I think its fair to say that humility is a quality within an individuals chartacterist, if I could be so bold as to say its also one which can be rather hard to stumble across these days. In the busy age of social media, the publication and importance of improving ones self worth and the shameless self promotion required to compete with the big dogs in business and in life. It is possibly a lost art... Rather than being something that is instilled in us as small children it is something we now read books on and attempt 'practice the art' of in vain.
If you haven't already picked up the book 'Legacy' by author James Kerr, then this could be a good place to start for ones research on the topic. Mr Kerr writes about the All Blacks and them being 'the most successful rugby team in history' and yet the players still sweep the floors of the change rooms themselves after every game, because, why should someone have to clean up after them? A more realistic view of humility for those of us who aren't professional sports stars but simple cowboys/girls is understanding the importance of people we stumble across in our professional lives that take us under their wing and mentor, guide and support us simply due to their passion for their job. This would be humbling for the mentored and is only possible because the professional in which we meet is humble and willing to dedicate their time to supporting such acts.
Such an example is one in which us here at Morrissey and Friends can relate. We are humbled and endeared over and again to have friends such as Dr Tom Noffsinger, USA, to share with us his forever growing knowledge of people, cattle, horses and everything in between of which we may question. Due to our friendship and our desire to help Dr Tom share his knowledge and our experiences across the continents he has been kind enough to put a few words together about Principal Consultant Shane Morrissey.
Sharing this letter could be considered to be teetering on the edge of the opposite of humble... however we believe that, at the right time, and not too often, it is also ok to unapologetically proud!
Hopefully it will give ya'll an understanding of what we hope to achieve through Morrissey and Friends Livestock Services and how much we look forward to working cows and horses with everyone and anyone.
"Shane Morrissey continues to refine his abilities to understand and effectively communicate with cattle and horses. His focus on patience and handler position/motion “draws” cattle to him and enhances voluntary cattle movement. One of Shane’s greatest strengths is his ability to “read” cattle and to determine what they need. He has developed an understanding of WHY these skills are important and documented improvements in arrival feed intakes, immune function, and cattle performance in response to proper handler activities during cattle arrival, processing and daily pen riding.
Shane has developed a structured method to both teach and train these skills to caregivers working in cattle production systems. He understands how to create a culture within caregiver teams that enables them to excel. It takes time to provide the how and why of proper Stockmanship. Shane focuses on lending the same availability, support, guidance, and encouragement to caregivers that he provides to livestock. Shane takes his responsibility seriously to organize and inspire teams of caregivers to become families working together to provide success to cattle".
-Dr Tom Noffsinger
Thank you for your following and thank you to Doc for forever being our greatest fan.
We look forward to working cattle with ya'll soon.