The other day I visited a farm with my family.
They had goats, sheep, guineas, chickens, peacocks and turkeys to
name a few. It was a relaxing tour. But it also reminded me about a
time when things were simpler.
As someone born in Topeka, Kansas the farm is not alien to me.
Although I never lived on one, some of my extended family members did.
My grandfather’s neighbor grew potatoes and I’d often go help dig them
to pass the time. I’d visit my other grandparents where we’d drive out
to the farm and return with ‘bushels’ of corn, peaches and snap beans.
Regrettably, I still don’t know what a bushel is.
But what is clear about the old way of farming is the work was
clear. You shucked corn until every ear clean. You dug potatoes until
there are none left to dig. There was time for thought and time for
talk. And there were harsh consequences for farmers if they did not do
their work.
Today’s work is not so clear – especially if you are working on
yourself. Your arms won’t rot off in October because you didn’t harvest
push ups today. You probably won’t starve to death in December because
you forgot to plant the seeds of your small business in April.
That’s what makes getting ahead these days so persnickety. Consequences for inaction can take years to appear.
The solution is we must all work on our fortune telling skills. It’s
not as hard or mystical as it sounds. We can use imagination and logic
to see the result of not acting today, tomorrow and the next.
You don’t need a crystal ball to see what happens after 3 years of
drinking a bottle of vodka each day. Nor do you need one to see what
happens after 3 years of developing a profitable service that helps
thousands of people. Successful fortune telling means seeing the
future and altering your behavior accordingly.
Leaders call this having a strong vision.
Author of 
Brad Isaac has made human achievement and motivation a study for over 20 years. He is the developer of