Was 2023 a successful year? How do you feel about 2024 being a successful year?

Success is as varied as the number of people reading this. What I deem as being successful may not be the same as how you determine success. You may wish to achieve financial success aided by 300-bushel corn yields and 100-bushel soybean yields. You may aim to lessen your input costs or switch cropping practices. You may wish to have your farmland and livestock barns paid off. You may wish to have your livestock barns remain pathogen-free. You may merely wish to be happy and healthy.

If you achieve any of the above, and you’re OK with that, then you are a success.

All too often, we forget about what is good for ourselves, and worry too much about what others think of us. Do not let others determine your success. A need to “keep up with the Joneses” may be a necessity for some, but don’t cave into that unnecessary peer pressure.

Your peers won’t help you pay your bills if you are spreading yourself too thin, just to keep up appearances.

Now this may sound contradictory, but you may want to seek input from those around you, someone you really trust. Some people are their own worst critics, and I count myself in that group. Sometimes we need to see and hear what our true friends or someone on our team thinks of us. They may see something, good or bad, that we do not see in ourselves.

If they see something good in you, help that asset grow. If they point out something bad, then you know where you can grow.

Find uncut gems

I recently read “Hidden Potential” by Adam Grant, a professor specializing in organizational psychology, and as the title implies, he looks at how people should elevate themselves, as well as others, to achieve success.

Through his many real-life examples, he shows how people overcome setbacks or being overlooked. Grant also shows that progress may depend less on how hard you work and more on how well you learn.

College graduates are often rated on their grade point average, or GPA, but Grant suggests that potential employers would be wise to consider an applicant’s GPT, or grade point trajectory. GPA is an indication of the candidate’s intelligence, sort of. It is not a good indicator of the person behind the grades. Can they work well on your team and make it better?

A GPT shows how a candidate improved throughout their college career. Maybe they had to overcome adversity to get to the GPA they graduated with. College can be intimidating, and it may take time for some students to adjust, so the GPA may suffer the first semester or two. But, as is said for a game or a sport season, “It’s how you finish that counts.”

Who do you want on your farm team? Someone who comes in strong and stays the same (maintaining a good GPA)?

Or do you want someone who joins your farm team who is maybe not so strong on the workings of your farm, but is willing to put in the effort and grow in their knowledge of your farm practices, experiencing personal growth (creating a good GPT)?

In a perfect world, you would have both on your farm, and you may be so fortunate. I venture that if you have someone who continues to grow in their own skin, that person will help your farm grow.

How do you see yourself? Someone with a strong GPA or a strong GPT, looking for continual growth?

You can also apply GPT to your farm. Everyone wants to achieve high yields, but can you go from 212-bushel corn one year to 312-bushel corn the next? Probably not, but does that mean you aren’t successful? No.

If you establish a plan with the goal to reach that plateau, and you have steady growth, when you do achieve that yield mark or exceed it, it may be more rewarding.

Of course, you can have the best plan, and Mother Nature or other outside factors can derail your goal — but if you are making progress, you can achieve success.

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