Have you ever wanted to do something, but you never actually did it?

I’m not talking about an insignificant thing like wanting to go to the store but deciding to stay home. I mean have you ever wanted to start a business or write a book or take up a new hobby, and you keep coming back to that idea month after month, year after year, but you never follow through with it?

Why is that? Is it fear? Do negative thoughts take over and you tell yourself you’re not good enough? You don’t have what it takes? Or maybe you just convince yourself that it’s a stupid idea and everyone will think you’re dumb if you do it.

Those are all lies. You do have what it takes. You have the power to decide you’re going to do something and just do it. Don’t listen to the lies. The Father of Lies, the devil, wants you to be unproductive. He wants you to be unhappy. So don’t listen to him.

And you know what else? It’s not a stupid idea. If it was, you’d have dropped it a long time ago, but you keep coming back to it or it keeps coming back to you. Why is that?

I watched the movie Babe recently with my kids and there’s a line in that movie that really struck me. It goes like this: “Little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny.” Those ideas are there for a reason.

I don’t know about you, but I am so good at reasoning things away. One thing we do is tell ourselves that there’s a better idea out there or that this thing won’t provide the outcome we need or want. That may be true, but if we never do anything, we’ll get no outcome.

The reality is that things in motion stay in motion. If we act on those nagging ideas, it will lead to more ideas and more outcomes. What if Thomas Edison never tried his first experiment because he knew it wouldn’t work? No, he tried it, learned something, then tried again and again. Successful people keep trying.

So, what are you putting off? Do you want to get more land and start a little homestead? Do you already have some acreage and you want to start a new venture on your property? Maybe you just want to get a few chickens. Is that idea nagging you?

If you don’t really want to do it, then don’t do it. But if you want to do something, you should give it a try. You will never regret trying and it will either lead to success or something else to try.

I’m not saying it will be easy. It’s probably going to be hard. Most things worth doing are hard and there’s a reason for that. See my article on doing hard things here: https://thisoldehomestead.com/2026/07/23/do-hard-things/

I used to think it was a worthwhile endeavor to figure out how to make homesteading easy and help people do that, but I found that it’s not true. However, while I don’t want to lie to you, I also don’t want to discourage you. I’ve found it’s better to have realistic expectations and keep working at it. Instead of trying to make homesteading easier, I want to make you tougher and more confident.

Have you heard the famous story about Babe Ruth during Game 3 of the World Series in 1932? He was at the plate with two strikes and he points his finger over the center field fence to indicate where he’s about to hit the ball. The next pitch comes in and he cracks a home run right over that fence. He called his shot! After the game someone asked him, “But suppose you missed that last pitch and struck out?” A look of surprise came over his face and he said, “Why, I never even thought of such a thing.”

Confidence comes from experience. Keep trying. That will lead to the next thing. When you run into trouble, you figure it out. Next time it will be easier. Babe Ruth knew he could do it because he’d done it hundreds of times already.

Keep trying. Keep failing. Then hit a home run!