Put together by the ABC’s Australian Story on a guy by the name of Peter Andrews. My first tip would be to get your hands on this documentary, it serves as a inspirational teaching point about following your passion. In short it tells a story of a guy with an obsession for the environment, particularly the Australian bush. Over the last 30-40 years he has worked to turn salty, arid lands into fertile lavish environments. The scientific world originally deemed his farming methods as unsafe, unconventional and claimed him to be crazy. In a nutshell Peter observed the land then created natural style dams to increase the water table above the ground. Peter tried selling his method to businesses and governments, initially without any success. Without income he was unable to make the payments on his pride and joy, his farm. The bank later took possession of now beautiful property, which was once a salt pit. He also split from his wife and son and suffered the loss of his daughter through suicide. During the process, he fought government agencies, has been investigated by environmentalists, all whilst juggling legal, financial and family challenges. He admits to giving up for a day or two on several occasions, however he stuck to his cause.
In watching Peter in action, following the loss of his daughter, he had a bigger purpose as he was determined to do it for her. He had more dedication and commitment to go about his work. Peter was deeply moved by the loss of his daughter and in his words "he become more motivated and committed to the environment and his cause, through her loss”. This purpose played a significant role in him becoming a world recognised expert in the area of land repair and degradation. During the documentary an acclaimed professor declared. “Peter is the single greatest cause for the environment that we will ever see”. The outcome of his work is mind-boggling.
This confirmed a common belief I have learnt as a Personal Trainer. That is “we will do for others what we wont do for ourselves” I know myself when I have an early morning session booked with my PT, getting out of bed is a lot easier than trying to do it for myself. I don’t want to let my PT down. It is the same for our clients, why wont they do the extra session, train themselves or eat the right foods? They wont do it for themselves, when left to their own devices but they will do it for you, the PT.
Another interesting observation of Peter was the two-part documentary was shot over a number of years. The first part of the documentary was when he was going through the bankruptcy, family split and grief of his daughter, Peter looked liked a weary old man, minimal talk, seemed to be confused and had lost his earlier ambition. The highlight for me was to see a gracefully aged man gladly declare on the property of millionaire Gerry Harvey (who has supported him financially) that governments had removed a lot of previous legislation, different departments where working together, the science and holistic departments had aligned and he was oozing with excitement and zest as he talked about the amount of ground that had been won since the airing of the first show. His farming techniques had been recognised on a global scale and are being initiated on a National level.
Peter is not a scientist, he has no formal schooling he has learnt from getting his hands dirty on the land and engrossing himself to a life commitment of failing and learning. Yes he has failed. Through observation and reassessment and an ongoing focus on researching the areas to better improve what needed to be done, he has written a formula for an expert. However don’t be fooled, the guy is able to mix it with the best of the scholars, explain his concept to professors and average punters. What inspired me was how he has gone about his process of becoming a leader in his field. Through careful observation, deliberate work, overcoming roadblocks but being very clear on his vision. He has written his own course on leadership.
In summary I feel a need for bigger accountability, a need to back a charity, a person, a cause. Someone or some cause beyond coaches, mentors and advisers. A need to do for others what you won’t do for yourself. A reason to make significant differences. A need to start your own cause or back an existing foundation by committing time, effort and money.
It is time to define that bigger cause.
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