Setting Crazy Goals (& Messing Up)

Last Updated on June 27, 2020 by Michelle

Is it okay to set crazy homesteading goals? Even if you keep messing up? Read on for 3 tips for setting homesteading goals.

Last month I told you about a gorgeous dozen roses, three jobs, three lessons learned, and a dozen great ways homesteaders can make money. All in one post. Right here. But I left out part of the story. That’s what I saved for today’s post.

(Oh, and if you just want to dive into those 3 tips for setting homestead goals, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

What BHAGs Are and Why They’re Important.

This part of the story is all about setting goals. And here’s where I draw out my words all nice and slow–in true Paul Harvey fashion– “Here’s. the rest. of the story.”

If you just clicked here for the 3 tips for setting homesteading goals, scroll to the bottom. But here’s my story of setting crazy goals (and succeeding… eventually…) after way too many mistakes to count…

So two of those jobs I took on last year? They came about in baby steps. Tiny steps towards huge goals I set for myself. But how did little ole me–blogging away in no-where-ville, rural New England–get to that point, that I had publishers vying to print Sweet Maple and made friends with Jill Winger, of The Prairie Homestead?

It’s simple. I set goals.

Okay, I set three goals.

Okay, I set three ridiculous, crazy goals.

But I wrote long ago about BHAGs–Big Hairy Audacious Goals–and how I always encouraged them in my children throughout our crazy amazing, impossibly difficult journey of homeschooling. (Read about BHAGs and kids right here.) So why not set some for myself, am I right?

Why I Did 3 Ridiculous Things.

First, after I had only been blogging for a short time, I asked Jill Winger–of the hugely successful, wonderful little corner of the internet known by millions as The Prairie Homestead–if she’d like to share a new post I had written with her readers, cause I had found an amazing solution to a huge homesteading problem that we were personally facing. And I legitimately thought maybe I could help a few folks if anyone ever actually read it.

Goal #1? I decided very early on with this “homesteading thing” that I was going to use my failures to help others.

It turned out Jill loved my post. Because my failures at dog training led to my eventual expert-status in the very same area, andJill saw great value to what I was writing about. She shared it with her readers that same week. Go here if you’d like to read that post.

But don’t skim by that little paragraph and miss the whole point… the point that totally transcends little ole mistake-making Michelle, or hungry dogs, or chicken-flavored, feathery dog snacks… the crux of the story is that our failures can lead to wonderful consequences. If we work hard and set goals to make it happen. If we make sure to not waste the pain, or loss, or grief, or embarrassment and instead use it for good.

Even so, you might not see “the good” for a while.

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“A Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is never about instant gratification.”

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Other than the biggest traffic day in my little blog’s history up to that point, it seemed like not much really “came about” from that BHAG of mine back then. But that’s not what BHAGs are about… immediate gratification… they’re about being in something for the long haul. And that initial little reassurance that if I just kept on learning in the midst of my failures and if I just kept on being transparent and sharing what I was learning, well I was on to something. I truly could help others. And some days–few and far between back then–a few folks (who weren’t relatives) would actually read things that I wrote.

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SOME TIPS ABOUT SETTING UP A BLOG

If you’re considering starting a blog but need to save every dime, like I did, you can design your blog yourself. I designed this site myself, using WordPress and choosing a free theme I liked (the hard work was already done for me and didn’t cost a penny) and going to WPBeginner when I had questions. They offer great helpful info like this: 40 Most Common WordPress Errors and How to Fix Them. Then I searched long and hard and did months of research to choose my hosting provider. I chose Hostgator. (If you’d like to know the other providers I considered, I explain more right here & in this article as well, about How I Make Money Blogging.)

I should say, you don’t NEED a hosting provider with WordPress. You can use a free domain and have .wordpress.com at the end of your website address. That’s how I started out. But as soon as I started learning how to do much more with my site that wasn’t allowed with the free domain, I had to find a hosting provider.

After being with them almost 5 years, and having to call them and have one of their awesome tech support folks “hold my hand” through some issues, I can honestly say I made a great choice with Hostgator. Go here if you’d like to know more about them.

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Goal #2? I decided no timeline was too long when it comes to the important goals. (For me? It was my childhood dream to see my name on the cover of a book.)

Years after training Bixby to behave with the chicken, I was determined to finally see my true lifelong BHAG come to fruition.

I had no aspirations that a publisher would want to purchase my little ole book about what I’d learned while failing miserably at making maple syrup here on our homestead. So I read everything I could about self-publishing, and sat down and wrote my book.

This is where the second crazy thing that I did with Jill Winger comes in. I asked Jill if she’d be willing to glance at Sweet Maple–back when I was almost ready to push the button to self-publish it.

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“I have no idea what gave me the audacity to ask such a thing.”

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When I got the message from her that she was in love with my book–the photos, the lessons, the stories, and the recipes–well, I just about cried. When she went on to say that she was going to write an endorsement for me? I did a jig in my muck boots… Right then and there… In the juniors section of Kohls… With my teenage daughters right beside me. Yes, I embarrassed the heck outta them. But that just makes the story better, cause I live for moments like that.

Am I saying all you need to do to be noticed is to bug some influencers? Heck no. This was years after Jill had shared one post of mine. And both things that I approached Jill about were intense commitments that I had worked hard and agonized over a lot… daily training Bixby for three long months, and making syrup, taking notes, learning all I could for many long years (then spending two more years in the long process of documenting it all and creating amazing maple recipes and designing a book). No it’s not a quick step to fame to bug some influencers and get their ear.

And, honestly, all along, I just kept failing at all kinds of homesteading efforts. And I just kept learning more. And I just kept writing. For almost 5 years now. And little by little, folks like you realized I had a few worthwhile things to read. And my number of followers grew.

Goal #3? I decided it’d be pretty fun to share something delicious with a new friend.

So then, right before I found myself in the midst of 4 different publishers vying to print Sweet Maple (but that’s another separate story of crazy hard work and outpouring of God’s grace), I did the craziest thing of all.

I sent Jill one of my favorite recipes that I was printing in Sweet Maple and asked if she’d like to include it in her cookbook that I knew she was currently writing. And guess what? Well, you gotta check out page 158 of The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, (which you can preorder now btw, at that link) for the rest of that delicious story that culminates in some wonderful maple sandwich bread.

But I didn’t learn to make amazing homemade bread overnight.

In fact, it was a crazy long process of trial and error. I really wish I had had another baking expert right there with me, showing me the ropes and saving me tons of heartache, wasted hours, and expensive chicken scraps. (That’s what happened to the loaves that were too dense or totally wrong. I fed them to the chicken.

Now, this part of my story is all about YOU; maybe I can help you with a goal or two today? Here are my 3 tips for setting giant goals. Three tips that I’ve kinda figured out over the past few years…

So what are you waiting for? Start a few tiny steps towards a great, big, audacious homesteading goal today!

Three Tiny Tips for Setting Giant Goals.

1. Learn from others mistakes…

There’s a lot to be said for learning from others’ mistakes. Can I get an amen? So you might like this post about a dozen mistakes I’ve made along the way on this homesteading adventure. There’s a lot to be read out there about other’s mistakes… soak it all in. And then don’t do those things. (Yeah, pretty basic, I know. But I find I need to be reminded of the simple things sometimes.)

2. Revive an old dream & make it happen…

I explain in this little video how signing with a book publisher was this girl’s childhood dream come true and invite you to come along as I sign my contract and take it to the post office.

But my point is, just because it’s an old dream doesn’t mean it’s not a great one. Just because it’s never come to fruition doesn’t mean NOW isn’t the time to work on it again and make it happen… so it’s just like the unnamed dude asks in the beginning and end of Pretty Woman… “What’s your dream? Everyone has a dream.” Maybe it’s about time you dust off an old dream and take a few tiny steps towards making it a reality.

3. Learn something new (and delicious!)… 

I find creating and learning something new can be very empowering and inspiring. It can be something simple, like a new recipe that turns out perfectly delicious, and suddenly I’m motivated that maybe I can do this homesteading thing. (Mind you, I’ve been playing at the homesteading “thing” for over four years, but not many days go by where I don’t question myself if I’ll ever “succeed.”)

Maybe you’d like to learn to make bread, but not feed dozens of loaves to the chicken? Or maybe canning, curing meat, or fermenting seem fascinating but overwhelming or just too time consuming? I get it. There are so many other aspects of heritage cooking and homesteading that I still haven’t conquered.

Like fermenting. While I love making yogurt and kombucha, that is the extent of my fermenting ability.

After getting to know Jill, and after she asked me to work with her, I have had the utter joy of working behind the scenes over on The Prairie Homestead on an amazing Heritage Cooking Crash Course that blows any other option out of the water and makes even the hardest heritage cooking skill doable and painless. It’s seriously like you’re right there, in the farmhouse kitchen, elbow-to-elbow with Jill, the new Ma Ingalls on the Wyoming prairie. Follow along on facebook or instagram for reminders of all the freebies and giveaways going on next week.

Oh, and if you decide to join in on the course–and the amazing VIP group for course members only–you’ll get access to many wonderful bonuses, including books and instructional videos all about two subjects I happen to know a lot about… maple and kombucha… written and produced by guess who?

Yep. Moi. My eBooks and video courses are part of Jill’s wonderful Heritage Cooking Crash Course. Seriously, there is so much to love.

But it’s a no brainer, really, because the whole course comes with a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.

So go here and check it all out. You got nothin’ to loose. And amazing sourdough breads, home-cured meats, and 30-minute Mozzarella to gain!

Oh, and check out The Prairie Homestead Cookbook and all the amazing bonuses you get with that purchase! Just order here (affiliate link), and you’ll get all the information you need to snag over $130-worth of goodies. Seriously. In fact, between the Heritage Cooking Crash Course and the cookbook bonuses, you’ll  have access to two brand-new instructional videos I’ve just produced–about maple sugar and kombucha–as well as 3 of my mini ebooks!

 

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I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

 

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And have you tried my a-MAAHZ-ing Maple Sugar Cookie recipe that’s in my Resource Library? You won’t find this deliciousness anywhere else… until Sweet Maple is in print this fall.