The Thanksgiving of Place

Everyone needs a place. This week, for all the things will give my thanks, my place will be one of them.

Occasionally, I come here and share my place with you. It’s the place where I grew up; the place that shaped me. This is the Normal 40 Ranch, and my dream is to one day bring you here.

The homesteaders who ventured into the Dakota Territory in the 1880s give me awe. They were the ultimate risk-takers. They were literally betting it all for a shot at a better life — for future generations. While some were successful, others were underprepared for the harshness of a prairie winter. That risk was simply part of the challenge for which thet signed up. And they did it anyway.

The brave souls who arrived here found land that was rich yet challenging. Soil that was fertile but hard after being packed down over thousands of years by buffalo and snowpack. It was, without question, an incredible canvas fit for their grit and worthy of their dreams.

Survival? As I stand here, I simply can’t imagine what it must have been like.

It was a daily grind – battling harsh winters, scorching summers, and the relentless prairie wind. But those who bothered to start were those who left their mark. They adapted to the prairie's relentless mood swings, tendered their herds, learned which crops could survive, raised a family, and tamed the prairie — one acre at a time.

My place, the ranch land I get to return to, was tamed by giants for which I will never meet, but from which I will forever benefit.

And this week, I want to give them — the dreamers who came before me — my thanks.

Today, as I stand where they stood and I see what they saw, I am simply not able to feel what they must have felt; none of us are. And that alone gives me awe.

But as I stand here, in the hole where they called home, I simply don’t think they came here to get rich; they came here to feel free. They saw it as an opportunity to do something incredible with the time they had left, knowing they would regret it if they didn’t try.

The land may not have cost them anything financially, but living here for five years, which was required by the Homestead Act, was anything but free. It was a trade. And this hole in the ground is the proof.

Trades have ripples. In this case, because of this dreamer, we call a homesteader, I stand here today and marvel. So, to whoever walked hundreds of miles across a deserted prairie and made this home by hand for a shot at a better future for your family, thank you for believing in what might be possible. And, somewhat oddly, I hear you when you ask me not to let your dreams go.

It’s not just in the land you tamed, but in the mindset you left behind – a blend of resilience, innovation, and the unwavering belief in pursuing something more significant. But also the wisdom of knowing that one day, before you feel ready, you will have to start walking west.

My name is Lon, and my mission is to inspire change in a thousand lives. I help people define their mission, take back their calendar, and bet on themself before it’s too late.

My metris is a thousand notes of thanks. My method is connecting, writing, sharing, coaching, and inspiring.

One day, I will bring people here - to the Normal 40 Ranch. I feel something asking me to do it, making me curious about who might show up if I did.

I don’t know yet what that will look like, but I know it will happen. Maybe, just maybe, one of the first to arrive will be you. Maybe it’s time for you to start walking west — and all you need is the belief that it’s possible — for you.

This is who I am, this is how I act, you are who I help, and this is what I write. I am not rich as measured by personal net worth, but I’m a billionaire as counted by my net life.

Follow me for more of this. And, for the record, in case you feel alone, there are 3000 of us in this closed LinkedIn group in the comments. People in there relate to things like this.

If that’s you, welcome to the Normal 40 Highway.

PS - My best-selling book “The Trade” might change your life. Just like it has for thousands of others. The reviews are real — so is the change. But I’ll warn you — “It’s the most dangerous book on the Internet.”

See you when you get here.

Lon -

https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein