You Can't Cheat The Seasons

When I first got into agriculture, I thought I was just learning how to raise animals and grow food.
Turns out, I was signing up for a crash course in life.

Jim Rohn talks about the seasons — not just the ones outside your window, but the ones inside your business, your relationships, your mindset.
Living by the land, you can’t help but feel them.

• Winter is survival. It’s slower, leaner, and quieter.
  

• Spring is planting season. Fresh starts. New energy. Big dreams.
  

• Summer is the grind. Heat, sweat, and the slow march forward.
  

• Fall is the reward. Harvest time — for the field, the freezer, and the soul.

Right now, it’s spring — or at least, it’s trying to be

Here in Ontario, you get what feels like a false spring.
One week it’s warm — I’m out setting fence posts, clearing trails, moving animals.
The next, I wake up to a fresh dumping of snow and ice.
It hits hard — like the door’s been slammed shut just as momentum was building.

But that’s part of the lesson too.

Spring doesn’t always come in a straight line.
Progress doesn’t either.

Still, I’ve started moving.
Planting trees. Prepping garden beds. Laying the groundwork for everything to come.
Even when the snow returns, I know the seeds are in the ground — literally and figuratively.

And I know what comes next.

Summer brings the grind.

The excitement of spring fades, replaced by daily effort.
The animals need to be moved every single day.
Fences need patching. The sun beats down. The work never ends.

This is the season that tests you.
It’s not about riding the high anymore — it’s about showing up, again and again.

Fall brings the reward.

It’s the time to harvest.
The garden fills your plate.
The freezers fill with meat.
Maybe you tag a deer.

It’s the visible payoff of all the invisible effort.

Then winter returns.

Slower mornings. More time inside.
Less visible action, more reflection, breeding, and planning.
Winter feels long. Cold. Quiet.

Sometimes you wonder if it’ll ever end.

But here’s what the land teaches you:

The seasons always change.

Spring doesn’t last forever.
Neither does summer.
Neither does winter.

You can’t hold on to the good times.
You can’t get stuck in the hard ones.

And sometimes — just like this spring — you’ll get knocked back right when things are starting to move.
That doesn’t mean it’s over.
It means you have to trust the process.

The seasons don’t care how you feel.

They keep moving.

Your only job is to move with them — not against them.

You can’t force a harvest in spring.
You can’t plant in winter.
You can’t reap rewards if you slept through summer.

But you can read the season you’re in.
You can do what’s required — even when it’s uncomfortable.
You can keep growing.

That’s the difference between surviving and thriving —
in farming, in business, in life.

You can’t cheat the seasons.

You can’t cling to them.

You can only work with them — and keep evolving.