What 4-H Taught Me

I pledge my head to clearer thinking,

my heart to greater loyalty,

my hands to larger service, and

my health to better living,

for my club, my community, my country and my world.

For sixteen years, I was a proud 4-H leader. My sister and I started a horse club for our five kids. They brought friends, then strangers joined, and before we knew it, we ran one of the biggest clubs in our county.

I loved every moment of 4-H. I couldn't participate when I was a kid. We moved every six-seven months and 4-H requires work.

One of the things I'm proudest of is my sister started horsebowl in our county, a knowledge competition, and we went to state every year and nationals three times! Oh, the work! We studied every week during the school year, for hours, to get to that level.

After my daughter aged out, she became my co-leader because my sister had retired by that time. I stayed in the organization four years after my daughter, niece and nephew aged out. I would still be going, but to be a state/national level competitor require a level of dedication that less and less kids wanted to put in. They wanted it now...with no work.

It kind of reminds me of the current book culture. Publication took me twenty years. I worked my ass off! I took classes, I read and I worked until I knew what I was doing. I'm self published, along with some small presses. But there's no way in hell I'd put out a product that was slapped together. So many people want to write a book, throw it on Amazon with no editing or a decent book cover. And they wonder why Indie authors get a bad name.

My advice?

The same I gave my horsebowl kids. You want it, you gotta earn it.