Meet Jeff Hodges

We recently connected with Jeff Hodges and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Say yes to as many opportunities and invites as possible, unless unlawful or you have safety concerns. If you participate in an activity and don’t care for it you don’t need to go again. When I retired, I needed to define a new purpose for my life. I knew I wanted to improve my photography skills but really didn’t know what else I would fill my time with or my new purpose. This led to, joining a trail crew, taking the Texas Master Naturalist Class, rewilding my suburban yard, learning new skills to capture video, audio and the editing both, and then putting this footage into a story which resulted in establishing a YouTube Channel. I have said yes to speaking engagements and define my purpose as being an advocate for Wildlife and Mother Nature. I am enjoying my life as I feel I am having a positive impact. It wasn’t an easy transition, but I kept showing up, learning new skills and pushing myself to engage with people and organizations.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

When I started my YouTube Channel my idea was to donate any money earned from the channel to organizations which preserve and restore wildlife habitat. It is much more difficult to monetize (earn money) for content published on YouTube than I thought; If in the future the channel does earn money I still will donate all proceeds. My current purpose is to help people understand there is a different way to manage the land around our homes and it is shocking to see how fast Mother Nature uses the new space to feed and provide homes for all the creatures of the area. The added benefits: reduced water usage, no lawn chemicals needed, less mowing, blowing, raking, etc. You also get interesting creatures to watch including birds and butterflies! All while saving a ton of money.

I have failed in some ways but I am not concerned with failure as long as I learn. At least I can say I have tried and I believe given time I will succeed!

In todays world we are isolated by culture and technology. My activities have allowed me to engage with more people. As an example, in my neighborhood most neighbors have stopped to talk at some point in time about the “garden” and ask questions. I know more of the people who live around me than ever.

I am hoping this article causes you to go look at my Instagram account or YouTube channel. I want you to view nature differently and maybe change what you buy to plant in your yard or garden.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Try: By trying you can live your dreams. I will try almost anything once. Don’t let fear prevent you from reaching your full potential. Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from it and use what you learn to improve.
2) Learn: Keep learning throughout life. Learning helps you have new exciting experiences. If you don’t grow by learning you won’t flourish!
3) Believe in yourself: You are much more capable they you realize. I have dyslexia and have always struggled with learning and communications. Through life I have had to work very hard on communications. My communication skills have improved but I will continue to work on these skills the rest of my life, and that is OK.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Everyone feels overwhelmed from time to time and its important to recognize this is normal and not something to fear. I try to look at those overwhelming feelings as an opportunity to work through difficult times and learn more about what I am capable of accomplishing.

When I started generating YouTube videos I didn’t know what I was doing and my first attempts are far from perfect. Someone made a comment which empowered me. They stated: 9 out of 10 people who want to have a YouTube channel will never publish one video. Why? Either they will never start or they will start a video but never finish it, because its not good enough. He went on to to say “to start a YouTube channel you have to recognize your first attempts are going to be filled with mistakes and you have to be comfortable allowing people to see you not at your best. Keep publishing and working hard to make each video better in some way. After you have published a few videos you will see your growth and this should help you to keep going”. I have a hard time watching some of my earlier videos as I am awkward on camera and my skills to capture quality video is not great but I am encouraged as my more recent videos are much better and I know a year from now my videos will be even better. And maybe most importantly I am having fun and enjoying the journey of life!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All photographs were taken by me – Jeff Hodges

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