Trouble has never once called ahead to make an appointment with me.
It just shows up.
Usually at the worst possible time, and never once has it wiped its boots.
Here’s something 77 years have taught me.
Adversity is coming for all of us.
Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s your health. Maybe it’s all three in the same week.
One way or another, it’s coming.
And the time to get ready for it is not when it’s already standing on your porch.
It’s now.
That’s really the whole reason we live the way we do here at Next Level Ranch.
It’s why we eat clean food.
It’s why we exercise.
It’s why we get out in the sunshine every chance we get.
None of that is about looking good at the beach. (Trust me, that ship sailed a long time ago.)
It’s about being ready.
Mentally and physically.
Let me tell you how that played out for me this year.
In June, at 77, I took a concussion.
Not exactly the summer plans I’d penciled in.
Then came pneumonia. That one took about five weeks to overcome.
I won’t pretend any of it was fun. It wasn’t.
But I believe this with my whole heart: because I’d been preparing all along, I recovered quickly. I stayed in the game.
And I’m back to full-tilt energy now.
The animals have noticed. I’m not sure they’re thrilled about it.
Here’s the thing about being prepared.
You can’t buy it the day you need it.
You can’t cram for it the night before like a high school test.
You build it a little at a time, day after day, back when nothing seems to be wrong at all.
That’s when it counts.
Somebody put it this way once, and I’ve never forgotten it:
Nobody wakes up at 70 in great shape. You have to work for it.
I’d add that nobody wakes up at 60 feeling great, either. It doesn’t just show up one morning, all hunky-dory. You earn it, one ordinary day at a time.
Your mind works the same way. If you’ve practiced doing the hard thing on the easy days, you’ve got something to lean on when the hard days come.
(And around here, there’s no shortage of chances to practice.)
Now, I’m a rancher, not a doctor, and this isn’t medical advice. Everybody’s situation is different.
But I can tell you what’s worked for me: real food, staying active, and plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
That’s a big part of why we raise our food the way we do.
The pasture-raised pork and beef from our ranch is the kind of food we believe in. It’s what we trust to help keep folks strong for whatever comes next.
And we’re grateful to share it with you.
So do yourself a favor.
Get ready now, while the sun’s still shining.
Because adversity is coming either way.
Might as well meet it standing up.
Hoping your hardest days find you ready (and well fed),
John