Matthew Lakey

I was recently driving home after a long week of classes at Missouri State, and I passed the local John Deere dealership just outside of Springfield. As I drove by and looked at the sea of green equipment, I immediately thought of everything John Deere is known for as a company. Excellent customer service, outstanding tractors and the beautiful green paint that every piece of equipment is doused in are just a few of the reasons why John Deere is one of the largest and most successful companies in the world. After I drove by the dealership, I thought to myself, just as John Deere is recognized by green paint, we as individuals are recognized by how we conduct ourselves and how we treat other people. I’m sure many people have heard the phrase, “There’s always somebody watching.” This has been preached to me by my parents for years, and I can say without a doubt they were 100% right. People are always watching to see how we treat other people, how we act with our friends and how hard we work. Just as John Deere is a brand that is known around the world for customer service, tractors and green paint, we too are known by our work ethic, our behavior around our closest friends and our willingness to help others. How will you create your own brand?

I was recently asked by a member at week one of Missouri FFA Camp what they needed to do to become most successful. When I heard this question, I was automatically taken back to my freshman year when I was first beginning my FFA journey. As a freshman, I was determined that I was going to be the best at everything I did. My first creed speaking contest rolls around, I say the creed and await the results. I heard the results and not only did I not win, I didn’t even place in the top five. To say I was disappointed was a major understatement. I was questioning whether or not I wanted to stay in FFA just because I had not succeeded in my eyes. However, while I thought I failed, the work ethic I developed because of my failure was the true success I experienced in this scenario. 

During my sophomore year of high school, I had told myself I wanted to participate in the Livestock Judging CDE. That year, my team was lucky enough to qualify for the state contest and were more than ecstatic to get to go to state. The day of the state contest rolls around, we carefully pick our placings, say our reasons and head back to the hotel after the contest. When we heard the results, we were crushed. We had worked so incredibly hard all season long in order to meet our goal at state, and we thought we had simply failed. While this could have been seen as a failure, the success we experienced was getting to cheer other members from our chapter on. While we may have not been able to meet our goal, we were able to watch other members achieve theirs.  

FFA members, as you start this year off strong and take every opportunity you can, always remember that success looks different for each and every person.