We were lucky to catch up with Anfernee McDonald recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anfernee, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
As a kid, I never had anything real or tangible to hold onto. I had my mom and siblings, but we moved once every three or four years, so I didn’t have the chance to build any sense of who I wanted to be outside of that. When I was about 12, I saw an army poster when I was in the back of a police cruiser, I figured that was what I wanted to do. The first time I had the chance, I talked with a recruiter and joined the Marine Corps right after high school, I was still just as lost as I was before I joined, but I figured that I would devote myself to serving my country. I thought that maybe I would retire one day. Two years into my Marine Corps career, a building collapsed on me while training, severely injuring me. Today I have brain damage, a twisted spine, bone fragments in my hip, and a metal rod and seven screws in my femur. The person that I thought I wanted to be, I couldn’t be anymore. I was even more lost.
When I was medically discharged from the military in 2018, I had spent two years battling depression and using unhealthy habits to cope; I would end up fighting those habits for another three years. I became a stay-at-home-dad because I wanted to raise our second child. In 2021, I felt like God allowed me to see who and what I really was. Lost, hopeless, broken, and a terrible father and husband. He gave me the opportunity to see the true me and to decide whether or not I wanted to do something about what I saw, and change. I did want that.
The first thing that I was allowed to see was how I was hurting my family with the food that I was feeding them. I spent the next year researching. Learning how to listen to the voice that I was hearing and learning what real food was. The more that I looked into the food system that we have here in America, the more disappointed I became; and then I heard that voice again. “What are you going to do about it?” I couldn’t, in good conscience, stand by and do nothing, so I figured that I would learn how to grow our food and sell good food to the people around me.
I’ve spent the past three years finding out that I love to farm. I love to interact with people. I love to make people’s lives better because of something that I did. I truly have found the good work that was stored up for me. It took me letting go of the parts of me that weren’t beneficial for me.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a student at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. I have a major in Livestock production and a minor in Writing and Communications. I work for ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture as a co-creator of their ‘Listen to the Land’ podcast. And I write for the school newspaper. I have spent the past three years learning these skills because one day I want to start a self-sufficient homestead community. I, specifically, want to grow the food for it and run the media so I’m being intentional with my time and learning the skills that I’ll need, now.
This makes me so excited because I feel society needs more places where we can genuinely connect to one another and express our humanity, away from the hustle and bustle that comes from living a life separated each other.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three things that have never left me from the Marine Corps are: being a good follower, being a good leader, and pushing through the hard times.
• Being a good follower – I learned that everyone on a team has a role to play in order to complete that team’s mission. Sometimes, my role will be to be dependable and strong enough so that I can help my team do what it needs to do.
• Being a good leader – Sometimes my role is to lead my team to victory. If that is the case, I need to be competent and trustworthy in order to motivate, encourage, and direct those looking up to me.
• Pushing through the hard times – Sometimes I have to do things that are hard in order to accomplish the mission. My thinking is that someone has to do it, and I would rather stand firm and bridge the gap so that others can cross.
To build a leader’s mindset in yourself, learn how to be a proficient follower, learning how to listen and decide how to act instead of dwelling on uncertainties. Understand that there are others who depend on you and your skillset.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I welcome others who are interested in working with me. I welcome people who are looking to take actionable steps to making this world a better place or who want to take those steps but aren’t sure how.
I can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Facebook or Instagram at Big Nuff Homestead.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bignuffhomestead_?igsh=MTRhYTlvN3g3MmJ1dQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090598962753&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anfernee-mcdonald-57a768305?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
