Chris Kirubi Farm: Many of you know me as a jack of all trades when it comes to business but only recently did some of you learn that I am also an ardent farmer.

I did not start out large but with just a small piece of land. However with time, I got wind of an opportunity and took heed of it.

You see, I had goals and at that time farming was the place to be in (a very lucrative industry). Once I heard about a huge coffee farm being sold, I made sure I did all I could in my power to purchase it. So there I was with this huge piece of land but it was not doing me any good because there was no one to manage it thus the coffee became unproductive. It was time I rose up to tend my own coffee farm and make it productive.

Kenyan who got D+ in KCSE now has 5 degrees from top US universities

I chopped every tree and began to plant new coffee seedlings and take care of each and every one of them. Over the years, my farm has produced great yield, competing with some of the best coffee in the market.

I became the Chief Executive Officer of my farm and a manager of my own success.

Friends, I needed to have a vision and set realistic goals in order to become successful in a field that was new to me. I needed to get involved, equip myself with the right material and knowledge that would assist me to achieve my vision. Without goals we wouldn’t have anything to aim for or aspire to. We’d live our lives randomly rather than consciously, and things would tend to happen to us by chance (or not). So goals are important.

One of the key causes for abandoned goals is a lack of upfront appreciation for the full price to be paid – and this involves a lot more than financial considerations.

There is always a price to be paid; you must sacrifice your time, resources and even your lifestyle so as to be fruitful in some ventures. I faced many challenges along the way and now I face an even greater challenge with my farm because of factors beyond my control, but what do you do when faced with such a hurdle? It’s time to change course. Most of us do not take change kindly but sometimes it is necessary.

Many changes may not be within our control, but we can always control how we deal with them. It’s a matter of perspective. You can feel uncertain, scared, angry or worried, and it’s fine to feel these emotions at first – after all, we are human. Staying stuck in these feelings is what holds us back. If you can take a step back, and take a look at the situation from outside the box, you will find possibility.

The changes in our lives happen to push us out of our comfort zones and into a whole new phase of development. Where we place our focus will largely determine how things turn out for us.

If something is not working out then we must look for another method or worst case scenario, change course and venture into something else. Most coffee farmers will agree with me that it is very expensive to maintain especially on a small scale level, and because the market prices are not friendly then we cannot sit there and throw a pity party. We need regroup ourselves and look for a way out lest our land becomes totally unproductive. This by the way applies to any kind of farmer or businessman for that matter.

You must become curious about how you can use the situation you are in to become better, learn something new or create something different… In other words take control of what’s happening for you. Don’t be influenced by negativity in others- take control of what’s going on for you. Some of the greatest achievements have come from great adversity.

Thus, it is my hope that we will go at great lengths to discovering what it is we can do with the little we have. Farming is not rocket science…and I can only hope that we will all play a role in developing the backbone of this economy which is in agriculture. Chris Kirubi Farm.