Thank you for coming to my "One-Line Legacies" workshop at the 2019 American Farm Bureau Federation in New Orleans! Here is the one-page guide to writing your local Farm Bureau history:
I've always heard a good writer is a good reader. Here are a few of the books I read through the process of writing this year that inspired me. These books have coached me through the writing process, showed me how to craft a more interesting phrase and inspired me to learn what leadership really looks like.
Their words have influenced my research and writing as I worked to capture the Montana Farm Bureau's one-line legacies this year.
LAURA'S READING LIST
“The most important element of a biography is that which we can ‘put to use’ in our own lives.” – All The Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West by David Gessner
"'That’s interesting.' If you find yourself saying it, pay attention and follow your nose. Trust your curiosity to connect with the curiosity of your readers.” – On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser.
“The city became for me the ideal of what I wanted to be as a grownup. Friendly but never gushing, cool but not frigid or distant, distinguished without the awful stiffness.” – I know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
“We don’t derive strength from our rugged individualism, but rather from our collective ability to plan, communicate and work together.” – Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
"Social bonds are reinforced during disasters, when people are overwhelmingly devoting energy toward the good of the community rather than just themselves." "When there is no survival outside of group survival, social bonds tighten." "All the praise in the world means nothing if that person doesn’t feel valued." "The trick is to convince people they have more in common than they have in conflict." "Acting in a tribal way simply means being willing to make a substantive sacrifice for your community, your neighborhood, your workplace, your nation." – Tribes: on Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
“Ranching is the art of protecting one’s chosen creatures in a brutal world. … this sometimes meant spilling blood, but more often demanded perfect attention and a depth of care.” – Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West by Bryce Andrews
“Cultivate a concentration so intense that there is no attention left over to think of anything irrelevant or to worry about problems.” — Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
“Hope is eternal.” Against the Odds: A path forward for rural America by Bruce Vincent
“Stories are nothing. The process is everything. Be patient with yourself. Professional writers are often confused. It goes with the territory.” – Writing for Story:Craft secrets for dramatic non-fiction by Jon Franklin
"Doing business is a lot like dating. Facts and qualities might get an introduction, but only shared values will establish a long-term, trusting relationship.” – Start with WHY: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action by Simon Simek.
“Can you imagine coming to the end of your life, surrounded by people who love you, just to realize they never really knew you?” – Scary Close: Dropping to act to find true intimacy by Don Miller
LOVE DOES – All of it. By Bob Goff
Thank you again for coming to the workshop. I can't wait to hear the stories you find to write your Farm Bureau history!