Welcome to this week's edition of The Freedom Fridays podcast, Pete Clark, your host. I have a very different and I'm going to say unique guest on this morning, someone I've only just literally met in the last few weeks, we have a mutual friend. That friend asked us to take part in an activity for a special birthday. And we got talking and we got connected. And it was one particular conversation we had in a pub over some beer and wine that I thought you might find particularly interesting. So I'll explain as we go along. But please welcome on today's podcast, Mr. Pete Lawson.
Hey, hey, going? Good. Thanks, sir. How are you?
Very well. Very well. Thank you. Good. Now, for the listeners. You are a farmer. You have cattle and livestock on your farm and we met doing a walk in Tasmania.
A mutual friend of ours asked us to do what's known as the Overland Track, which is something like 70-80 kilometres of bush and hiking in bits and pieces. And we might we might get into that. I'm interested, first of all, could you maybe explain to the listeners what's involved in running a livestock farm? And then I'll get into why we're actually having this conversation because it's not necessarily about farming we're going to talk about but I think it's good content, what what's involved in in running a livestock farm?
That's a pretty broad question. But I mean, we run sheep and cattle with probably cattle dominant. It's coming, you've really just got to manage the livestock to a point where they can breed the next generation. So we're self producing livestock, so we produce all our own self replacing sort of flock and herd as opposed to buying in each year, and then selling them all out. And buying the animals in, putting weight on and selling them out, so we're breeding them taking the progeny to, you know, a certain weight, and that varies a bit depending on our seasons. And then someone else will generally buy, say the steer portion, to the males of the cattle by them, and then they'll take them through to a heavier weight and where they become steaks. Or they may go to someone else who will then take them right through to fatten them up and kill.
And how long have you been in your family?
Well, we run two farms. So the farm where we live and where I grew up. So we've been here, I guess, close to 50 years, so my parents bought it, so it's sort of. And then my wife's farm, it's got an amazing history. It's I think she's fifth generation. I think it was 18, gee, I'm going to get this wrong 1860 or something. Wow, when they took it up as a family and, and there's still sort of a portion of the original farm. But yeah, the history there is amazing. And I just love it. I think it's, it's fascinating. It's a real privilege to you know, you've got to be very careful not to put pressure on yourself to say I've got to keep this farm in the family. You know, if you keeping it in the family, just for the sake of keeping it in the family. It's probably the wrong attitude to be to take. But it's a real privilege and yeah, I just love it the history side of it.
Pete, that's I wasn't even in the conversations that we've had. I wasn't aware of that and that's probably that's probably a perfect prompt for us to get into what I was keen to talk to you about because we had a conversation, I think it was towards the end of our walk. I think it was there like the last night we'd finished the track, which we'll talk about in a second possibly. And you talked to me about a little process that you go through starting many years ago, again, forgive me for raising that. And I said to you, I'm not sure if you believe me, but I said to you, wow, that's, that's fascinating, not just because of the process, but there's not many, I think you said you were in your early 20s, when you started this. There's not many 20 year olds who are farmers or not, that I'm aware of that would even think about that process. So I'd love to first of all, if you could explain what the process is, and then we can dive into, I guess, the the use case, the examples, what you've done with it to make it yours. And we'll maybe talk about how others could perhaps use it as a as a lens or a frame to think about. And then I'll come back to the, you know, the farm, you've had your wife's farm and your fifth generations and the privilege and how much that's impacted you. So just a quick explanation, what what was the process you mentioned to me that you used when, you know, in your early 20s?
So I guess a bit of context was we started talking at sort of this, my family, my parents, and siblings, about, you know, family succession. It probably started when I was about 19. But very loosely, very slowly. It was just, you know, trying to get it. I guess, mom and dad, were trying to get a bit of a handle on you know, how many others were might have been interested in farming and just starting to try to build some, some plans, and, you know, I guess get their heads around it. And then so we can all work together. And so we're a bit clearer about what we wanted to do. So that was the I was probably about 19. I reckon and, and then that continued for a few years. And so by 20, you know I'd finished, went to ag college, and I was probably 23, or something when I finished college. I'm just trying to think now. And I would have been about 22, I guess, and just to set some goals. And you know, we've done a little bit of this was a theory, literally that nine, that's what we've been doing. And then we, you know, we got a bit of help, just to help facilitate some family meetings. Okay. And, and yeah, they became, you know, there's numerous, hundreds of structures, you probably know more about it than I do about goal setting. Yeah, sure. But it was, it was just one that involved. Well, we just started getting clearer on goals, and I really seemed to enjoy that sort of side of things, and very quickly seem to have, you know, write them out and then reflect on them, I guess. And yeah. And they became pretty solid. Now, They were pretty broad, but they were longer term. And over time, and I think that's probably one of the key things is that you're not expected to be 100% crystal clear the first time you write a goal. But if you don't start writing them down, you don't. It's harder to see that clarity as it builds up.
Yeah. And you're right. There are hundreds of goal setting mechanisms and articles written on goal setting. And yeah, you're probably some books behind me that I could share with you that would be possibly, possibly not. But what struck me about what you were saying it was, it was almost there was three, three streams to the goal setting, which is not really that much of a surprise for many who are involved in this world. But the themes were quite a surprise, could you maybe just share what those broad themes were?
So it's, you know, the people, the landscape. So you know, I mean, financial goals are always one that come up.
So financial, the people's and the sort of person you want to be the sort of people you want around you.
The type of relationships you want to have that sort of thing. Yep. You know, again, very broad, but it just gives a bit of clarity to you know, I guess something to reflect back on. If you're drifting off. You think well, that's not the person I want to be.
And the landscape, which, you know, as farmers is the key to it all and just how healthy you want that landscape. And, you know, there's a bit of a there's profit from landscape, and there's the health of the landscape. And whilst they've both got to be trending in the same direction, like you need to be profitable, and but you need that landscape to be healthy and, and getting that balance, right, I think is probably where agriculture is, really, I guess, trying to find its feet now I think for a long while, it probably pushed towards the profitability side, but to the detriment of landscaping.
And, you know, getting that balance, right, is one of the big things. Yeah, and they do that for a, an extended period of time, and I'm talking, you know, well beyond my lifetime. Because the landscapes, you know, it's had to sustain people for 60,000 years, or longer, I don't know.
And, you know, if the world keeps on going, then it needs to be done for another 60,000 years. Yeah, you know,
It's a bit of an assumption when you look at what's happening in the world today.
It's very easy to convince yourself that things aren't going to last that long.
You'd like to think we're a bit more smarter than that. And, you know, we've caused all the problems, we can probably find some of the solutions, but that's, that's possibly a separate conversation.
Yeah, I think you've got to get your head around, stop treating symptoms and treat the cause and yeah.
You know, been an awful lot of politicians were job I think, here that you're right.
Pete, I'm first of all fascinated. In what I do, so I work with corporates, and whether it's about leadership or mindset or communication, or, you know, strategic alignment, all that kind of classic corporate training corporate facilitation stuff, and often when the group of the individual feels inspired, and they're touched by something I've said an exercise, we've run etc, etc, etc. Often the comments are, my, my wife or husband could benefit from this, my, my kids could benefit from this, they can project onto the world, what the people around them would benefit from and the reason I'm putting that in context, I'm fascinated when you look back to when you were 19 Do you have any sense now in looking back what your parents did, ur what got what helped facilitate you as a 19 year old to be even interested in what Mum and Dad were asking about?
Do you remember anything they did to seed that to sew that seed of interest and this is a healthy thing to do? This is a this is a sustainable thing. This is not just Mum and Dad saying Hey, Pete, what do you want to do with your life? Do you remember anything they did to make that land easier on you?
No, not really. I think I'd been talking about it quite a bit with probably Mum and Dad, but certainly Dad, you know, just growing up working just. You know, we've always got on well and and been able to talk and you know, I was one of those probably pains in the ask you to ask a lot of questions and just kept on asking questions.
Yeah, so I probably knew a lot about his life and where he came from and, and, you know, how he got to where he was and what he some of his regrets and some of these things he wished he'd done some of the things that he did, you know, probably would have done differently and, you know, just little snippets over.
Over years, nothing straight out. So, I guess in some respects, I'm thinking of the top of my head here. Now that you've asked me that question. That had helped build a picture in my mind of right. Well, this is what I think I want to do if this situation comes up. You know, I might have to be braver than I'm going to be because, you know, that's one of Dad's regrets, and, or at least the conscious of the fact that it could be regret if I don't accept the challenge, whatever that challenge might have been.
I might be making that sound far more mature and thoughtful than it was at the time.
That's made me think of something else. So it's a kind of separate question. There's lots written about, you know, how men and particularly fathers today are, you could argue a little bit better at connecting with the kids beyond the role of father. And as in, we let them know, you know, who we are, we're asking, we're shown to be vulnerable and share bits and pieces. And it sounds like your dad, in sharing some of his regrets. was almost an example of that from 30 years ago, would you say that he was?
Yeah, I don't know. I guess. I don't know my kids would look at me as a father any differently than I looked at him as a father.
Interesting.
Yeah. Sometimes you have to, I'd say yes, probably. But
yeah.
That's all right. Don't have to answer that one.
That's okay. So these three lenses that are that you've mentioned, to me, Pete, the most obvious one, just kick us off. First, this, the financial goals, I remember you saying to me that you would consider not just off farm assets with, you know, bank account, you know, whatever it was financially, but you've considered on farm assets. What's the difference, first of all?
Ah, well, I mean, I think just about any farming family, the biggest and quite often their only real asset is the land that they own. No, you know, with the bank's help, usually, but yes.
So, you know, so that's our biggest asset. And, and one of the things I guess, is just in your goal setting is just recognising that, you know, you don't run the risk, but it's, it can be a choice as to whether that remains your only or largest asset, or whether you try to expand your asset base, I guess. And, yeah, that's it, whether you're buying some shares, or some real estate or farm or, you know, keeping cash or, you know, whatever it might be, but just be conscious of where your assets are. Now, the choice is entirely the individuals or the partnership that families but just be conscious of where it is, and, and where you want it to be. In. Yeah. Pick an age, but in my mind, at that time, it was 60. Right.
I think that's probably because that was mum and dad's next big birthday. Yeah. Was 60. And they were talking about when they might want to retire, and what would that look like? And, and, you know, which involve asking boys wanting to come home that, you know, when we want to would, would come home? If we did and how we're going to do it as a family? And, yeah. Or do we go off and do something different work for someone else on a farm? And, you know, they were all decisions were discussions we were having which we had to, at some stage make a decision about and then, you know, right, this is where we are, these are our options now that we've chosen on this path. Yeah.
You've made me think Pete, maybe it's, I don't know if it's obvious or not, but is it is it normal for a farming family to do that? In, you know, in comparison to not there's not no such thing as a corporate family, but a family that, you know, perhaps has, you know, has worked for other people over the years in a business or in a bank or you know, in a supermarket, whatever it is, I don't know, many families that would even think about succession. Are they farming traits, do you think?
I think any family business I mean, any family business you know, makes blinds and curtains and they've been doing it for two generations or shoes or, you know, whatever it might be. Any family business should have a succession plan, even if that succession plan is to sell the business when Dad retires.
And I think it's I mean, and because the farming, it's, you know, it is the biggest asset, if not the only asset that that family has. And so you've got to be really careful not to build expectation in that, you know, you could be running this farm one day, son number one. Yeah. So he sees the whole farm, he doesn't see you know, a fifth of it, because he's got four siblings.
Right?
Yeah. And then, so whenever, and then when it comes to it, if it's not discussed, and, and over a period of time, then, you know, the parents say well we need money to retire, and you know, your brothers or sisters or your siblings,
probably would like a bit of help starting whatever they're doing or buying a house, or if we can, you know, just not to say they can.
And so, you know, this is the size of the pie. This is what as parents we need. And as parents, this is what we would like to be able to help you guys get started.
Then, you know, all of a sudden, that slice has gone from the whole farm in this kid's mind, to something which might help him put a deposit on a house.
So that conversation. So to get back to your question. I think a lot of I think all farmers are probably aware of the need for succession planning. I would say, and it's a pure guess, I would say, probably 70 80%, do something about it.
That's probably of that 70 80%, hopefully it's more than that. But of that 78% 70 or 80%, there might be, say 20 or 30% of that. And again, I hope it's closer to 90%. Who actually start the process early. So you've got time to discuss it, you are managing expectations of all parties involved. And, and it's not a, you just reduce the stress of the whole situation, I think if you can do it over time and start early, so it's not.And it's probably a bit different nowadays, given so many kids have, you know, further education unit degrees or possible.
You know, I think there's probably a lot more awareness of just the scale other than the Empire scale. Just mean.
You know, the dominance of that asset being the farm. Potentially being the only or certainly your largest asset.
Yeah. Thanks, Pete, I wanted to cover the asset part first, because it's, for me, it's possibly the least interesting part in terms of when people think goals you know, that's often what they think, you know, financial assets, you know, property assets. It's kind of an obvious, you know, if people are thinking about, you know, aspiring to something, and what am I going to pass to the family? It's that sort of thing, which, you know, is there not as an obvious thing to do. What I'm really more interested in, personally, in talking about is, first of all, the landscape, and this ties back to the comment you made about your wife's farm, you know, five generations. Can you just explain a little bit about, because what fascinated me when you mentioned this to me is that you're, you're thinking about the landscape, the land, the healthiness of the land, five generations from now, and you will never have, you're never going to see that. First of all, why would you do that? Second, How? How do you think about that? And third, what's the motivation given it has no impact on you whatsoever.
I think that last comment has no impact on me whatsoever. In a literal sense, it doesn't. You know, we all think just to everyone says, I'd love to leave the patch I control or the world for want of the better word, but you know, the patch I can control is all the only bit I've got any influence over really. In a better place for my children and grandchildren. Sure. So we're all thinking like that, anyway.
The hard thing, I think, is to be able to test that, because so am I leaving this in a better place, it's my children. Now, you know, you can generally justify whatever you're doing at that point in time.m But as soon as you start thinking, you know, if part of your, say landscape goal, for want of a better word, is seeing your landscape, how you would love it to look like, which may or may not ever happen. Yeah, you know, my ideal landscape is really healthy, it's really functional, it's profitable. It's, you know, no soil erosion and lots of animals and birds. You know, whatever it might be.
You can see that how you want it to be, and know that it might take 200 years or 300 years, if everything's done reasonably well, there'll be a few mistakes along the way. So but, yeah, all of a sudden, we've got something to pin what you're doing today against.
So what are the actions I'm taking now? Or thinking about while I'm in the office or riding around on the horse or something? Is if I do that, how's that going to affect? You know, what's the flow on effect of that, and how's it got to be managed so that I can get to that end goal?
Or at least make progress towards it?
Sorry?
Or at least make progress towards it? Because like you've said, You're never going to see the end goal 200 years from now?
No, that's right. And, but is it going to lead me towards it? I guess, is the big thing. Yeah. Yeah.
You know, that, and sometimes you're going to take a deviation, which you know, isn't going to, but you're hoping it's going to make it easier to set you up to get back on track. And, and, you know, be more profitable along the way or something like that. But if you've got something to pin it against testing that decision, then it's a conscious decision. I know this isn't going to it's not a straight line to where I'm wanting to go. Yeah, but provided I get to that point, and don't go further. Then fucking, you know, get back on trajectory. Yeah, financially position or landscape better position or whatever it might be. But yeah.
Pete, is there is there a practical example you can share with us that assuming many listeners not are not farmers, they wouldn't understand the technical aspects of it. I certainly wouldn't. Is there is there an example of something that you've done in lieu of what you just said, that will be an example of I did this thing to the landscape in the idea that in 200, you know, 150, 60 years from now that provides the opportunity to do X? Is there a practical example you can share?
Apart from putting me on the spot Pete? I?
Yeah, we're not in the put Pete.
Yeah, I think it was overindulgence food coma, food coma, that was.
So one of the big things you know in a grazing operation is being able to maintain a really healthy pasture or healthy landscape. And so if you leave stock in any one paddock for too long, they tend to over graze the grass and you run the risk of baring. Having more bare ground in between plants, more exposed to erosion. If the grass is always eaten off at the top, then the roots are always pruned in equal measure from the bottom. And you want a big, deep rooted plants that feed lots of microbes and bacteria and fungus and, and really healthy soil is the aim. And the easiest way to do that is to have living organisms doing their thing underground.
And so managing the grazing of those animals is really important. So one of our decisions was to improve the water on the farm, so drinking water for livestock, and we use dams. But there's only so many sites you can put dams in and it's a scar on the landscape. .
But you know, that, I guess a necessity for stock water. And we've also put in some bores, so we're getting water from the ground, and we reticulate around the farm. And so we can put stock water in a lot more positions, and then we can create a lot more paddocks. Right. And so we can move the stock from one paddock to another. And knowing that, you know, each paddock that the stock in they're only going to be there for a short period of time. And then they're moved on and then that paddock gets a long recovery period. Yeah, so you're encouraging, you know, the plants live year to year. Yeah, and you have a dry season, but where they go to season senescence, but you know, so you're creating that healthier landscape. And so that's probably the the most obvious one.
Yeah. Pete, I'm gonna make a comment here that would probably ignorant, because I'm not a farmer. With what you've just said, it seems maybe stark and obvious to me that farmers and farming have always been into sustainability. Whereas you see a lot of press these days about is, as always, it's the new buzzword, because it's obviously not because otherwise, you know, 60,000 years of sustainability means we're able to do this. But how do you feel about that in terms of, you know, as a farmer part of your lens through successes, the healthiness of the landscape, 200 years from now, and all this, you know, all the banks and all the media talking about climate change and sustainability, and we're going to keep... Does that, does that reassure you? Or does it piss you off? Because you've always, I think you respond to, everyone's kind of jumped on the sustainability bandwagon?
Yeah, look, that sort of thing used to annoy me a bit. But now, you just, you can see the cycle coming you get a buzzword. It's, it means something to start with. And then everyone uses it, and puts their own context around it. And and all of a sudden, everyone's sustainable, or everyone's, you know, there's biodiversity everywhere, and even in monoculture, you can justify anything really if you put enough effort into it. Yeah.
So you've just got to ignore it's not the right word, but if someone asks, explain it, or explain your version of it. And be true to yourself, like if it's if you genuinely think that you want them, you know, you know what, you want your landscape to look like 200 years, and you want it to be healthy. You've got to really justify it to yourself. Am I heading in that direction? Or am I genuinely not, but I'm enjoying the profitability, then, you know, that's entirely on you as to whether you can I guess, for want of a better term, live with yourself to do that.
Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. And look, that's a perfect pivot for me, Pete, in terms of one of the things that I said to you, and I've appeared here that I was, I said, it's not usual. There's not many 19 year olds that are even interested in thinking about thinking about the person that they want to be. Can you maybe share over the years has that changed? Because that was the third lens, right? There was the assets on farm off farm. There was the healthiness of the landscape, you know, beyond my lifetime. And what was also fascinating was this this idea of, you know, as a 19 year old being inspired to think about from mum and dad, who's the person that I want to be? How's that changed over the years?
Not a lot, actually, like, it's one of the real, the real positives for me have been that it's, it just probably started, I guess, developing at about the age of 19. But time I was probably 24/25. You know, at that time, I wouldn't have said I was really clear on it. But everything I was...
It was a question, right? It was a question that was percolating, it was kind of a seed planted. It was, you know, a whisper, I used like, you know, who do I want to be, who do I want to be, who do I want to be?
We had, I think it was, I'm pretty sure it was one of our family meetings where we had to write down, just for us, I didn't, didn't necessarily need to be public, but a lot of those things and, and I found one, you know, 10 or 15 years later, just a scrap of paper.
Wow.
And I read it. And I said, Wow, that's pretty solid, like, change a few words. But it was, so it has obviously, meant something to me at the time. And it meant something to me, then. And it still means something to me now. And so very little as change like this. We obviously, well, maybe not obviously, but when when I got married, we went through it, because all of a sudden, it's not my goals, it's our goals. Yeah. You know, they had to be on the same wavelength otherwise, you know, drift apart, and. And so there was a bit of a rejigging there. I mean, we were very fortunate in that. We, you know, we're both very similar. Fortunate so far, anyway.
You know, neither of us had to step away from who we thought we wanted to be. Yeah, you know, a joint goal. And things still hadn't changed much. And, you know, I guess, one of the things when you're choosing a life partner is do they make you a better person? Or do you think they'll make you a better person? And, you know, if you're heading in a similar direction, or you think that they're, that person is going to help take you to the sort of person you want to be? Then you're on a winner.
Yeah. I read recently.
Say again?
Sorry, I was just going to a say amazingly, things really hadn't changed from this sort of.
Yeah. And it was, it's pretty solid, actually.
So for me, it begs the question, obviously, when you're at 19, you haven't really experienced much of life yet. You know, now your dad, you're husband, you're a farmer, or you're a colleague, you're a mate, you're, you've got kids, you got family members. How did you know at 19 what you wanted to be when you were in your 50s?
I mean, it was pretty broad. It wasn't, you know, that. I wanted to have brown hair and blue eyes still.
It was, you know, I wanted to be involved in community and, but there's, there's always people you look up to, in some aspect, even if it's only, you know, one aspect of that person, but it sticks out to you. And so that becomes your benchmark, or something to aspire to maybe not your benchmark. And then there will be another trait in someone else or something someone said, and that sits well with you. And so you remember that person for that one thing you said? Yeah.
Now that person might not even remember ever saying it, but it meant something to you at the time. And that's, you know, and so that's how you become. You know, a lot of that comes from family, friends, I guess. Yeah. Parents, old friends. Yeah. Things think things in different contexts. But, you know, there'll be something that relates to you at that point in time. Yeah. And so you're just building I guess building a thought process or that appeals to you and if that's, you know, solid then you they'll hang around for a long time.
It's like my experience of that personally Pete, is it can be a little bit random. When I was with my wife and when we were courting, you know, getting ready for the wedding, I was a terrible nail biter. I used to bite my nails all the time. Right?
I used to go around in the UK, selling pharmaceuticals, to doctors and hospitals, and therefore, you know, going into the local chemists, and asking about the drugs and the pharmaceuticals and how, you know how many prescriptions have been sampled are black, and remember, I can still I can remember this, the chemist and the lady saying it. I was chatting to the pharmacist, and there was three pharmacist assistants. And out of nowhere, she said to me, Ewh, look at your nails. Right. From that moment on, I haven't bitten my nails
Yeah right.
Despite all of the you know, the treatments the stopping goal, my wife badgering me and my mum badgering me, none of that had an impact. But some random person in a chemist shop in North Yorkshire 30-40 years ago, who I've never met sense will never meet again said something and it like, oh, it had an impact.
And I wonder if there's many of us who are doing that. And having that impact inadvertently without even knowing we are?
Yeah, on other people. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So you know, Pete Lawson might be the inspiration for many things that you've no idea about?
That's a frightening thought.
Yeah, yes. For some, for some of it Pete, for some of it.
Yeah, well, I think that's right. And I mean, I think a lot of the things and I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I've got absolutely no doubt that I've got examples like that. Like you're nail biting. Completely random people. It might have even been a conversation I was part of but not actually talking it that Yes. Where someone said something. Oh Yeah, I get that in my circumstance at that time. And that makes sense. Well, yeah.
It's fascinating. Your, your three lenses, Pete. You remind me of again, one of the as you as you mentioned, at the beginning, there's many many different goal setting frameworks. One of the perhaps most used is a framework around be do have. When you think about setting yourself aspirations and goals, What do you want to have? What do you want to do? And who do you want to be?
And there's an interesting talk in between, you know, what do you want to have your own farm off farm assets? What do you want to do while making a healthy landscape 200 years from now? And who do you want to be? Which is the question about the person you want to be? So you know, without even knowing it, you've been applying some of these frameworks. And I'm fascinated as you've now got kids, have you repeated the process with your kids that your parents did? And how's that going?
Yeah, I have. It's quite funny. To be honest, until the other day, I'd almost forgotten some of the stuff that mum and dad got us to do. But I've found myself repeating it, and probably from an earlier age, but repeating it, thinking it was my idea, when really, it was just, it wasn't at all.
So, you know, I'm not quite as smart as I thought I was.
Likewise.
Yeah, so with the kids, we started, you know, just we try to do it once a year. Some very loose questions of what they, and they write it down. You know, what? And as I say they're pretty loose questions, but you know, what they might want to do at this point in their life. What sort of career do you want? You know, what sort of jobs do you think you might have? Or would like to have, but not really, you know, you don't see it as a long term thing at this stage and at all at that point in time, like there's no, you know, what sort of have to live in and get 60 or to retire or, you know, just which they may not think about but it's really just to get them thinking. And then I don't read any of the answers, but I keep them all with the thought being, then, you know I haven't actually done this. So whether I get to it or not, but at some point in time when we start probably having more in depth conversations about what they want to do with their life, and you know, what we want to do, and how we might be able to make it all work, and we'll bring these out. And now, I suspect there'll be a lot of laughs, some of the answers, and some of them will be one to one word answers, because that's what we do when we're finding answers to questions for school is right, one word, if possible, we can get away with it. Yeah, and just to, to, to bring that whatever message has been building over the times, to them, it'll, I think, will, they'll be able to start they'll start picking themes and say, Wow, this is pretty solid. Like, I mean, you know, wanting to be a fireman or a bus driver or something like that.
It might have come and gone. But being you know, where I want to live or that sort of person, I want to be, you know, something's been building these answers. And I probably need a bit of help from you, Pete to design some questions that are actually worth having, rather than some of the ones that I think of geepers I've go to do this. It's that time of year again, if I don't do it now.
I think the way you do it is perfect Pete, because it's it's organic, it's natural, it's authentic. It's, it's planting a seed. Yeah. You know, the fruits of which you might never see. And that's what inspired me to connect. Nothing people would be interested in that, because not many people do it.
Yeah. That
I'm interested, Have you shared with your kids, some of your answers from when you were 19 and 25? And 30?
Probably on occasions, but again, more in conversations, which is probably usually only with one or two of them. Who were with me at the time?
Yeah, certainly not in a formal sense. But I expect that will come where it'll, you know, that will be a question to us. And yeah, I think that'll. I'm very prepared to and I'm happy to do it. Yeah, I suspect you would be Yeah. I know, how much, you know, me asking questions of, you know, my parents and friend's parents and that sort of thing. And where they're, you know, if they're giving you a willing, honest answer, yeah. Then it means something, then now, and you appreciate it.
And it gives you something to build from doesn't mean you have to be what they are, or what have you, right.
Some give you something to build from or pivot from or respond to. And I think it plants a seed one, the process itself and two, the answer.
Yep. Even if it rules that out.
Yeah. I agree.
I really don't agree with that. I can understand where they're coming from, but I really don't agree with it. And so all of a sudden, it's off the table. That's one less thing you have to worry about.
Yeah. That's right.
Pete, I'm really conscious of time. And you've got lots to do on the farm today. So first of all, I just want to say thank you, one for being willing to, I know you're not a regular podcast guests. So appreciate you stepping in and stepping up and doing some of that your comfort zone, perhaps? And secondly, thank you for just sharing the, your insights, because, you know, you might not think, but yeah, but it's just what we do. It's actually as I've said, it's pretty unusual to start at 19, thinking about those three things, what am I what are the assets, I want to know, how am I impacting the landscape? And you know, who do Who do I want to be in the world and, you know, I'm very grateful that we've met and I think it's a great process, and I think what you're doing in all three veins is pretty honourable. So, so it's a very simple thank you for being a guest but a broader thank you for doing what you're doing to the land.
Thank you. I think I'll just make one comment Pete. Being the clearer you are on your goals. Then, like this is my experience, the clearer you are on your goals, the earlier you are, the
the easier it is because at some stage, you know, things are gonna get tough during your life, but mentally, financially, all of the above. And, you know, if you're clear on something, then you are going to keep dragging yourself that way. Yeah. And it's just a really powerful way of knowing that, right? That's where I'm going to be I know, I'm nowhere near being that person at the moment, just in the mental state, I mean, or the financial state I'm in or whatever it might be. It just gives you something to cling to and keep dragging, whereas,
you know, you think you say it quite a lot with mental health nowadays, especially. But, you know, if the economic situation gets much worse, that in Australia at the moment, the, you know, it's going to be an awful lot of people in financial strife if the newspapers are right. And, you know, they don't have goals it can get, you've got nothing, just grab onto the.
Yeah. To keep your head above water, literally and metaphorically. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I agree. There are many things that are that would benefit people during this. So.
Yeah, that's been I mean, certainly, in my lifetime. That's, you know, that has helped me enormously. And I think it's probably why I'm quite keen to do see, as many people as possible, close to me that. You know, just get as clear as you can, early as you can be in life, and the chances are, you've got a better chance of reaching them.
I'm sorry, I just diverted.
No, no, I thought that that was a perfect summary of the whole point of our conversation that I'm thinking I'm grateful that you were able to remember most of it.
Obviously, to this concept was going to, you know, after a couple of years, so I'm glad you remember most of I'm really grateful for you for you sharing that.
No worries. I think if people learn anything from me, they'll learn not to go out with someone who does a podcast overindulge and eat too much food.
Really, thanks very much. Be nice. Thanks. Bye.
