My granddad was John Wayne, not the real John Wayne, but he was as close as you could get to The Duke. He was a Missouri farmer who built the farmhouse by hand that his 6 kids were born in, and where he and my grandmother both eventually died.

He was a simple, stout, hardworking man that earned everything he had, and nothing was given to him. To say he was bigger than life to me would be an understatement. I watched him beat a 5-foot water moccasin to death with a stick that was about 10 inches long while holding my little brother in his left arm while we were out fishing one day.

As a child, I would ride on the fender of his tractor for hours baking like a biscuit in the hot sun as he plowed up soil, planted beans and raked hay. This was before they had fancy tractors with air-conditioned cabs and Bluetooth.

He was my hero and rarely said a word and watching him roll a smoke and work his Zippo lighter was priceless. When he did speak, it usually meant something, so I always listened and tried to remember what he said.

After a long day on the tractor, granddad would stop for a minute, wipe his brow, roll a smoke, look back over the field he just worked and say, “We’re gaining.”

In other words, he was reducing the space that lay between him and his goal, that goal being a harvest. That is a very simple concept, but so true in the things I am trying to achieve in my life today.

Grandad knew that he was closer at that moment to reaping a harvest than he was when he woke up that morning. He knew he was gaining and that has got to be a good feeling regardless of what you are trying to achieve in life.

I have learned through my failures and successes that if I want to reap a harvest in anything in my life, I have to “turn dirt” every day just like a farmer and reduce the space between where I am today… and where I want to be.

At the end of each day as I lay in bed, I want to be able to look back and say, “were gaining.” Just like my granddad, I want to be closer to my goal at the end of the day than I was when I woke up that morning.

Some days I only turn over a spoonful of dirt, whereas other days I knock out a few acres. The key for me is to keep “turning dirt” daily, regardless of the amount.

All of us have dreams and goals we have yet to accomplish. I know I still have many things I want to do in my life. It is up to me to crawl out of bed each day and go to work planting the types of seeds I want to see grow in my life.

Just like a farmer, I must work the fields every day and not rely on luck to bring me a harvest.

One morning when I was on the patio at my granddad’s farmhouse, he was putting on his boots and he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was about 12 years old at the time, so I really was not sure. I replied, “I don’t know.”

Granddad looked over at me and said, “Well, if you aim for nothing, you are bound to hit it.”

That comment did not have much impact on me as a 12-year-old, but it certainly made sense as I got older.

My grandad did not go to college, and he never attended a leadership summit, but he taught me life lessons that are timeless and powerful.

We all have people in our lives that have demonstrated love, encouragement, and direction to us. I just bet you are offering that to others without even realizing it. That is the best kind of influence.

I will not underestimate the simplicity of life I learned while sitting in the fender of my granddad’s tractor; Aim for something, turn some dirt every day, then be able to look back over your work at the end of each day and say with confidence “We’re gaining!”

IF YOU PLANT CORN, YOU WILL GROW CORN.

IF YOU PLANT HOPE, YOU WILL GROW HOPE

IF YOU PLANT HATE, YOU WILL GROW HATE.

IF YOU PLANT LOVE, YOU WILL GROW LOVE.

You decide which seeds to plant, and never stop gaining on the person you want to become and the things you want to do.

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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles will appear on Fridays.