Farming v. Other forms of self-employment

In my last post I alluded to the fact that I am a farmer's son.  I grew up on a farm near the town of Cumnock in the Central-West of New South Wales.  As the eldest child and only son it was actually an active choice for me not to become a farmer (see last post).

My father was a very good farmer and I long before I could articulate the reason why I knew that I didn't want to follow in his wake.  When asked about it now I explain that my definition of a good farmer is as follows: -

Someone who gets up at dawn on a rainy morning in the middle of winter to go and fix a fence that isn't broken yet.

As far as farming goes that was never going to be me.  I've never regretted the decision to do other things with my life but I do like to think that I carry that attitude with me nonetheless: -

Get up every morning and solve a problem before it even arises.