[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_padding=”||9px|||”]<\/p>\n
I was nine the day my dad sold his entire herd of dairy cows.<\/span> \u201cHow will we get money now, Dad?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, Margie,\u201d he said, before adding, \u201cBut we have to trust the Good Lord will provide.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My nine-year-old brain tried to imagine how\u2014<\/span> Neither happened.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Rather, Dad did whatever it took\u2014handyman work, baling hay, building cabins by the nearby lake.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” custom_margin=”-12px||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/MailerLite-Layout.jpg” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” title_text=”MailerLite Layout” custom_margin=”-27px||-12px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” custom_padding=”1px|||||” custom_margin=”17px||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ min_height=”712.9px”]<\/p>\n We wore hand-me-downs, never ate out, and bartered milk for fish.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n We never went hungry. But an insecurity was planted in me that day\u2014a deep, subconscious fear of ever feeling that vulnerable again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For decades, it shaped how I approached money, risk, and success \u2014long after I\u2019d outgrown the circumstances that created it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Last weekend, back on the farm to celebrate Dad’s 90th, I stood with him by that same cattle dock\u2014now weathered and overgrown\u2014and reflected on just how many of us still carry psychological scar tissue from our childhoods.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Often, it\u2019s this old emotional wiring\u2014not a lack of opportunity or intellect\u2014that most limits our future and sabotages our success.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As I wrote in The Courage Gap<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/a>, working through the moments our young brains interpreted as \u201cnear-death\u201d (even if they weren\u2019t) is essential for any adult who wants to truly flourish and critical for transformational leadership.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n So let me ask you:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n What old fear still has an outsized influence on your decisions today? The pen is still in your hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was nine the day my dad sold his entire herd of dairy cows.A long and devastating drought had forced his hand. As the cattle truck rumbled down the laneway, I looked up at him and asked: \u201cHow will we get money now, Dad?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know, Margie,\u201d he said, before adding, \u201cBut we have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236316"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236323,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236316\/revisions\/236323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/span>A long and devastating drought had forced his hand. As the cattle truck rumbled down the laneway, I looked up at him and asked:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>Would we win the lottery?<\/span>
<\/span>Would a bag of cash just appear on the back verandah?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
And what would it take to stop letting it run the show?<\/p>\n