them.
Because then I knew they had both Hereford and Belted Galloway heritage. Hereford and Galloways both produce small calves that grow fast, plus they are innately calm animals, so are easy to work with and safe to walk around.
Otherwise, you have to look at their conformation, which is their bone structure and how their muscles mass, the set of their ears and shape of their head. Then you can guess at their lineage.
The all-black animals I loosely called Angus because they mostly were. My dad would buy a new Angus bull every three years. Because they only lasted that long. Then I got our Galloway bull and he lasted about 16 years as a stud. Our current Hereford bull is reputed to last as long.
The single exception to model is our Dexter, named Shorty - because Dexters are small animals. But she’s there to be nurse-cow when I have that need. Dexters are short and usually dun (brown) color.
So there’s your shorthanded study in cattle genetics.
A few years ago, realizing I would have to turn over this farm at some point to someone else, I wrote up most of what I know in a book, “Farm Less, Profit More” (That’s the ebook link - I still have to go out and find/attach the print book links there for Amazon, WalMart, and others…)
Glad you asked: Yes, the cow and her heifer calf are doing well, and helping that orphan to improve his manners. Still need that vet appointment. They are eating a small square hay bale and a bucket of feed every other day. This week’s rain filled up all the rain half-barrels under the barn eves, so I don’t have that issue, since the drought looks like it’s finally over.
I had to get up and check the chimney on the roof the other day. And found there was a weak spot up there - where climbing vines had climbed inside the flashing and opened it up to rain - so the roof was week. We called in a roofer who looked back over the roof and asked, “Ever put in a claim for hail damage?” It turned out we had coverage on our insurance and so may get the entire reroofing done from our insurance company. Fingers crossed. Just before the weather gets too cold, as well…
Current Wild Fruit
Persimmons. I picked all I could from my longest reach - and by shaking the smaller trees. I’ll have to bring a ladder down to get more. My wife doesn’t want to run these though the sieve to get the seeds and skin separated from the pulp. But my Mother would love to get some more bags of these frozen to make either jam or cookies out of them.
That’s a quarter of a 5-gallon bucked on my pickup floorboard.
Persimmons, as noted, will pucker up your whole mouth if they are the least bit green. But once you’ve seen (and felt) a ripe one, you know…
Tiny Home News
We got all the storage into that shed, but the weather this week has kept my wife from getting up there to go through everything and itemize them.
We’ve still got more estimates coming in. And a question of whether we still need a full septic system if we’re using a composting toilet.
So we haven’t arranged finances because we don’t have a final number.
While tiny homes are far, far less expensive, they are still pricey for our own income.
Which of course, means increasing our income - like that Kickstarter...
Writing News
7 days left to that Kickstarter. I found out my biggest problem in achieving more income is learning how to ask.
Because I love researching and finding underlying truths more than anything else. Plus, my own dogged reclusiveness (helps me stay focused) generally reinforces ignoring anything that doesn’t contribute to my research.
A few years ago, I realized that I’d finally reached the end of working out how things work. Everything started falling into place rapidly. Until I had answers for all the questions I had. The next thing was to get this word out. Generally, I’ve told everything I discovered, and the strategies to achieve them. Those exist in a few hundred books. Right after I got everything answered, my next question became, “Now what?” The answer came back, it’s time to broadcast this stuff.
Earl Nightingale said once (and I’ll have to look this up for you) that your income depends on how many people you reach and help. That then means building an audience, a community - which is pretty much the same approach. Reach out and help people.
What I missed all along, was that you add your audience one at a time. And you build relationships one at a time. Freebie seekers aren’t real audience. People who never open emails aren’t real audience.
But the biggest thing that you do build real audience is to build community. And that’s my current research. The most effective approach is in this: 1) Consistently help people with valuable material openhandedly, then 2) Ask them to join the community - by putting some skin in the game, then 3) Acknowledge and reward their reply way in excess of the value they gave.
The whole background to this is found in my second book in this newly released series - Copywriting for Writerpreneurs. Yes, that book just can’t be described in a good title. But it has more answers to everything marketing related than any other book I’ve come across. Because this is a book that answers everything I’ve wanted to find out in this area. I’m not kidding that this is a game-changer. (Yes, you can get a copy of this through that Kickstarter. And I’m working to fulfill these ahead of the campaign completing. Unorthodox, yes. But it does fit that formula above.
Because you deserve it.
So I sent out an email to all of you laying out what we were working to do and asking you to back this Kickstarter campaign.
Now it’s over to you.
Most of you have been opening my emails every week for years, some just started opening my three-a-week emails as well. Regardless, if you consider this material valuable, I’d appreciate your checking out our campaign and backing it - at any level.
WriterpreneurOS Posts
This is another selection from that latest Basic Formulas of Fiction book - and is, again, something I’ve not seen anywhere else. This is a short version of what you need in your main character for your story-writing.
Fiction Posts
The story this week: A girl crash lands back to Earth in an escape pod. While a sentient wolf hears her screaming - in his mind, while standing nearby and watching. Her conflict and goal are exposed in this story. We find out a bit more about her problem and motivation.
Yes, you can get the book already. Even though I’ll be fixing and tweaking things slightly through out - and so come out with a revised version later.
But don’t think you’re spoiling things by reading ahead. Book One and Book II Part 2 are still out there as well — and the mystery of why they are labelled that way… Here’s the book link to get your copy.
Expectancy Tips
This course that I’m building out of these three books I’m releasing has forced me to review how I research.
Most effective researchers collect models. The ones that work. And the compare these with other material they are studying. In particularly, the curious researcher look for commonalities. When you find the same model or pattern showing up over and over, then you know your close to finding natural systems at work.
When you do, they then open doors to breakthroughs in other fields. Or at least a probable successful test.
I’m looking at model-collectors of Tony Robbins and Jay Abraham. Both started out as marketers, but then found that what they’d discovered turned them toward debugging and transforming individuals and businesses. And the more people they helped, the more accelerated their income became.
All from listening to people intently and working out what they were supposed to be producing and spotting some omitted or altered step they’d missed. Always looking for the missed opportunity.
Take some time today and just sit down in a quiet space. Review your goals. Look for areas that are underperforming and be honest with what is actually happening. See if there are false limits in place, incorrect assumptions. You might be surprised…
Thanks for being there, opening this.
Sharing is caring. You’re who I do this all for. I value your input.
Leave a comment if something strikes your fancy.
I hope your life is not too interesting to be overwhelming, but sufficiently engaging to keep you amused. (Like some of us here...)
Robert
PS. Again, you can always email me about anything.
PPS. Again, do upgrade to the paid newsletter version. That helps me keep the lights on - so I can keep all this coming to you. As much or little as you want…
Open now! Pledge for this Kickstarter now. 7 days left…
