“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners at goat herding, I wish someone told me. All of us who herd goats, we get into it because we love animal husbandry. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you herd, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste for goats, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your goats disappoint you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative goat herding went through years of this. We know our goats don’t have this special thing that we want them to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do is have a lot of goats. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will acquire like 5 more goats. It is only by going through a volume of goats that you will close that gap, and your goats will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” – Ira Glass
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Who could have guessed that the witty, nasal (dare I say…sexy?) voice of This American Life would have so much goat herding-related wisdom to impart? Check out our slideshow below for all the times Ira’s Twitter reminded those of us just starting out that there’s so much more to animal husbandry than meets the eye. Stop waiting around for the perfect moment—your herding career begins today.
The Niche 