Habits of Successful

oxygen therapy has been proven to alleviate stress on the body through cognitive rehabilitation, making it a natural treatment solution for servicemen and women suffering not only from external wounds, but from PTSD, TBI and depression as well.

* The treatment process involves several “dives.” Each hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment is called a dive and an individual can receive 20-40 dives in which oxygen is pumped into their specialized, sealed chamber. Each treatment lasts for up to one hour. Servicemen and women pursuing this treatment see the best results when these treatments are scheduled as close together as possible.

* The risk of TBI varies depending on conditions. Many veterans of the United States’ campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered TBI because of blast related injuries. Research shows males outnumber females in TBI cases 2:1. Age also plays a roll in a person’s likeliness to suffer TBI, and people ages 0-4, 15-19 and the elderly have a higher rate of suffering TBI than those outside of those age ranges. Substance abusers also stand a greater chance of suffering a TBI incident.

* You can support treatment for servicemen and women. Veterans across the country need your help. The Purple Heart Foundation strives to make the transition home as smooth as possible for all veterans, which includes providing them the treatment they need for the challenges they face after being discharged. The Purple Heart Foundation is a nonprofit, Veteran Service Organization whose mission is to honor the sacrifice of military veterans and create a smooth transition for them from the battlefield to the home front. Nearly 90 percent of each cash donation made to the Purple Heart Foundation goes to support aspects of this mission statement including: hyperbaric oxygen treatment, the National Service Officer Program, the scholarship program, service dog programs and other rehabilitation or recreational programs aimed at improving the lives of veterans. To learn more about how you can support veterans returning from overseas, visit purpleheartfoundation. org.—BPT Through the years, there have been so many attempts to analyze leaders to discover their secrets. This is so that other people who aspire to be leaders can learn what it takes to live up to their potential. One of the difficulties that this research has pointed out is that everyone in leadership positions is different and is successful for different reasons.

However, most people of all different backgrounds share a number of recognizable characteristics like leadership. Leaders are meant to have effective communication skills when engaged in inspirational speaking, motivational speaking or happen to find themselves motivational speaking opportunities.

The following are 10 habits of a successful leader: A winning leader always thinks in a positive way, no matter what happens. Because of the way you think will have a big influence on your behavior. The message must always be positive thinking towards success and not dwell on failure. Winners tend to avoid negative environments and negative people because they know the damage it can do to their positive attitude.

A successful leader decides on their dreams and goals. Always writes and has a plan to achieve them. Follow these plans with single-minded purposefulness. - Successful leaders do not procrastinate they take action because they know that the goals are useless without action. They are not afraid to start to work no matter what the obstacles.

Another feature is that they never stop learning. They are like sponges, they are willing to read books, and they are ready to return to school if necessary and recognize the value of good training. They are relentless when acquiring skills. For instance, equip themselves when it comes to being a professional speaker.

A successful leader has the element of being persistent. They work hard because they know that success is a long-distance race and there is no shortcut. They will never give up.

A successful leader gets the facts, analyzes the details and learns from their mistakes. A lot of them always share their mistakes because they realize they are learners and they are always proud to call themselves learners.

In addition to being persistent, successful leaders focus on their goals and will not let other people or events distract them. Successful leaders are never afraid to innovate or be different. They realize that success does not come from walking in the footsteps of others. They figure out their own direction to avoid the mediocrity of the crowd in general. Continued on page 22 Habits of Successful Leaders by Rhegie Taylor

Millennial grower Nathan Miller helps manage his family’s 13,000-acre farm in Washington Court House, Ohio.

It’s 2017: Do you know how old your farmer is?

Smartphone? Check. GPS? Check. Seed, fertilizer and tractor? Check. Welcome to the world of modern agriculture, where high-tech is the rule and savvy millennials are in demand as U.S. agriculture embraces the many challenges of feeding a growing world.

From planters guided by GPS to corn and soybeans with built-in resistance to insects, today’s agriculture is a far cry from Old McDonald’s farm or the pitch-fork-wielding couple of American Gothic. Many of the technological advances in modern agriculture rival the smartest smartphones and the most intuitive interfaces.

Imagine drones that scout for pests, farm machinery that decides where fertilizer is needed or harvest equipment that steers itself. Then there are plants that “sense” when weeds get too close, “turn a switch” when they need to conserve water, and produce their own “pheromones” to ward off insects and diseases. It’s the kind of high-tech stuff that’s the perfect match for millennials, often defined as people born between 1982 and 2004.

Getting to know them Currently, more than half of our nation’s farmers are at least 55 years old. However, as these farmers retire over the next few years, millennials - America’s largest demographic and arguably our most tech savvy - will likely be taking their place.

Many companies that hope to supply this new generation of farmers with goods and services are getting ready for the transition. Syngenta has already launched a training initiative designed to help its employees build trust, improve service and strengthen partnerships with younger customers and coworkers. The training gives participants a better understanding of who millennials are and what’s important to them.

“Millennials are one of the most talked about but least understood generations,” says Gil Strader, head of field force excellence and training at Syngenta. “We’re finding fascinating insights that can help bridge this generation knowledge gap.” Research reveals that younger growers in the agricultural industry are:

High-tech and high-touch Young growers take more innovative risks than their older counterparts, but personal relationships are just as important to them as the latest technology. Many prefer phone calls and in-person meetings over the digital dialogue so dominant today. Educated While only 33 percent of American 35- to 44-yearolds have a bachelor’s degree, 57 percent of young growers do. Eleven percent of them even have a master’s degree or higher. It’s the highest level of education among U.S. farmers to date. Decisive Due to increasing farming complexity, millennials are making significant decisions at younger ages than their predecessors - decisions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, two-thirds are the primary decision makers for their operations, from seeds to marketing. Inquisitive To no one’s surprise, millennials use the Internet to gather information from diverse sources. Young farmers are hungry for information - information to help them make smart business decisions. It’s not enough to simply know how to do something: They want to know why. Purpose-driven Millennials view farming as a business and a lifestyle. They are very serious about what they’re trying to accomplish on the job, but they also want to have a high quality of life outside work.

These findings debunk the myth that the millennial generation is self-absorbed, indecisive and addicted to social media. As a group, young farmers are serious decision makers who crave connection, communication and a sense of purpose. To learn more about millennials and other agricultural trends, go to www.syngentathrive.com.—BPT

18 RuralLeaderMag.com | APRIL 2017 Come tax time, many people work to locate tax breaks. While this is always a smart financial move, a little-known way to help build your net worth is to keep taxes top of mind throughout the entire year. Reducing taxes means you keep more of what you earn, according to Nick Holeman, a financial planning expert at Betterment.com.

“You can’t control the stock market, but you can control some of your taxes,” Holeman said. “Knowing how your investments affect your tax bill can help you save money not just on April 15th, but for years to come.”

Check to see whether your long-term investment strategy is running efficiently with these tips from Holeman.

Invest your tax refund: One smart place to invest your tax refund is in an IRA. Normally, investors might divert a portion of the refund into this account as part of a well-rounded investment strategy and claim the deductions for next year’s tax time. Invest your refund, and you may get a portion of that back in tax savings. Stay in the habit of investing that refund if you can and watch those small returns add up over time.

Think several moves ahead: Investing is complex and from time to time you will have to sell some of your investments; everybody does. It might be to rebalance your portfolio or maybe your goals have changed and your investments no longer match their intended purpose.

Still, smart investors need to think ahead before blindly selling parts of their portfolio. This is because selling could potentially lead to taxes. By carefully choosing which investments to sell, you can help minimize that hefty tax consequence.

One way to do this is to partner with an investment company that has the tools to make this information easy to access and understand. Betterment. com, for example, offers Tax Impact Preview, which lets investors see estimated potential tax on a sale before making the trade. If you don’t think the pros outweigh the cons, don’t do it.

Reorganize your investments: Another way to potentially leverage even small tax advantages into long-term growth is to build your portfolio like an energy-efficient engine, built to run for more miles with less need to refuel. You can help accomplish this by reorganizing your portfolio. Move inefficient investments like international stocks and other assets that are taxed more often into a tax-deferred account, such as an IRA or a Roth IRA. That way, you can enjoy the high growth for less tax. Then, move lesstaxed assets, such as municipal bonds, into taxable accounts.

Benefit from losses: Help keep your portfolio in balance by selling off the laggards and replacing them with a similar investment. You can receive a tax deduction from your losses that can help cancel out the taxes you owe on assets that have gains. This is done automatically for investors at many automated services through a strategy called tax loss harvesting. Smart investors should always remember that investments involve risk and may result in loss.

Give to a worthy cause: While it’s important to secure your future, many investors see community support as an important goal. Consider donating a to a nonprofit organization in your community. Not only are you helping to improve the quality of life in your locale, you can potentially claim a deduction from your income tax. It can pay to do the right thing.—BPT Secrets Smart Investors Use Year-Round to Save on Their Taxes