Noel McNaughton

Have you noticed that over the years your wife and kids have started to mumble more? They just don’t seem to want to speak clearly no matter how many times you tell them. In fact they are getting a bit annoyed with you. I have known for more than 10 years that I have a […] Read more

Every industry has millionaires and Thomas J. Stanley has studied them for more than 20 years. His book The Millionaire Mind provides a look inside the mindset, values, beliefs and marriages of millionaire couples. Yes, his study includes millionaire farm couples. I found the statistics on marriage in millionaire couples particularly interesting. To start with, […] Read more

Adult developmental expert Erik Erikson says that in mid-life we need to give birth to a new way of being in the world. He calls this creative process generativity, which means we begin to be concerned with others beyond ourselves and our immediate families. We begin to care more for future generations and the world […] Read more

Books about personal financial management always encourage readers to pay themselves first. Every time you get a paycheque or other income, they say to set a percentage of it aside for long-term savings. Most people don’t do that. They wait till the end of the month and if there is any left, they set it […] Read more

Rob was reading and Sue was knitting a little green sweater for the grandchild they were expecting in about a month. She looked over at Rob and mentioned that Trish, a neighbour, had invited them for supper Friday night. She had told Trish she would check with Rob and get back to her, so would […] Read more

Every community has them: grouchy, irritating, angry people for whom nothing is ever right. You know some. If you are middle aged, you might recently have become one. I believe our task in life is to learn patience and compassion for others. It is easy to be patient and compassionate with people who are easy […] Read more

Farmers and ranchers are largely price takers. Yes, we can influence the price we get to a degree by learning how to properly market, and we can add more to the bottom line by adding value to our products, and marketing them directly to the end users. But in general, profit is achieved by not […] Read more

I regularly receive calls and e-mails from distressed women. I also get a few from men. A woman called from Wisconsin the other day, desperately trying to figure out how to deal with her husband of 24 years. He is 45 and during the past year has become withdrawn, defensive, uncommunicative and sometimes downright mean […] Read more

There comes a time in everyone’s life called a time of ashes. It is a time when calamity hits: you lose your farm, or the equity in it; the market for your product crashes; your spouse leaves; a close family member dies; you lose interest in your work or some other catastrophe comes along. Your […] Read more