Hardships on the Homestead: Working away from the Homestead

How many perspiring homesteaders out there in Steemit Nation struggle with the realization of their homesteading dreams?

If I were to take a poll of all those on this journey we call “homesteading” I’d bet that more than 90% of you must still work outside the homestead in order to service your current financial obligations.

I would have like to been in the 10 percenter club by now, but circumstances and infrastructure needs demand that I continue to work away from home so that I can bring in the much needed capital my new homestead requires. In fact, where as some must still work your basic 9 to 5 to accomplish this, I’m actually working 4 to 11. That’s 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. No joke.

Like so many of you, I too have a fervent desire to grow my homestead by getting the necessary work done to advance the overall vision, yet find precious little time to accomplish much of anything due to work obligations. As some of you know, I work multiple days away from home cutting lawns 19 hours a day and come home to do paperwork, maintenance lawn equipment, spend time with the family…and work on homestead projects little by little.

This has been a major frustration of mine as of late.

I was out cutting just a few days ago when my wife sent me this picture on her phone. A severe storm with high winds came through our neck of the woods in the Ozarks of Arkansas. The winds took down a bunch of trees, several lean-to shelters, and of course, our little covered gazebo. After I saw this, I have to admit, I was a bit discouraged. We spent at least 6 precious hours assembling this canopy only to have it bent and torn less than a month later.

I don’t believe I even had a chance to use it yet!

If I had been at our homestead however, I would have seen this big storm blowing in and taken the necessary measures to prevent it from being destroyed. The part that is most frustrating to me is that I knew I needed to secure it down properly before I left, yet ran out of time to get it done. Once again, I have no body to blame but myself. I’m just to darn busy. Sadly, I’m not busy furthering my homesteading vision, per say. I’m just busy trying to make money and tending to the other responsibilities of my life.

Waste of time and a waste of money.

In my discouragement, I tend to start dwelling on other frustrations in my life. I started thinking about other projects that have waited too long to be completed…

• plant cuttings dying in pots that didn’t get in the soil fast enough.

• Lumber that got ruined being left out too long.

• Animals purchased to clear the land eating feed instead because I’m too busy to get their portable electric fence installed.

• And so on, and so on.

It seems to be a losing battle to build and maintain a homestead while working away from home.

And yet, like the homesteaders of old, I feel the call to rise above these hardships and press on. To learn, to work, to strive for a future where I CAN be at home tending to the immediate needs of my family, my garden, my property and my animals.

After all, I'm not pursuing this lifestyle for myself alone. I want to Build Legacies Utilizing Earths Resources. I want my children and my children's children to reap the benefits of the vision that I'm perspiring to fulfill.

After talking with @goatgarden and his wife @clickinchicken at the Steemit meet up in Kansas City yesterday, I realized that I’m not alone in my struggles. Other homesteaders in this community have the same problems and feel the same way I do.

Like me, they also see Steemit as a potential solution to our working away from home dilemma.

Many homesteaders are trying to leverage the power of the internet to generate enough income to not only supplement their 9 to 5 jobs but to eventually replace it all together. Platforms like Youtube and WordPress have been common “go to” ways for homesteaders to accomplish this. Unfortunately, building your brand and getting followers to support your efforts takes a considerable amount of time and effort before a Return on Investment is realized.

Now, thanks to Steemit, many perspiring homesteaders are seeing immediate ROI’s and are feeling a ground swell of encouragement and renewed energy. I certainly can testify that I have. Perhaps this is why more and more homesteaders are joining this platform everyday.

Fellow homesteaders, I’d like to hear your stories as well, so we can be an encouragement to one another. Together, we can help each other to realize our homesteading visions.

Glad to be on this journey with you.

Thanks for Reading!

As always,