My first trip to USA was in 2008. I flew to Utah for work with two of my colleagues. We were left with tonnes of work and ten weekends to explore the beauty the city. Another colleague of mine, who was stationed in Utah had planned some activities for us ahead of our arrival. Among the bunch of exciting options, one of his ideas sounded weird to me – Flight training near Salt Lake City! Riding a six-seater flight for 30 minutes! I was like What! Having pissed off from having to sit in a long-haul flight from Bangalore, he is pushing me to be a pilot myself! Come on! You are asking for impossible – that was my attitude. Of course, it is a training – and a trainer is going to be on my side handing me just enough controls to get the feel of flying a plane myself. But still, I was scared. Then I asked my trainer for more info – “Sir, do we have a parachute?” He said, “the What?” and he started laughing out aloud. When we all got together to fly, he said “the scary one first” pointing to me! I jumped in finally and decided to go with the flow. I followed the instructions carefully, did what he told me to do praying in mind for safe grounding. Though it was supposed to be a 30-minute flight, we could not get landing clearance – so we kept roaming in the air for another 45 minutes. Finally, when I got to land, it was a big sigh of relief. I felt so humble, grateful, and I profusely thanked the trainer. I trusted him enough with a thought that he will land me safely – and he did. WoW!! When I look back now, what an exciting experience it was. So, the point I bring back is that you cannot explore outside world if you choose to remain trapped in that bubble of yours – which is otherwise known as a comfort zone. Think of the time when you started to learn something new – riding a car, a bicycle or practicing a song on a new instrument for that matter. How did you feel and what was your quick response for that trigger? Getting into farming is no different. You may get scared - as if you are on the highway in your car first time even before taking your first driving lesson. If you have a positive attitude and willingness to learn, all that you are missing out on is an expert trainer who can help land your destination safely. If you are on a look out for someone who can hand-hold you while you take those baby steps in the farming world, pick your phone, and punch my number. I bet you will not regret. Guruprasad Kurtkoti
Co-founder, farmer and mentor
+91 8762162045
Belesiri.in