Publisher’s Letter: Goals Lead to Accomplishments and Then to Success

I started five years ago with the goal of building a mountain cabin on my property. I built a 10×12 shed twice and a smaller shed three times through several trials and tribulations. Each winter, they blew over.

Getting these small buildings done was its own set of accomplishments, then I had the luck to build them again, but more robust and better.

Now the goal is a much larger structure—a cabin.

Building those little buildings has taught me a lot over the last several years: the most significant thing – is planning. I learned to take time on the excavation, then the foundations. Those two things establish a much stronger base and a much easier-to-work-on structure.

Last summer, I started on the goal of building a cabin. I first dug a very long (300+ feet) access road, which would become my future driveway. The road would allow me to clear the future building site first, then access it with vehicles and larger equipment later.

Last summer, I dug with my friend Rolly for weeks, then “tweaked” it in the fall. Just a few weeks ago, we finally started clearing the cabin site. Another friend told me clearing it with my small Kubota bx 23s tractor was like “bringing a knife to a gunfight.” Boy, he was right. After breaking the little backhoe on my tractor twice, I decided to give it a break. Last weekend I rented an excavator.

As Wykham Rentals delivered the excavator, they asked me if I’d ever operated one… “uuuuh, no,” I said. After a quick lesson on the side of the highway (I was happy not to see the driver rolling his eyes) and then a two-mile drive up the private road — I was ready to go!

Thirty hours later, I had completed my goal! That was a buildable cabin site. A pretty large one.

I’m proud of my goals and accomplishments over these past five years. Making those goals, figuring out a way to accomplish them, and then stepping back and saying, “wow, I did that,” is a fantastic feeling.

In many ways, I feel that way with this newspaper. The goal was to save it. My team and countless others in Northern Colorado did that.

Now, let’s set another goal. Let’s make North Forty News bigger, better, and stronger together! If you subscribe, tell a friend, and maybe purchase a subscription for them as a gift. If you read it free, consider supporting us for as little as a buck a month.

With rising costs, labor challenges, and all the things most businesses face in today’s times — it’s getting harder and more challenging to produce this newspaper. But I continue to do it because I know Northern Colorado needs it and wants it.

Every dollar, every subscriber, every advertiser counts. Thank you to all of you for your support then, now, and in the future from the bottom of my heart.

I am sure of it; Northern Colorado loves North Forty News. We love Northern Colorado too! Let’s set a new goal — together.

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